Scotiabank Place
Encyclopedia
Scotiabank Place is a multi-purpose arena, located in Kanata
, a suburban district of Ottawa
, Ontario
. It is home to the Ottawa Senators
of the National Hockey League
. It has also hosted the Canadian University Men's Basketball Championship
(CIS
). Opened as The Palladium in January 1996, it was known as the Corel Centre from February 1996 until February 2006. The arena hosts ice hockey
, basketball
, music concerts, skating, and other entertainment events. It is home to the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame, several restaurants, a fitness complex and several businesses. The arena has seating for 19,153 and a capacity of 20,500 including standing room.
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 (0.404686 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 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.
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. 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.
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. 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
.
On January 19, 2006, the arena became known as 'Scotiabank Place' after reaching a new 15 year naming agreement with Canadian bank Scotiabank
on January 11, 2006. Scotiabank had been an advertising partner with the club for several years and took over the naming after Corel declined to renew its naming agreement with the Senators, but continued as an advertising sponsor.
On September 15, 2010, the NHL announced that Scotiabank Place would host the 2012 NHL All-Star Game.
Scotiabank's 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.
Kanata
Kanata is an aboriginal word meaning "village" or "settlement."- Name of Canada :Until the mid-20th century, the Mohawk word "kanata" was thought to have been the origin of Canada's name...
, a suburban district of Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. It is home to the Ottawa Senators
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
of the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
. It has also hosted the Canadian University Men's Basketball Championship
Canadian Interuniversity Sport men's basketball championship
The W. P. McGee Trophy is a Canadian sports award, presented annually to the winner of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport championship in men's basketball....
(CIS
Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is The Canadian Colleges Athletic Association...
). Opened as The Palladium in January 1996, it was known as the Corel Centre from February 1996 until February 2006. The arena hosts ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, music concerts, skating, and other entertainment events. It is home to the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame, several restaurants, a fitness complex and several businesses. The arena has seating for 19,153 and a capacity of 20,500 including standing room.
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 acre (0.404686 km²), surrounded by a 500 acres (2 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
Ontario Municipal Board
The Ontario Municipal Board is an independent administrative board, operated as an adjudicative tribunal, in the province of Ontario, Canada...
. 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 (0.404686 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
Bruce Firestone
Bruce Firestone of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada is a real estate developer, former sports team owner and university professor. He is the founder of the modern-day Ottawa Senators NHL professional ice hockey club and former part-owner of the Ottawa Rough Riders CFL football club.-Business career:Dr...
, the Senators owner, was replaced by Rod Bryden
Rod Bryden
Rod Bryden is a prominent Ottawa business executive. He is best known as the owner of the Ottawa Senators National Hockey League team from 1992 until 2003. Outside of hockey, his career has included founding or leading several of Canada's leading companies.- Biography :Rod Bryden was born on March...
, a former high tech tycoon, who assumed control of Terrace Corporation. Bryden managed to borrow enough to pay for the $188 million project 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
Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
. The first NHL game took place two days later, with the Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
defeating the Senators 3-0. On February 17, 1996 the name 'Palladium' was changed to the 'Corel Centre' when Corel
Corel
Corel Corporation from the abbreviation is a computer software company headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, that specializes in graphics processing, similar to Adobe Systems...
Corporation, an Ottawa software company, signed a 10-year deal for the naming rights.
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
Eugene Melnyk
Eugene Melnyk is a Ukrainian Canadian businessman who now resides in Barbados. He is the current owner, governor, and chairman of the Ottawa Senators professional ice hockey club of the National Hockey League . He also owns the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors junior-age ice hockey club...
finalized the purchase of the Senators and the arena. 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
Seating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
to 19,153 and total attendance to 20,500 when including standing room.
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
Ottawa Civic Centre
The Ottawa Civic Centre, also known as the J. Benson Cartage Centre for 2011–2012, is an indoor arena located in Ottawa, Ontario, seating 9,862. With temporary seating and standing room it can hold 10,585. Opened in December 1967, it is used primarily for sports, including curling, figure skating,...
since 1967. 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
Ottawa City Hall
The current Ottawa City Hall is the city hall of Ottawa, Canada. The downtown complex consists of two connected buildings: a modern wing located on Laurier Avenue and a 19th century heritage wing located on Elgin Street...
.
On January 19, 2006, the arena became known as 'Scotiabank Place' after reaching a new 15 year naming agreement with Canadian bank Scotiabank
Scotiabank
The Bank of Nova Scotia , commonly known as Scotiabank , is the third largest bank in Canada by deposits and market capitalization. It serves some 18.6 million customers in more than 50 countries around the world and offers a broad range of products and services including personal, commercial,...
on January 11, 2006. Scotiabank had been an advertising partner with the club for several years and took over the naming after Corel declined to renew its naming agreement with the Senators, but continued as an advertising sponsor.
