The Thunder Bay Community Auditorium is a 1,511 seat

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...

 performance arts centre, located in Thunder Bay

Thunder Bay

-In Canada:Thunder Bay is the name of three places in the province of Ontario, Canada along Lake Superior:*Thunder Bay District, Ontario, a district in Northwestern Ontario*Thunder Bay, a city in Thunder Bay District*Thunder Bay, Unorganized, 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 opened on October 16, 1985 and is home to the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra

Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra

The Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra is a professional orchestra based in the Community Auditorium in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. It was founded on 29 November 1960 as the Lakehead Symphony Orchestra, debuting at the Lakeview High School auditorium...

. The Community Auditorium hosts 150,000 patrons annually, and is considered to be "one of the finest in North America".

It has a 40' by 50' permanent stage, a 70' by 39' proscenium

Proscenium

A proscenium theatre is a theatre space whose primary feature is a large frame or arch , which is located at or near the front of the stage...

, 8 dressing rooms, 52 lines, 2x400A 120V/208V electrical, 3 meeting rooms, a 450 person banquet capacity, and parking for 1000 vehicles. The facility features a wide variety of state-of-the-art equipment, including a ceiling that can be lowered or raised and acoustic draperies which can be adjusted to modify the reverberance

Reverberation

Reverberation is the persistence of sound in a particular space after the original sound is removed. A reverberation, or reverb, is created when a sound is produced in an enclosed space causing a large number of echoes to build up and then slowly decay as the sound is absorbed by the walls and air...

 in the auditorium.

Naming sponsor

In an effort to decrease the facility's burden on taxpayers, the Community Auditorium issued an expression of interest for an organization or individual to become a naming sponsor in February 2008. Two potential sponsors — Shaw Communications

Shaw Communications

Shaw Communications is Canada's largest telecommunications company that provides telephone, Canada's fastest Internet and television services as well as broadcasting and soon Wifi. Shaw is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta...

 and TBayTel — initially expressed interest, but did not follow up on it by the March 27, 2008 deadline, and the name will remain the same. The facility receives $

Canadian dollar

The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...

475,000 annually from the City of Thunder Bay.