Sleeman Centre (Guelph) facts for kids
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| Former names | Guelph Sports and Entertainment Centre |
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| Address | 50 Woolwich Street Guelph, Ontario N1H 3T9 |
| Owner | City of Guelph |
| Operator | City of Guelph |
| Capacity | Hockey: 4,715 Concerts 6,500 |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | November 1998 |
| Opened | October 6, 2000 |
| Construction cost | C$21 million ($31.2 million in 2021 dollars ) |
| Architect | PBK Architects, Inc. |
| Services engineer | Integrated Engineering |
| General contractor | Ball Construction |
| Tenants | |
| Guelph Storm (OHL) (2000–present) Guelph Hurricanes (GOJHL) (2009–2018) Guelph Nighthawks (CEBL) (2019–) |
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The Sleeman Centre is a large building in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It can hold 4,715 people for hockey games. This building is used for many different things. It hosts concerts, sports events, and family shows. You can also find trade shows and meetings here.
The Sleeman Centre is the home of the Guelph Storm. This is a junior hockey team that plays in the Ontario Hockey League. The arena has also hosted big hockey events. These include the 2002 Memorial Cup and the 2008 Founders Cup tournament.
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Building the Sleeman Centre
The Sleeman Centre was built in 2000. It cost about $21 million to build. Before it was built, people in Guelph had talked about needing a new arena for over ten years.
The city's first hockey team, the Guelph Platers, moved away in 1989. One reason they left was that there was no new arena. Later, the Guelph Storm team moved to Guelph in 1991. They played in an older, smaller arena called Guelph Memorial Gardens. Talks about building a new arena for the Storm started in the mid-1990s. This happened after the Storm tried but failed to host the Memorial Cup.
Finding the Right Spot
It took many years to find a good place for the new arena. The cost was also a big discussion. People looked at several places. These included the old Memorial Gardens site and a parking lot. There were also plans for a new complex in the west end of the city.
Then, the Eaton's store in the Guelph Eaton Centre closed. The city thought this empty store might be a good spot. To get the land, the city bought the mall for $1.7 million. The new arena was then built where the Eaton's store used to be. This happened after the mall was bought in 1998. The back part of the mall was torn down to make space.
Who Owned and Ran It?
In 1998, the city worked with a company called Nustadia. They agreed to build and run the arena for 30 years. The city paid half of the building cost. It also helped Nustadia get a $9 million loan. Nustadia was supposed to pay this loan back.
However, in 2001, Nustadia had trouble making payments. The city of Guelph had to take over the loans. Nustadia said they had problems making money. They did not get as much money from restaurants and food sales as they thought. Also, fewer people bought tickets for Guelph Storm games. Nustadia expected 3,500 fans per game. But only about 2,800 people came to games in 2000-2001.
The city gave Nustadia four more years to try and make things work. Nustadia was supposed to pay the money back. But the agreement allowed either side to end the deal without owing money. This special deal ended in 2005.
The City Takes Over
In 2005, the city of Guelph took full ownership of the arena. Nustadia decided to leave the project. This meant the city had to deal with more debt. It also had the $9 million loan it had already helped with.
In 2009, the city planned to make the Sleeman Centre even better. In 2010, they added a new video scoreboard. This scoreboard has four screens to show replays. It also has two LED rings at the top and bottom.
From 2009 to 2018, another junior hockey team played at the Sleeman Centre. This was the Guelph Hurricanes. They later moved back to Cambridge, Ontario, and became the Cambridge Redhawks.
Sleeman Sponsorship
In June 2007, a company called Sleeman Breweries made a deal with the City of Guelph. Sleeman Breweries paid $1.2 million. In return, they got the right to name the arena the "Sleeman Centre" until 2020. This is why the arena has its current name.
Inside the Arena
The main part of the arena has blue seats. There are also special private rooms, called suites, above the main seating area. If you have club seats, you sit right behind where the players sit.
There is also a restaurant behind the club seats. On the same level as the private suites, there is a special VIP section. The arena has a standard scoreboard with four sides. It is blue, matching the arena's colors.
The area where fans walk, called the concourse, is wide. It is shaped like a horseshoe. Fans can walk all the way around the arena. They can see the ice from anywhere on the concourse.
