Stadiums & Arenas of Canada, Part 3

[JHikka]

17K would be a safe guess for an arena at Lebreton.

As for the sale price: I doubt the Sens fetch $1B. Perhaps if they already had Lebreton built and it went along with the team in some way, but without that built the team price won't be as high as that. Pittsburgh and Nashville sell for what they do partly due to their arena deals/leases/etc. and the assurance that the near-term is a sure thing.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by JHikka

17K would be a safe guess for an arena at Lebreton.

As for the sale price: I doubt the Sens fetch $1B. Perhaps if they already had Lebreton built and it went along with the team in some way, but without that built the team price won't be as high as that. Pittsburgh and Nashville sell for what they do partly due to their arena deals/leases/etc. and the assurance that the near-term is a sure thing.

I'm of that opinion as well, because purchasing the Sens also comes with another $1B commitment to build an arena. Sure the Kanata Arena and parking offers a fantastic redevelopment opportunity, but I don't think it's worth anymore than the land at the moment (maybe $100-$200 million?) and LeBreton itself, as it stands, is not that big of real-estate deal as the parcel is is just big enough for the arena, with a few towers squeezed-in on top of it. So unless the Sens are currently negotiating for more land, options are pretty limited.

[Coldrsx]

Twas pretty the other night before the game.

[Oilkountry]

Looks like brandt centre replacement talks are starting to gain steam

https://leaderpost.com/entertainment...box=1672321009

[EpicPonyTime]

Originally Posted by Oilkountry

Looks like brandt centre replacement talks are starting to gain steam

https://leaderpost.com/entertainment...box=1672321009

Will be interesting to see how the discussions progress compared to Saskatoon's. I don't think the province can support two arenas of 10K or higher.

[esquire]

I'd argue that Regina could use a new venue way more than Saskatoon. Regina's arena is smaller and older. Saskatoon's is more than big enough for every function that it is needed for. And the idea of downtown revitalization through a new arena is foolish. If you want to improve downtown, spend the $400 million or whatever that the arena will cost on things that will directly improve downtown itself, instead of plunking down an arena there.

Saskatoon's new arena plan is nothing more than following the crowd and doing something because everyone else is doing it.

[Dalreg]

10 to 12 thousand would still be the smallest major arena in western Canada. Not sure how many concerts would stop in Regina vs Saskatoon? Regina would be better off chasing one or two stadium concerts a year. 35 to 40 thousand in a stadium would be a bigger deal.

[Djeffery]

Originally Posted by Dalreg

10 to 12 thousand would still be the smallest major arena in western Canada. Not sure how many concerts would stop in Regina vs Saskatoon? Regina would be better off chasing one or two stadium concerts a year. 35 to 40 thousand in a stadium would be a bigger deal.

You would think so, but in looking at the article, Regina did get a good deal of the big shows that were touring around last year, so one would think a larger arena would give them at least as many and likely more. Similar to here in London, we have 4 NHL size arenas in a 2-ish hour drive and we still get lots of shows at our 9000 seat venue. Regina probably doesn't get looked at for other events like Memorial Cups, World Juniors, major curling, figure skating or awards shows that they likely would at least be in the running for with a larger arena with more amenities.

[thurmas]

I will miss Brandt center was one of my favorite rinks.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Djeffery

You would think so, but in looking at the article, Regina did get a good deal of the big shows that were touring around last year, so one would think a larger arena would give them at least as many and likely more. Similar to here in London, we have 4 NHL size arenas in a 2-ish hour drive and we still get lots of shows at our 9000 seat venue. Regina probably doesn't get looked at for other events like Memorial Cups, World Juniors, major curling, figure skating or awards shows that they likely would at least be in the running for with a larger arena with more amenities.

The Avenir Centre in Moncton is 8800 seats. We're currently hosting the World Juniors. Micheal Buble was here two months ago, and next year we have Shania Twain booked for two concerts, and Kevin Hart booked for two performances already, as well as Stars on Ice (amongst other things).

10,000 seats is not too small (as long as it is a quality venue)

[blueandgoldguy]

Originally Posted by Djeffery

You would think so, but in looking at the article, Regina did get a good deal of the big shows that were touring around last year, so one would think a larger arena would give them at least as many and likely more. Similar to here in London, we have 4 NHL size arenas in a 2-ish hour drive and we still get lots of shows at our 9000 seat venue. Regina probably doesn't get looked at for other events like Memorial Cups, World Juniors, major curling, figure skating or awards shows that they likely would at least be in the running for with a larger arena with more amenities.

This ignores a significant difference between the two cities - population. The larger the number of people within reasonable distance of the arena, the more concerts it can support. London is well over 500,000 and within an hour or so there are probably well over 1 million additional people. Regina has 225,000 people and there might be another 100-150,000 people within an hour's drive.

It's likely Saskatoon relies on people from Regina making the trip for all the big concerts they draw. If Regina were to build a 10,000 plus seat arena many of the big acts touring through Western Canada would only perform in one of Regina or Saskatoon given their size. This wouldn't apply to all acts, as we have seen in the past, but it would be a significant number nonetheless.

[Djeffery]

Originally Posted by blueandgoldguy

This ignores a significant difference between the two cities - population. The larger the number of people within reasonable distance of the arena, the more concerts it can support. London is well over 500,000 and within an hour or so there are probably well over 1 million additional people. Regina has 225,000 people and there might be another 100-150,000 people within an hour's drive.

