Hamilton is getting an AHL team
OVG's FirstOntario Centre renovation includes 10 novel floor suites
https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Ar...ontario-centre-renovation-oak-view-group
Oak View Group’s renovation of FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton, Ontario, will include 10 floor suites, a unique premium offering combining bunker suite privacy with direct visual access to the seating bowl and the event taking place. OVG is paying for the $280M renovation of the city-owned building and will operate it when it reopens in late 2025. The floor suites -- 10 in a row on one side of the building, each with capacity for 12 to 16 people -- are part of 21 suites in the 18,000-capacity arena.
“It’s the right size from a suite perspective in the market,” OVG Canada President Tom Pistore said. The goal, with architects Brisbane Brook Beynon (BBB), was to “not to overbuild suites,” Pistore said. “And when you do build them, make them really interesting and exciting.”
EllisDon is building the renovation, which broke ground in May. FirstOntario Centre’s design and existence is heavily focused on live music and entertainment, but Pistore said the venue will have at least one, maybe two, minor league pro sports tenants.
OVG is in conversations with the American Hockey League about a new team in Hamilton, with an announcement expected early next year, Pistore said. For hockey games, the arena will feature seating on the glass, with a walkway for ingress/egress behind those seats, and the new floor suites behind the walkway, creating essentially floor seats that are slightly elevated.
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