Canadian Tire Centre

Canadian Tire Centre

Former names	The Palladium (1996) Corel Centre (1996–2006) Scotiabank Place (2006–2013)
Location	1000 Palladium Drive Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K2V 1A5
Coordinates	45°17′49″N 75°55′38″W / 45.29694°N 75.92722°W / 45.29694; -75.92722Coordinates: 45°17′49″N 75°55′38″W / 45.29694°N 75.92722°W / 45.29694; -75.92722
Owner	Capital Sports Properties (an Ottawa Senators subsidiary)
Capacity	Hockey: 18,694 (20,041 with standing room)[1] Basketball: 20,500 (without standing room) Concerts: 20,041
Field size	600,000 square feet (56,000 m2)
Surface	Multi-surface
Construction
Broke ground	July 7, 1994
Opened	January 15, 1996
Expanded	2005
Construction cost	C$170 million[1] ($243 million in 2015 dollars[2])
Architect	Rossetti architects Murray & Murray Architects (associate)
Project manager	ZW Group
Structural engineer	Carruthers & Wallace Ltd.[3]
Services engineer	J. L. Richards & Associated Ltd.[4]
General contractor	PCL Constructors/Bellai Brothers Construction Ltd.[5]
Main contractors	Eastern Inc.
Tenants
Ottawa Senators (NHL) (1996–present) Ottawa Rebel (NLL) (2001–2002) Ottawa 67's (OHL) (2012–2014) Ottawa SkyHawks (NBL Canada) (2013–2014)

Canadian Tire Centre (French: Centre Canadian Tire,^[6] formerly known as The Palladium upon its opening, Corel Centre and Scotiabank Place) is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the western suburb of Kanata, in Ottawa, Ontario.

The arena is primarily used for ice hockey, serving as the home arena of the National Hockey League's Ottawa Senators since its opening in 1996, and as a temporary home for the OHL's Ottawa 67's during renovations at its arena. The arena is also used regularly for music concerts. It has hosted events such as the CIS Men's basketball championship.

History

As part of its bid to land a NHL franchise for Ottawa, Terrace Corporation unveiled the original proposal for the arena development at a press conference in September 1989. The proposal included a hotel and 20,500 seat arena, named The Palladium on 100 acres (0.40 km²), surrounded by a 500-acre (2.0 km²) mini-city, named "West Terrace". The site itself, 600 acres (2.4 km²) of farmland, on the western border of Kanata, had been acquired in May 1989 by Terrace. The large site had previously been a possible location for a new home for the Central Canada Exhibition, but the Exhibition's option on the property had expired.

The site was farmland and required a rezoning to proceed with construction. The then-City of Kanata supported the rezoning, but the provincial government and some local residents opposed the rezoning, forcing public hearings into the proposal by the Ontario Municipal Board. Rezoning approval was granted by the Board on August 28, 1991, with conditions. The conditions imposed by the board included a scaling down of the arena to 18,500 seats, a moratorium on development outside the initial 100-acre (0.40 km²) arena site, and that the cost of the highway interchange with highway 417 be paid by Terrace. A ground-breaking ceremony was held in June 1992 but actual construction did not start until July 7, 1994.

The two-year period was used seeking financing for the site and interchange by Terrace Corporation. The corporation received a $6 million grant from the federal government, but needed to borrow to pay for the rest of the costs of construction. On August 17, 1993, Bruce Firestone, the Senators owner, was replaced by Rod Bryden, a former high tech tycoon, who assumed control of Terrace Corporation. Bryden managed to borrow enough to pay for the $188 million project^[7] through a consortium of U.S. banks and Ogden Entertainment, but could not find financing for the highway interchange. Only after the provincial government provided a loan guarantee for the highway interchange financing did construction proceed.

Actual construction took 18 months, finishing in January 1996. The Palladium opened on January 15, 1996 with a concert by Canadian rocker Bryan Adams. The first NHL game took place two days later, with the Montreal Canadiens defeating the Senators 3-0. On February 17, 1996, the name 'Palladium' was changed to the 'Corel Centre', when Corel Corporation, an Ottawa software company, signed a 10-year deal for the naming rights.^[8]

When mortgage holder Covanta Energy (the former Ogden Entertainment) went into receivership in 2001, Terrace was expected to pay off the whole debt. The ownership was not able to refinance the arena, eventually leading to Terrace itself declaring bankruptcy in 2003. However, on August 26, 2003, billionaire businessman Eugene Melnyk finalized the purchase of the Senators and the arena.^[1] The arena and club became solely owned by Melnyk through a new company, Capital Sports Properties.

