Steelback Centre

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Steelback Centre
The SBC

Location 269 Queen Street East, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, P6A 1Y9
Broke ground June 6, 2005
Opened September 29, 2006
Owner City of Sault Ste. Marie
Operator City of Sault Ste. Marie
Surface 200' X 85'
Construction cost $25 million
Architect EPOH Inc./PBK Architects
Tenants
Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 2006-
Sault Major Hockey Association 2006-
Capacity
5,000 - Hockey
6,497 - Center-Stage Concert
5,524 - Side-Stage Concert
4,923 - End-Stage Concert
3,143 - Middle-Stage Concert (Theater Set-Up)

The Steelback Centre or "SBC" is a 5,000 seat sports and entertainment centre in downtown Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. It opened on September 28, 2006, replacing the now demolished Sault Memorial Gardens. The new building was constructed directly next door to the former Memorial Gardens and incorporated its most distinctive feature, the Memorial Tower, into its plans. The block surrounding the arena is called "The Memorial Square."

The primary tenant of the Steelback Centre is the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League. The Greyhounds made their regular season debut in their new home on October 11, 2006, against the Sudbury Wolves, losing 2-1 before a paid attendance of 4,725. [1]

Contents

[edit] Naming rights

Steelback Centre logo.
Steelback Centre logo.

Naming rights to the new building were purchased by Steelback Brewery of Tiverton, Ontario. The deal was approved by Sault Ste. Marie's city council on May 29, 2006 in a 9-1 vote. The deal will see Steelback own the naming rights to the facility for $135,000 per year, over a period of ten years.

The City of Sault Ste. Marie in conjunction with Steelback, held an official logo unveiling for the Steelback Centre on Saturday August 26, 2006 at the Roberta Bondar Pavilion in Sault Ste. Marie. [2]There the new logo was officially unveiled, along with a list of upcoming shows.

[edit] About the arena

The main entrance to the facility is located in the North West Corner of the building, adjacent to the Memorial Tower. In the same corner are the main ticket windows.

[edit] Concourse level

There are major entrances to the concourse level from each of the four corners of the Steelback Centre. Located on the concourse level are four main concessions in each corner of the facility, and four beer stations on the North and South ends. On the west side of the concourse level is the Greyhound merchandise store.

[edit] Event level

The event level of the Steelback Centre houses all player and official dressing rooms, kitchen facilities, multi-purpose, and break-out rooms, as well as technical, storage, and loading in and out functions. Also included on the event level is the Greyhounds' dressing room complex which is equipped with coaching and training rooms, weight rooms, showers, and phsyiothrerapy areas.

[edit] Suite level

The suite level of the Steelback Centre houses 13 private suites, a VIP room located on the north end, media and broadcasting rooms, and all administration offices for both the Greyhounds Hockey Club and City of Sault Ste. Marie staff. Private suites ranging in seating size from six to ten persons. The VIP Room has a capacity of 100 persons and is available for all events at the Steelback Centre by contacting the Marketing and Events Manager.

[edit] Future upgrades

In Phase I of the construction process, 13 luxury suites with 10 seats in each were built. In Phase II, the city will eventually add on an additional 11 suites. The Phase II suites were already sold and almost included in the construction of the building but the cost became prohibitive due to an exclusive building contract with Bondfield Construction until the facility is done.

The money was returned to those who put down deposits and there is now a waiting list for the suites. Since the arena is now complete, the city will be able to open up the bid process in early 2007 to all general contractors and get a more competitive price for the additional construction.

Phase III of the project would see the addition of a further 12 suites for a total of 36 in the facility. On Monday January 13th 2007 Sault Ste. Marie city council approved the construction of up to 24 more suites bringing the total to 37. It is not currently known when or if the construction will take place.[3]

The Steelback centre includes a multimillion-dollar scoreboard with an installed video component with replay capability. Wireless Internet access will be available in the facility. Elephant seating at the south end of the rink will be installed to increase seating capacity.

[edit] Sault Ste Marie Walk of Fame

The sidewalk surrounding the Steelback Centre features a "Walk of Fame." A joint project between the City of Sault Ste Marie and the city's Downtown Association [4], the Walk honours those who were born or at one time lived in Sault Ste Marie and the Algoma region "who have made significant contributions to our community, nation, or global landscape in their chosen fields". Each inductee is imortalized on a 16-inch by 16-inch marble granite maple leaf, on which are engraved the inductee's name and year of induction. (See Photo Gallery for example.)

The inaugural list of 10 Walk of Fame inductees were honoured in ceremonies on September 30, 2006, during the Steelback Centre's Grand Opening Weekend. Their squares are located on the North end of the Steelback Centre, in the sidewalk facing Queen Street.[5] The inaugural inductees include:

Plans call for a maximum of 5 inductees to be immortalized on the Walk every September. The list of 2007 honorees is scheduled to be announced in May.

[edit] Events

[edit] Past events

[edit] Future events

[edit] 2008 OHL All-Star Classic

On 2006-10-11 David Branch, commissioner of the Ontario Hockey League announced that the 2008 OHL All-Star Classic had been awarded to the Greyhounds and the City of Sault Ste. Marie. [7] [8]

The 2006-10-12 Sault Star reported that OHL Commissioner Dave Branch "admitted, at a late afternoon press conference, that the league had privately committed to the Sault nearly two years ago" provided the new arena was completed. Branch said that "had the Steelback Centre not been built, the city's chances of playing host to this event would have been extremely remote."

[edit] Photo Gallery

Inside the Steelback Centre on Wednesday September 27, 2006, two days before Grand Opening Ceremonies.

Memorial Tower.

Francis Clergue's plaque on the Walk of Fame

[edit] References

  1. Game Report - 1st Game at Steelback Centre
  2. Walk of Fame
  3. News about Hall of Fame inductees
  4. Sault Star article on the unveiling of the Steelback Centre logo
  5. All-Star Classic
  6. Greyhounds News
  7. sootoday.com article on future suites
  8. Blabbermouth.net article on Heaven and Hell and Megadeth playing in the Sault

[edit] External links

Current arenas in the Ontario Hockey League
Eastern Conference Western Conference
Barrie Molson Centre | General Motors Centre | Hershey Centre | Kingston Memorial Centre | Ottawa Civic Centre | Peterborough Memorial Centre | Powerade Centre | St. Michael's College School Arena | Sudbury Arena | Yardmen Arena Bayshore Community Centre | Compuware Sports Arena | Guelph Sports and Entertainment Centre | John Labatt Centre | Kitchener Memorial Auditorium | Louis J. Tullio Arena | Sarnia Sports and Entertainment Centre | Steelback Centre | The Dow Event Center | Windsor Arena
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