Credit Union Centre

Credit Union Centre (originally Saskatchewan Place and commonly SaskPlace) is an arena, located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Situated near the city's northern entrance, the facility opened in February, 1988 with a seating capacity of around 7,800.^[2] It was expanded to 11,330 for the World Junior Hockey Championships in 1990.^[3] More additional permanent seating was added in 2008 and 2009.^[4] It currently can seat around 15,000 for hockey games and 13,000 for concerts.^[5] It is the home venue of the Saskatoon Blades hockey team.

It has free parking on site with parking space for 4,000 cars on its property. For most publicly attended events, transit service is offered from downtown. For high attendance events extra transit links are offered from shopping centres and other locations.^[4]

It has hosted performances by many leading acts and has been the site of numerous national and international events. In 2005, it was the site of the main concert celebrating Saskatchewan's 100th anniversary as a province of Canada. The performance was attended by Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada and the Duke of Edinburgh.

In September 2008, it was announced that 2,981 seats would be added to the open west-end of the stadium, bringing the total capacity to 14,311. As well, 1,000 temporary seats will be added for the 2010 World Junior Hockey Championships.^[5]

Early proposals

SaskPlace was constructed as a replacement for the Saskatoon Arena, a concrete building constructed in Saskatoon's downtown core in the 1930s, and which was in use until 1988, hosting its final hockey game only a week before SaskPlace opened. Nicknamed "The Barn", the facility had outlived its usefulness some 20 years earlier and had become infamous for leaky roofs and substandard amenities, yet Saskatonians were 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 1982, Bill Hunter, a local sports promoter, attempted to purchase the St. Louis Blues NHL team and bring it to Saskatoon. Part of his plan included building an 18,000-seat arena. Two locations were suggested: the site of a decommissioned power plant downtown, just west of the then-present Saskatoon Arena, and another site east of the city's airport. Despite Hunter's best efforts, the NHL rejected his offer and Hunter's plans to relocate an NHL team and build a new arena collapsed.

The site eventually chosen for SaskPlace/Credit Union Centre was initially, and still is, unpopular with some Saskatoon residents. Situated in the remote Agri Place industrial park at the north end of the city, accessible only via highways 11 and 16 and Marquis Drive, SaskPlace was accused of being too inconvenient for seniors and people of limited transportation to access, as opposed to the original downtown arena site which was close to most bus routes. The city's original plan was to relocate Saskatoon's exhibition grounds alongside SaskPlace as well, but this proposal was defeated in a civic plebiscite following public protest over access and safety concerns. Plans to build interchanges on the two major access routes into the facility were announced soon after the arena opened, but as of 2010^[update] construction has yet to occur. However, in the past twenty years, the city has grown to the north, so that while at the time of its construction there wasn't anything around the arena, it is now surrounded by other buildings.

In the early 2000s, Saunders Avenue, which is a street leading into the parking lot of Credit Union Centre, was renamed Bill Hunter Avenue in honour of Bill Hunter, who died in 2002. This was considered ironic by many Saskatonians, given Hunter lobbied for the facility to be built in another location. The city then transferred the 'Saunders' name to a new street in the River Landing redevelopment area—running through the former site of the Saskatoon Arena.

Credit Union Centre should not be confused with Union Centre, a building located on the west side of the city. Union Centre opened in the mid-1970s and housed offices and meeting facilities (which were rented out for community events) of various Saskatoon-based trade unions. In the late 1990s it was sold and converted to other uses (it is no longer referred to as Union Centre). In 2005, the building was sold to the Saskatoon Health Region, who converted the building into a community clinic. The building is located at 3311 Fairlight Drive.

Expansion for 2010 World Juniors

In 2008/2009 the arena was renovated for the World Juniors.^[4] There were 2,981 seats added to the upper deck at the west end of the arena increasing the capacity of the arena at more than 15,000. The cost of the expansion was pegged at C$6.7 M. C$2 M was requested as a loan from the city of Saskatoon and C$3 M from a provincial grant. Hockey Canada may also contributed about C$500,000. The expansion also includes extra washrooms and concessions.^[5] The expansion also included the addition of 14 more corporate box seats, bringing the total to 44 and enlarged and improved player facilities such as dressing rooms, weight rooms, coach`s room, equipment room, player`s lounge and medical room.^[1]

At about this time, there was a proposal from Ice Edge Holdings to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes and begin playing five of the Coyotes' home games each season in Credit Union Centre beginning December 2009. The logic behind the move, which parallels the Bills Toronto Series in the NFL, 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.^[6] By May 2011, Ice Edge Holdings abandoned its plan to purchase the team and, with it, the plans for the Coyotes to play in Saskatoon.^[7]

Major events

On October 12, 1992, Canadian wrestling legend Bret Hart defeated Ric Flair to capture his first WWF Championship.

In 1995, Billy Graham made a surprise appearance at a Franklin Graham festival at SaskPlace, and brought George Beverly Shea with him.

In 2005, the facility hosted a gala command performance concert for Queen Elizabeth in honour of Saskatchewan's centennial and in 2007 it was the venue for the 2007 Juno Awards. Both events were broadcast nationally.

In October 2007 Ozzy Osbourne and Rob Zombie played a concert on the Black Rain Tour.

In July 2008 Judas Priest and Testament played a concert on the Nostradamus World Tour.

In November 2009 KISS played a concert to promote the album Sonic Boom.

In January 2010 Guns N' Roses played a concert for 9,000 people to promote their new album Chinese Democracy.

On July 29 of 2011 Slayer, Rob Zombie, and Exodus will make a stop at Credit Union Center during the Hell on Earth Tour.

On October 29, 2011 Cirque du Soleil performed Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour for over 10,000 people to honour the King of Pop, Michael Jackson.

Attendance records

• The largest crowd for a hockey game at the arena, was 15,171, set on December 31, 2009 for a round robin game of the 2010 World Juniors between the Canada and the United States. It was tied on January 5, 2010 for the final of the 2010 World Juniors between Canada and the United States.

• The largest crowd for a concert at the arena, was 14,605, set on August 14, 1996 for a Garth Brooks tour stop.

Tenants

Major tournaments and events hosted

External links

• Credit Union Centre, official website
• Credit Union Centre Hockey League, official website

References