In 2004, the ownership applied to expand its seating. The City of Ottawa amended its by-laws in December 2004 and in 2005, the venue was allowed to increase its seating capacity to 19,153 and total attendance to 20,500 when including standing room.^[1][9]

Also in 2005, the arena became home to the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame, with a display on the second-floor concourse. Information of over 200 inductees is detailed on individual plaques. The exhibit display had previously been located at the Ottawa Civic Centre since 1967.^[10] The space is donated by Scotiabank Place. In 2011, it was announced that the Hall of Fame exhibit will be moving to permanent space at the Heritage Building of Ottawa City Hall.^[11]

On January 19, 2006, the arena became known as Scotiabank Place after reaching a new 15 year naming rights agreement with Canadian bank Scotiabank on January 11, 2006.^[12][13]

In 2012, Scotiabank Place hosted the 2012 NHL All-Star Game and installed a new high-definition scoreboard.^[14] From 2012 through 2014, the arena was also a temporary home for the Ottawa 67's, due to renovations occurring at TD Place Arena.^[15]

On June 18, 2013, the Ottawa Senators announced that it had sold naming rights to the arena to Canadian Tire: the arena was officially renamed Canadian Tire Centre on July 1, 2013.^[16][17]

In December 2014, Senators Sports and Entertainment submitted one of four bids to the NCC for the redevelopment of LeBreton Flats in downtown Ottawa. The proposal includes a new NHL arena along with other mixed uses.

Facilities

Interior of the arena, before a playoff game of the Ottawa Senators.

The arena has facilities for ice hockey and basketball, games which are held regularly. The arena has also hosted indoor lacrosse. The arena has different configurations for concerts, with full and half arena seating arrangements. The building has six restaurants and a fitness club. Most of the restaurants are only open on game days. There are also several concession stands.^[18] The Ottawa Senators operate a merchandise store next to the east entrance.

Arena seating is in three levels, 100, 200 and 300, which are fixed sections surrounding the arena floor. The levels start with the 100 or 'club' level closest to the ice surface rising further up and away to the 300 level. There are suites in the 100 level and at the mezzanine level which is above the 300 level. There is a restaurant opening onto the 300 level at one end of the arena, and there is a low-price area in the 300 level at the other end, which doesn't allow alcohol. The 100 level has its own concourse while levels 200 and 300 share a concourse. The Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame exhibit is on the 200/300 level concourse. The mezzanine level is only reachable by elevator.

The arena is located in the west-end of Ottawa, south of Huntmar Drive and Ontario Highway 417. It is accessible from the two highway interchanges of Palladium Drive and Terry Fox Drive. It is located approximately 22 km (14 mi) west-southwest of Downtown Ottawa. Ottawa's public transit provider OC Transpo provides special shuttle buses to the arena for all events.

Notable events

The arena has held several notable ice hockey events. Canadian Tire Centre has hosted games 3 and 4 of the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals. The arena has also hosted two world championship ice hockey tournaments, the 2009 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and the 2013 Women's World Hockey Championships. Wayne Gretzky played in his last NHL game in Canada at the arena, against the Senators, on April 15, 1999.^[19]

The arena has hosted concerts by many notable artists, including Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Genesis, AC/DC, Taylor Swift on her Fearless Tour and the 1989 Tour, Justin Bieber, The Eagles, U2, Green Day, Elton John, Kiss, Lady Gaga, Ed Sheeran, Katy Perry, Metallica,^[20] One Direction, Pearl Jam, Prince, Rihanna, Roger Waters, Rush,^[21] Barbra Streisand, Shania Twain and Madonna, who sold 15,000 tickets in 21 minutes, becoming the fastest selling concert in Ottawa history.^[22] The 2003 and 2012 Juno Awards ceremonies were also held at Canadian Tire Centre.

The arena hosted Billy Graham's final Canadian Crusade in June 1998. Total attendance for the four-day crusade was over 100,000, with 28,000 attending during all-day Saturday, and 25,000 attending a Friday night concert by Jars of Clay.^[23]

See also

• Ottawa Senators
• Rod Bryden
• Bruce Firestone
• Eugene Melnyk
• List of indoor arenas in Canada

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Scotiabank Place.

• Official site
• Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame