Quote:
Originally Posted by Budyser
The 10,500 seat Halifax Metro Centre was build in 1976 with a Halifax-Darthmouth-Bedford population of ~187,000.
Moncton is looking for a 10,000 seat Downtown arena with a 2013 Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe population of 140,000.
I really don't think Moncton's vision is out of wack, considering the way Moncton & Dieppe has been growing at decent pace, and continue to do so.
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The proposed events centre
is ambitious, but as you have pointed out; when viewed in the context of the conditions that existed when the Halifax Metro Centre was built, this ambition is not outrageous.
I wonder which level of government in Nova Scotia was primarily responsible for the funding of the Metro Centre when it was built??
Quote:
Originally Posted by josh_cat_eyes
I honestly don't think either of those arenas are big enough. They had an average of 18,000+ people per game in Edmonton/Calgary. I think the only way this tournament comes back to Atlantic Canada is if Halifax AND Moncton co-host in, and both cities would need a new arena. Moncton really should be trying to go with like 10,500 or 11,000 seats, where Halifax could support an arena similar to MTS Centre in Winnipeg. 15,000-17,000 seats.
I'm going to predict that it's hosted between Winnipeg/Saskatchewan (although Winnipeg & Grand Forks, ND would be viable as well) and another In Vancouver.
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I agree that a new events centre in Moncton would lead to the ideal conditions for Moncton and Halifax to co-host a future World Juniors Championship.
The need for a new events centre in Moncton is self evident (HVAC problems, narrow concourses, lousy sound system, general location etc, etc, etc). I am not so sure that Halifax needs a new Metro Centre though. The existing Metro Centre still has good bones and an excellent location downtown. The only major problem with the Metro Centre is with the corporate boxes that they added about 12-15 years ago. They give you a claustrophobic feeling if you are sitting in the upper bowl seats and limits your ability to see the scoreboard.
I think you would need a pressing reason to replace the current Metro Centre (age, capacity issues, impending NHL team). Halifax should concentrate their efforts on a new general purpose stadium………...