Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Sports Complex

The Aud
Location	Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates	43°26′49″N 80°28′1″W / 43.44694°N 80.46694°W / 43.44694; -80.46694
Owner	City of Kitchener
Operator	City of Kitchener
Capacity	7,131 (Ice hockey seated) 7,777 (with standing) 7,312 (Basketball) 8,462 (Concerts)
Surface	Ice 200'x85'
Construction
Broke ground	1950
Opened	May 24, 1951
Tenants
Kitchener Greenshirts (OHA) (1951–1954) Kitchener Canucks (OHA) (1954–1956) Kitchener Dutchmen (GOJHL) (1956–2020) Kitchener Rangers (OHL) (1963–present) KW Titans (NBL Canada) (2016–present)

The Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex (also known as The Aud) is a large building in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. It is owned by the city and has many uses. The complex includes the main arena, called The Aud, plus two smaller community arenas, a baseball park, a stadium for track and field/soccer, and a skatepark. You can find it on East Avenue, close to the Conestoga Parkway.

The Kitchener Memorial Auditorium

The main building is called The Kitchener Memorial Auditorium, or The Aud for short. It has a large ice rink known as the Dom Cardillo Arena. This arena can hold about 7,234 people for seated events. With standing room, it can fit up to 7,777 people. It's the proud home of the Kitchener Rangers, a popular hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League.

The Aud was first built in 1950. Since then, it has been made bigger three times to welcome more fans and events.

Major Events at The Aud

The Aud has hosted many exciting hockey tournaments. It was the site of the 2008 Memorial Cup from May 16 to May 25, 2008. For this event, 437 new permanent seats were added. The Aud also hosted Memorial Cup games in 1962, 1975, and 1984.

Other important junior hockey events held here include the 1995 and 2003 CHL Top Prospects Game. It also hosted several All-Star games and the 1986 IIHF World U20 Championship. During the 1986 tournament, the Canadian junior team made history. They defeated West Germany 18-2, setting a record for the most goals scored and the largest win margin in the tournament.

Beyond hockey, The Aud has welcomed many famous performers and events. Music legends like Led Zeppelin, Genesis, KISS, Bob Dylan, and Elton John have played here. Other big names include INXS, Backstreet Boys, Michael Bublé, Hilary Duff, The Tragically Hip, and Bryan Adams. The Aud has also hosted major sports events like the Scott Tournament of Hearts (curling) and Homesense Skate Canada International (figure skating). Even the Toronto Maple Leafs have held training camps here.

Seating Capacity

The Aud can change its seating to fit different events:

• 7,777 people for Hockey games
• 7,312 people for Basketball games
• 8,462 people for Concerts with an end stage

The Aud also has 26 special luxury suites. There is also a full-service restaurant inside.

The Aud's History

The current Aud replaced an older building called the Queen Street Auditorium. That building was built in 1904 for $55,000. Sadly, it was badly damaged by a fire in 1948, so it could no longer be used.

The old Aud had a natural ice surface at first. The very first hockey game there saw Berlin beat Brantford 7-3, with 2,000 people watching. Artificial ice was added in 1927. This was the home of the Waterloo Siskins hockey team. During the Second World War, many young men were away. So, the building was mostly used as a dance hall for big bands. After the old building was damaged, Kitchener did not have a large indoor ice rink until the new Aud was built.

Recent Renovations

In 2008, the Kitchener Rangers hockey team started looking into building a new, bigger arena. The Rangers often sold out their games, and many fans were on a waiting list for season tickets. They hoped for a new building with at least 10,000 seats.

Instead of a brand new arena, the team suggested expanding the current Aud. This plan included adding another level of seating and making the concourse (walking area) bigger. The idea was to add 3,500 seats, bringing the total to about 10,500. This expansion was estimated to cost $44 million. A new arena would cost much more, around $150 million. The city council liked the idea of expanding the existing building.

Eventually, the Rangers and the city agreed on a smaller expansion. The Aud would gain 1,000 new seats, with a new concourse on the third level. This project cost about $9 million, paid for by the Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club through a loan from the City of Kitchener. Work started in February 2012 and was finished by the end of that year. After this, the seating capacity became 7,234, with a standing room capacity of 7,777.

As of January 2020, the City of Kitchener is discussing moving the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium to a new location. This is because the current building will soon need more major updates.

Centennial Stadium

Centennial Stadium was a stadium for football and soccer. It was located right next to The Aud. The stadium could seat 3,200 people, making it the largest stadium in Kitchener at the time.

This stadium was also great because it was easy to reach from nearby cities like Waterloo, Guelph, and Cambridge. It also had good facilities for track and field events.

In 2011, the main seating area at Centennial Stadium was found to be unsafe. On June 12, 2012, the Kitchener City Council decided to tear it down. Since then, Jacob Hespeler Secondary school has added a new artificial turf field and an improved track. This helps fill the need for sports facilities that Centennial Stadium used to provide.

Jack Couch Park

Jack Couch Park is a baseball park in Kitchener, Ontario. It has 1,400 seats for fans. This park is home to the Kitchener Panthers, a baseball team in the Intercounty Baseball League.

Gallery

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  Exterior

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  Interior Prior to 2012 Addition

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  Kinsman Arena, home to the Kitchener Dutchmen

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  Facade