It's likely Saskatoon relies on people from Regina making the trip for all the big concerts they draw. If Regina were to build a 10,000 plus seat arena many of the big acts touring through Western Canada would only perform in one of Regina or Saskatoon given their size. This wouldn't apply to all acts, as we have seen in the past, but it would be a significant number nonetheless.

My point is that many acts already do Regina and Saskatoon, no reason to think they wouldn't after either or both cities get new arenas. I don't feel like doing past research but I'm pretty sure most of those acts mentioned in the article that were in Regina also were in Saskatoon. Thomas Rhett is doing both in a couple months, and Old Dominion is actually doing Regina and not Saskatoon, while Kevin Hart is in Saskatoon and not Regina. I can see Saskatoon and Regina putting in a competitive bid for the World Juniors once Regina has a new arena (not sure Saskatoon needs their proposed new arena for that to happen but it probably wouldn't hurt).

I'm tossing London in as an example of a smaller arena in relative close proximity to larger facilities still being able to attract events. I don't think Saskatoon and Regina are going to cannibalize each other that much, otherwise we would currently see no shows in Regina and those acts would just use those dates in larger centres. If Regina had 12k seats, you can bet they would also have Shania and Morgan Wallen next year in addition to Saskatoon. Morgan Wallen is probably the hottest tour next year and London is by far the smallest venue on that tour but they still come here after 3 nights in Toronto. Other than the Canada dates, most of that tour is NFL and MLB stadiums, most multiple nights.

[esquire]

On the stadium tour issue, it's been dead quiet on that front in MB/SK over the last few years. However, the story that Oilkountry linked to had a related story about optimism for stadium shows in 2023. Not a lot of specifics but it seems that there is a possibility of a couple big concert events coming up.

https://leaderpost.com/entertainment...siness-in-2023

[Coldrsx]

Rogers Place/ICE District for a free NYE concert and pyro.

Dubas on SRC
https://edmonton.skyrisecities.com/f...24170/page-168

[logan5]

This topic got me thinking about what happens at the Abbotsford Centre (besides AHL Canucks), which is a 7000 seat arena which is basically in Metro Vancouver.

The acts they get are older. From 2022 - Offspring, Styx, Heart, ZZ Top, The Black Crows, Cheap Trick, Alice Cooper, Big Wreck, then some smaller name acts.

https://www.concertarchives.org/venu...otsford-centre

[esquire]

^ Interestingly, the Langley Events Centre doesn't have any concerts at all (apart from broader cultural events such as Pow Wows, etc.) on its coming events page. Even the Wikipedia entry doesn't list any past concerts. I guess it's a little too small (5,276 for hockey) and a little too close to Vancouver proper to attract anything of significance?

[bridgeoftea]

Originally Posted by logan5

This topic got me thinking about what happens at the Abbotsford Centre (besides AHL Canucks), which is a 7000 seat arena which is basically in Metro Vancouver.

The acts they get are older. From 2022 - Offspring, Styx, Heart, ZZ Top, The Black Crows, Cheap Trick, Alice Cooper, Big Wreck, then some smaller name acts.

https://www.concertarchives.org/venu...otsford-centre

It's outside "metro Vancouver" and the reason these types of acts will play Abbotsford and not Vancouver. There's an increase in arena rental and tax for playing the Pacific Coliseum/Rogers Arena. So bands that aren't guaranteed selling out the 2 downtown arenas will look at Abbotsford.

The Langley events center doesn't really make sense for concerts. I think artists who could expect over 1k but under 5k for a show would rather play the Orpheum / Vogue at 1.2k capacity in the heart of Downtown then to a half empty arena in Langley.

Those sized arenas do work for places like Kelowna that do attract a decent amount of shows with their 6k arena.

[J.OT13]

In the NCR, both the 18k seat Canadian Tire (Corel) Centre and 10k seat TD Place (Civic Center) that continue to attract big names, despite the terrible location of one and the other being supposedly obsolete. Meanwhile. the new 5k Slush Puppie in Gatineau doesn't seem to be attracting much of anything.


https://billetterie.centreslushpuppi...210.1672756272

I wonder how a new LeBreton arena and smaller replacement for the Civic Centre (5k) will play into things. I feel like we'll have quite a big gap in the market with the loss of that mid-sized 10k arena.

[HomeInMyShoes]

Originally Posted by thurmas

I will miss Brandt center was one of my favorite rinks.

It's still a pretty nice rink to see a game in. Concourse is not fabulous, but I still enjoy hockey games there.

[Djeffery]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

In the NCR, both the 18k seat Canadian Tire (Corel) Centre and 10k seat TD Place (Civic Center) that continue to attract big names, despite the terrible location of one and the other being supposedly obsolete. Meanwhile. the new 5k Slush Puppie in Gatineau doesn't seem to be attracting much of anything.


https://billetterie.centreslushpuppi...210.1672756272

I wonder how a new LeBreton arena and smaller replacement for the Civic Centre (5k) will play into things. I feel like we'll have quite a big gap in the market with the loss of that mid-sized 10k arena.

The new arena will very likely be built with curtain systems in place to adequately reduce seating capacity for 5k and 10k events without feeling like you are in an empty cavern. Availability could be an issue, as I wouldn't be shocked the 67's say 5k isn't big enough and end up going to Lebreton in a curtained off lower bowl setup.