 | |
 | |
  SaskTel Centre Location within Saskatchewan Show map of Saskatchewan SaskTel Centre Location within Canada Show map of Canada | |
| Former names | Saskatchewan Place(1988–2004) Credit Union Centre(2004–2014) |
|---|---|
| Address | 3315 Thatcher Avenue |
| Location | Saskatoon,Saskatchewan, Canada |
| Coordinates | 52°11′20″N106°40′44″W / 52.189°N 106.679°W /52.189; -106.679 |
| Owner | City of Saskatoon |
| Executive suites | 51 |
| Capacity | 15,100[1] Lacrosse: 15,195[2] |
| Record attendance | 16,874 MetallicaWorldWired Tour, September 15, 2018 |
| Surface | Ice, Turf, Court |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 11 September 1986 (1986-09-11)[3] |
| Opened | 9 February 1988; 37 years ago (1988-02-09) |
| Expanded | 1990, 2009 |
| Construction cost | C$24.8 million ($59.4 million in 2023 dollars[4]) $6.7 million(2009 expansion)[5] ($9.22 million in 2023 dollars[4]) |
| Architect | Thomas Ferguson Architect, Ltd[6] PBK Architects, Inc.[6] |
| Structural engineer | Cochrane Lavalin Consulting Engineers[6] |
| General contractor | Carlson Constructors, Ltd. |
| Tenants | |
| Saskatoon Blades (WHL) (1988–present) Saskatchewan Rush (NLL) (2016–present) Saskatchewan Rattlers (CEBL) (2019–present) Saskatchewan Storm (WBL) (1990–92) Saskatoon Slam (NBL) (1992–94) Saskatchewan Hawks (IBA/CBA) (2000–02) Saskatoon Accelerators (CMISL) (2007–09) Saskatoon Sirens (LFL Canada) (2012) | |
| Website | |
| sasktelcentre | |
SaskTel Centre (formerlyCredit Union Centre, and originallySaskatchewan Place; informally also known asSask Place) is an arena located inSaskatoon,Saskatchewan, Canada. The facility opened in February 1988 and is currently the home venue of theSaskatoon Blades of theWestern Hockey League, theSaskatchewan Rattlers of theCanadian Elite Basketball League, and theSaskatchewan Rush of theNational Lacrosse League, with the arena being referred to asCo-op Field at SaskTel Centre during Rush games.[7]
SaskPlace was constructed as a replacement forSaskatoon Arena, a concrete building constructed in Saskatoon's downtown core in the 1930s. The building was in use until 1988, hosting its final hockey game only a week before SaskPlace opened.[8] Nicknamed "The Barn", the facility had outlived its usefulness some 20 years earlier and had become infamous for leaky roofs and substandard amenities.[9] Yet the city was hesitant to lose the landmark, and a number of years passed between the 1970s proposal to replace the structure and the eventual demolition of the Arena and the opening of SaskPlace in the late 1980s.[10][11]
In 1982, the city approved a proposal to build a new 5,000 seat arena at the city's Exhibition grounds south of the downtown core.[11] However, by 1983 local sports promoterBill Hunter was attempting to purchase theSt. Louis Blues of theNational Hockey League with a plan to relocate the team to Saskatoon; part of this plan included building an 18,000-seat arena.[12] Two locations for this much larger arena were suggested: the site of a decommissioned power plant downtown, just west of Saskatoon Arena, and a site north of the city's airport in theNorth Industrial area. Despite Hunter's best efforts, the NHL ultimately rejected his offer and plans to relocate an NHL team collapsed.[12] Even so, the city had shifted planning to building a larger arena, and debate continued about the preferred location.City Council narrowly approved the north industrial proposal in a 6–5 vote in 1985. While mayorCliff Wright and alderman and future mayorHenry Dayday championed the location, some of council, including aldermanPat Lorje, advocated for a new downtown arena instead, wary of the long-term effects that losing the arena would have on the city's downtown.[8] In addition, concern was expressed about the accessibility of the location north of the city. Public reaction to the council vote was mixed, and a petition with more than 16,000 signatures demanding a public vote resulted in a public plebiscite being held in conjunction with the 1985 civic election.[13] In that plebiscite, Saskatoon residents rejected the downtown option, with 64% voting against it.[8] A second plebiscite was held in 1986 to approve the north industrial location, which passed with 70% in favour.[14] Construction thus proceeded on the north industrial location, and an 8,000-seat Saskatchewan Place was completed in 1988, expanded to 11,000 in 1990.[13]
Despite the votes that led to the arena, the location remained polarizing in ensuing decades, especially as many hoped-for benefits of the north location, including an influx of new services and a relocation of the city's exhibition grounds adjacent to the site, failed to materialize.[13] Moreover, the hoped-for NHL franchise never arrived either; Hunter tried again in the early 1990s, applying for an expansion team, but ultimately fell just short of securing adequate funding.[15] However, the arena did host the NHL's first neutral-site game on October 13, 1992, a game between theCalgary Flames andMinnesota North Stars.[16]
In the early 2000s, Saunders Avenue, a street leading into the parking lot of the arena, was renamed Bill Hunter Avenue in honour of Hunter, who died in 2002. This was considered ironic by many Saskatonians, given Hunter lobbied for the facility to be built in another location near the old Saskatoon Arena. The city then transferred the 'Saunders' name to a new street in theRiver Landing redevelopment area—running through the former site of the Saskatoon Arena.