On September 15, 2010, the NHL announced that Scotiabank Place would host the 2012 NHL All-Star Game.
Notable events
- 1998 - Billy GrahamBilly GrahamWilliam Franklin "Billy" Graham, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian evangelist. As of April 25, 2010, when he met with Barack Obama, Graham has spent personal time with twelve United States Presidents dating back to Harry S. Truman, and is number seven on Gallup's list of admired people for...
's final Canadian Crusade is held at ScotiaBank Place. Twenty one thousand spectators were in attendance during the final night, setting an attendance record that has, to date, not been broken. - April 6, 2003 - The Juno AwardsJuno Awards of 2003The Juno Awards of 2003 were presented in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on 6 April 2003. The primary awards ceremony was hosted that evening by Shania Twain at the Corel Centre and televised on CTV.- Ceremony highlights :...
were held at Scotiabank Place, hosted by Shania TwainShania TwainShania Twain, OC is a Canadian country pop singer-songwriter. Her album The Woman in Me , brought her fame and her 1997 album Come On Over, became the best-selling album of all time by a female musician in any genre, and the best-selling country album of all time. It has sold over 40 million...
. The Awards ceremony was the final event in the "Juno Weekend" series of events in Ottawa. - December 30, 2004 - The arena hosted the largest attended crowd ever to witness a Canadian Hockey LeagueCanadian Hockey LeagueThe Canadian Hockey League is an umbrella organization that represents the three Canadian-based major junior ice hockey leagues for players 16 to 20 years of age. The CHL was founded in 1975 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League, and is composed of its three member leagues, the Western Hockey...
game. Attendance was 20,081 for a game between the Ottawa 67'sOttawa 67'sThe Ottawa 67’s are a junior ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario. They have played in the Ontario Hockey League since 1967, Canada's centennial year. The current coach is Chris Byrne.-History:...
and Kingston FrontenacsKingston FrontenacsThe Kingston Frontenacs are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League, based in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The team is coached by Todd Gill and Doug Gilmour is the General Manager. The Frontenacs play home games at the K-Rock Centre, which opened in 2008.Team history predates the OHA,...
. - June 2, 2007 - The venue hosted its first Stanley Cup Finals2007 Stanley Cup FinalsThe 2007 Stanley Cup Final was a best-of-seven playoff series that determined the National Hockey League champion for the 2006–07 season. As a culmination of the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Western Conference champion Anaheim Ducks defeated the Eastern Conference champion Ottawa Senators in...
match when the Senators hosted the Anaheim DucksAnaheim DucksThe Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California, USA. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
and won 5-3. This game recorded an attendance of 20,500. - December 26, 2008 – January 5, 2009 - The arena hosted many of the games (including the gold medal game) of the 2009 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships2009 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships- Group B :ScheduleAll times local - Relegation round :The results from matches between teams from the same group in the preliminary round are carried forward to this round.-Schedule:...
. - April 1, 2012 - The Juno Awards of 2012Juno Awards of 2012The Juno Awards of 2012 will honour Canadian music industry achievements in the latter part of 2010 and in most of 2011. The awards presented in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada during the weekend of 31 March and 1 April 2012...
are set to be hosted at the Scotiabank Place.
Facilities
Scotiabank Place has facilities for ice hockey and basketball, games which are held regularly. Scotiabank Place has also hosted indoor lacrosse. Scotiabank 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. The Ottawa Senators operate a merchandise store next to the east entrance.Scotiabank's 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.
See also
- Ottawa SenatorsOttawa SenatorsThe Ottawa Senators are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
- Rod BrydenRod BrydenRod Bryden is a prominent Ottawa business executive. He is best known as the owner of the Ottawa Senators National Hockey League team from 1992 until 2003. Outside of hockey, his career has included founding or leading several of Canada's leading companies.- Biography :Rod Bryden was born on March...
- Bruce FirestoneBruce FirestoneBruce Firestone of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada is a real estate developer, former sports team owner and university professor. He is the founder of the modern-day Ottawa Senators NHL professional ice hockey club and former part-owner of the Ottawa Rough Riders CFL football club.-Business career:Dr...
- Eugene MelnykEugene MelnykEugene Melnyk is a Ukrainian Canadian businessman who now resides in Barbados. He is the current owner, governor, and chairman of the Ottawa Senators professional ice hockey club of the National Hockey League . He also owns the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors junior-age ice hockey club...