Videotron Centre

Videotron Centre
Former names Quebec City Amphitheatre (planning stages and during construction)
Address 250-B Boulevard Wilfrid-Hamel
Location Quebec City, Quebec
Coordinates 46°49′44″N 71°14′53″W / 46.829°N 71.248°W / 46.829; -71.248Coordinates: 46°49′44″N 71°14′53″W / 46.829°N 71.248°W / 46.829; -71.248
Owner Quebec City
Operator Quebecor Media
Capacity Ice hockey: 18,259
Concerts: 20,396
Field size 689,000 square feet (64,000 m2)
Construction
Broke ground September 3, 2012[1]
Opened September 12, 2015
Construction cost $370 million
Architect Populous[2]
ABCP Architecture[2]
GLCRM & Associates[2]
Project manager Genivar[2]
Structural engineer SNC-Lavalin[3]
Thornton Tomasetti[2]
Services engineer SNC-Lavalin[3]
M-E Engineers, Inc.[2]
General contractor Pomerleau, Inc.[4]
Tenants
Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) (2015–present)

The Videotron Centre (French: Centre Vidéotron) is an indoor arena in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The 18,259-seat arena replaced Colisée Pepsi as Quebec City's primary venue for indoor events. The new arena is primarily used for ice hockey, serving as the home area of the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL and has been prospected as a venue for a new or re-located National Hockey League team in Quebec City,[5][6] and as part of a Winter Olympic Games bid.[7][8][9] The building opened on September 8, 2015.[10] It is now the seventh-largest indoor arena in Canada.

History

Videotron Centre

A groundbreaking ceremony for the new arena was held on September 3, 2012, attended by then-Quebecor Chairman Pierre Karl Péladeau, then-Premier of Quebec Jean Charest, and former Quebec Nordiques players Michel Goulet, Peter Stastny and Alain Côté.[11] Arena construction began on September 10, 2012.

The arena was expected to cost $400 million, but cost $370 million instead; 50% of the cost will be covered by the city and province each.[12] On March 1, 2011 Quebecor entered into an agreement to acquire management rights to the new arena, a deal expected to be between $33 million and $63 million up front, plus between $3.15 million and $5 million in annual rent. The value of the deal will increase if an NHL franchise moves into the arena; Quebecor has actively backed an expansion franchise for Quebec City.[1][13] This arrangement was made without public tender, for which the provincial government provided legal immunity.[14]

As part of the management contract, Quebecor also holds the arena's naming rights; on April 7, 2015, it was announced that the arena would carry the name of Quebecor-owned cable company Vidéotron, and be known as the Videotron Centre (Centre Vidéotron in French).[15] The arena held its official opening on September 3, running public two-hour tours for the following three days.[16] On September 12, Videotron Centre broke the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League attendance record by attracting 18,259 spectators to a match between the Quebec City Remparts and the Rimouski Oceanic.[17] Metallica was the first musical attraction of the stadium, on September 16, two days after the band played the last concert (and event overall) held at Colisée Pepsi.[18]

Design

Inside the arena during a pre-season hockey game between the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens (seen from section 105)

The arena is comparable in size to the PPG Paints Arena, the home arena of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and occupies approximately 64,000 square metres of space, down from the originally proposed 70,000 square metres. The design is also similar to the Rogers Place, the home arena of the Edmonton Oilers.[1] A television studio, valued at between C$30 million and C$40 million, is constructed within the arena.[19]

In an interview for the American magazine Sports Illustrated, Populous architect and lead project designer Kurt Amundsen said that the arena was "absolutely a hockey-first design with the intention of them securing an NHL team in the near future."[20] Amundsen added that the design was specific to Canadian hockey preferences:

It is a steeper and more intimate bowl than you see in the U.S. In Canada they are more about the game than the surrounding events and experiences. They were very adamant they wanted it as steep and tight as it could possibly get. . . . You feel like you are on top of the ice. It is about going into the arena and sitting in a seat and not getting up until the game is over.[20]

The angle of the upper seating bowl is so steep that rails had to be installed at every row to satisfy local building code requirements.[20]

Concerts

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Quebec City to Break Ground on NHL-Style Arena in September". The Sports Network. March 25, 2012. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Populous Chosen to Design Quebec City Arena" (Press release). Populous. October 20, 2011. Retrieved October 31, 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Centre Vidéotron" (in French). Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Amphithéâtre de Québec: Pomerleau Leads the Team" (Press release). Pomerleau, Inc. November 29, 2012. Retrieved October 31, 2013.
  5. ↑ Gagnon, Karine (March 1, 2011). "Quebecor Joins Arena Plan, Eyes NHL Team". Toronto Sun. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  6. ↑ McParland, Kelly (March 2, 2011). "The Quebec Gravy Train Chugs Off Without Ottawa on Board for Once". National Post. Archived from the original on March 11, 2011. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Quebec City Plans $400 Million Arena to Attract NHL Team, Winter Olympics". ESPN. October 16, 2009. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
  8. ↑ White, Marianne (March 1, 2011). "Quebecor Buys Management, Naming Rights to Proposed Quebec City Arena". Montreal Gazette. Archived from the original on March 3, 2011. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
  9. ↑ Brunt, Stephen (February 8, 2012). "Quebec Ready for Nordiques Return". Sportsnet. Archived from the original on April 12, 2012. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
  10. ↑ http://montrealgazette.com/news/quebec/quebec-citys-new-arena-opens-its-doors-to-public
  11. ↑ "Former Hockey Greats Attend Quebec City Arena Groundbreaking". CBC News. September 3, 2012. Retrieved October 31, 2013.
  12. ↑ O'Brien, James (February 10, 2011). "Quebec Officials Name Who Will Pay the Bill for Their New NHL-Friendly $400M Arena: Taxpayers". NBC Sports. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
  13. ↑ Magder, Jason. "New TVA Sports channel takes a shot at RDS". The Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  14. ↑ "Quebec City Arena Immune to Legal Challenge as Controversial Bill Becomes Law". CTV Montreal. Bell Media. September 21, 2011. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
  15. ↑ "Quebecor naming Quebec City hockey arena Videotron Centre". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  16. ↑ Videotron Centre opens its doors in Quebec City
  17. ↑ Quebec City inaugurates hockey arena with record-breaking crowd
  18. ↑ Metallica Announce Pair of Quebec City Concerts
  19. ↑ White, Marianne (March 25, 2012). "New Quebec City Arena Gets the Green Light". Montreal Gazette. Archived from the original on April 28, 2012. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
  20. 1 2 3 Newcomb, Tim (June 12, 2015). "Quebec City’s stunning new arena designed with NHL team in mind". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
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