In 2008–09, the arena, then called the Credit Union Centre,[17] was renovated for the2010 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.[18] There were 2,981 seats added to the arena, increasing the capacity to more than 15,000. The cost of the expansion was pegged at $6.7 million. $2 million was requested as a loan from the city of Saskatoon and $3 million from a provincial grant. Hockey Canada may have also contributed about $500,000.[19]
At this time, there was a proposal from Ice Edge Holdings to purchase thePhoenix Coyotes and begin playing five of the Coyotes' home games each season at Credit Union Centre, beginning in December 2009. The logic behind the move, which parallels theBills Toronto Series in theNFL, was that although Saskatoon was likely too small to support an NHL team of its own, it would easily be able to sell out the Credit Union Centre for one game each month.[20] However, by May 2011, Ice Edge Holdings had abandoned its plan to purchase the team.[21]
In August 2014,SaskTel acquired the naming rights to the arena, renaming it SaskTel Centre.[17]
In 2016, theEdmonton Rush of theNational Lacrosse League relocated to Saskatoon as theSaskatchewan Rush, playing their home games at SaskTel Centre.[22] In 2017, the team reached a naming rights sponsorship withSaskatoon Co-op, under which the arena is referred to asCo-op Field at SaskTel Centre during Rush games.[23]
A 2018 study recommended the construction of a new arena and convention centre in downtown Saskatoon to replace SaskTel Centre andTCU Place. Both venues were assessed as needing replacement, failing to meet standards in comparison to venues in equivalent markets, including the arena's inadequate space for large event staging and rigging, and poor location and accessibility.[24]
In August 2022, following an evaluation of five potential sites, a report recommending one of two sites—one in the north downtown city yard, and one in the north parking lot ofMidtown—was presented to city council.[25] On November 16, 2022, the Midtown site was selected.[26] A proposed design of the Downtown Entertainment and Event District, anchored by the new arena under the working title "Saskatchewan Place", was unveiled in February 2024.[27]
The arena's inaugural event was the Saskatoon Blades' first WHL game at the arena, in which they defeated theBrandon Wheat Kings 4–3. Troy Kennedy scored the first goal in the arena's history, whileKory Kocur scored the game's winning goal in front of a sell-out crowd of 9,343.[16]
The Saskatoon Blades have hosted theMemorial Cup twice at SaskTel Centre. The first time was in1989, the year after the arena opened; the Blades made it to the final, but lost 4–3 in overtime to the WHL championSwift Current Broncos.[28] They hosted again in2013, but won just one match and failed to advance to final round.[29]
Saskatchewan Place has twice hosted theIIHF World Junior Championship, first in1991, and again in2010, when Saskatoon co-hosted the tournament with Regina.[30] The arena also hosted the2018 4 Nations Cup women's tournament.[31]
The arena has hosted several men's and women's national championships, including fourBrier championships–1989,2000,2004,2012–and oneTournament of Hearts, in1991. SaskTel Centre also hosted the2021 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials ahead of the2022 Winter Olympics.[32]
The Saskatchewan Rattlers hosted the inauguralCEBL Championship Weekend in 2019, which saw the Rattlers win the league's first title with a 94–83 win over theHamilton Honey Badgers.[33]
During aWorld Wrestling Federation taping at the arena on October 12, 1992 for aColiseum Video release,Bret Hart ofCalgary (whose father,Stu, was a Saskatoon native) defeatedRic Flair to win his firstWWF World Heavyweight Championship. In a match taped forSuperstars, Calgary's Bill Jordan was squashed by the debutingYokozuna, who dethroned Hart the following April atWrestleMania IX.[34] In March 2023,All Elite Wrestling (AEW) announced that it would broadcastDynamite from SaskTel Centre on July 12, 2023, as part of a pair of shows in the province.[35][36]
Metallica performed at the arena in 1992.
On June 16 1988, the arena hosted a show byTiffany.
In 2005, the arena hosted a galacommand performance forQueen Elizabeth II andPrince Philip, hosted byBrent Butt, as part of a royal visit to Saskatchewan commemorating the province's centennial.[37]
The arena hosted the2007 Juno Awards. The Juno Awards were to return to SaskTel Centre in2020, but the ceremony was cancelled on March 12 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[38][39]
In October 2014, the arena hosted a show byDemi Lovato of herDemi World Tour.
From June 9 to 12, 2016, SaskTel Centre hosted six sold-out performances byGarth Brooks andTrisha Yearwood as part of theirWorld Tour. The shows broke a record for concert attendance at the arena—set by Brooks in 1996—averaging 15,776 per show and an estimated total of 94,655 attendees.[40]
The single-concert record would be exceeded byMetallica'sWorldWired Tour stop at SaskTel Centre in September 2018, attracting 16,874 attendees in one of only two Canadian stops on the tour. The band dedicated their performance of "Nothing Else Matters" to those who had died in theHumboldt Broncos bus crash.[41]
In October 2019, SaskTel Centre hosted a two-night stop onElton John'sFarewell Yellow Brick Road tour.[42]
| Team | League | Since | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saskatoon Blades | Western Hockey League | 1988 | Host of the1989 and2013 Memorial Cups |
| Saskatchewan Rush | National Lacrosse League | 2015 | Won NLL Championship in their inaugural season, winning at SaskTel Centre on 4 June, 2016. Won their second NLL Championship at SaskTel Center on 9 June, 2018. |
| Saskatchewan Rattlers | Canadian Elite Basketball League | 2019 | Host of the inauguralCEBL Championship Weekend; the Rattlers won the title on 25 August, 2019 |
| Team | League | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saskatchewan Storm | World Basketball League | 1990–92 | The WBL folded during the 1992 season |
| Saskatoon Slam | National Basketball League | 1992–94 | The NBL replaced the WBL for Canadian franchises, but itself folded in 1994 |
| Saskatchewan Hawks | International Basketball Association,Continental Basketball Association | 2000–02 | The IBA folded after the 2000–01 season; the Hawks folded after the 2001–02 CBA season |
| Saskatoon Accelerators | Canadian Major Indoor Soccer League | 2007–09 | Moved to the Henk Ruys Soccer Centre for the 2010 season, after which the team folded |
| Saskatoon Sirens | Lingerie Football League | 2012 | Part of LFL Canada, which lasted only one season |
| Tournament/Event | Sport/Event | Year(s) |
|---|---|---|
| The Brier | Curling | 1989;2000;2004;2012 |
| Scotties Tournament of Hearts | Curling | 1991 |
| Canadian Olympic Curling Trials | Curling | 2021 |
| Grand Slam of Curling | Curling | 2008, 2019 |
| Memorial Cup | Hockey | 1989,2013 |
| IIHF World Junior Championship | Hockey | 1991;2010 |
| 4 Nations Cup | Hockey | 2018 |
| CHL Top Prospects Game | Hockey | 1992,2002 |
| U Sports University Cup | Hockey | 1998, 1999, 2000,2013,2014 |
| Canada/Russia Super Series | Hockey | 2007 |
| Canadian Figure Skating Championships | Figure skating | 1991,2003,2009 |
| Canadian Ringette Championships | Ringette | 1994, 2010 |
| FIVB Volleyball Women's U21 World Championship | Volleyball | 1999 |
| CEBL Championship Weekend | Basketball | 2019 |
| Juno Awards | Music awards | 2007 |
| Warped Tour | Music festival | 2008 |
A bronze statue of formerDetroit Red Wings player and Saskatoon nativeGordie Howe has been located outside the arena since 2005. The statue was created by Michael Martin but remained inEston, Saskatchewan until 1993, when private donations were used to fund its completion. As city property, Saskatoon's city council rejected a proposal to place the statue outside the arena, as they felt it had no artistic value or "enduring quality." The statue would be purchased by the owners ofMidtown Plaza, and installed on a street corner near the mall. The placement was criticized by aSaskatoon Star-Phoenix columnist, who felt (as per a survey the paper conducted, and an opinion from Howe himself) that the arena would be a more appropriate location for the statue. In 2005, the Gordie Howe statue was moved outside the arena's main entrance.[47]
Following Howe's death in June 2016, the statue became a memorial site for the player. In September 2016, the cremated remains of Howe and his wifeColleen Howe were buried at the statue's base.[48]
Authority control databases: Geographic |
|---|