Grand Opening at the Meridian Center
October 12, 2014
Yesterday, I was one of many who attended the grand opening of the new Meridian Center in downtown St. Catharines. IceDogs season ticket holders and the politicians each had their own sneak preview in the preceding days, but this was the first time the general public had a chance to tour the facility.
I was among the first to arrive and I wasted no time in touring the seating area, as I would again after the ribbon-cutting ceremonies when they mercifully turned the lights on.
The concourses seem spacious enough, though a better judgment on this point will come on Thursday night at the IceDogs home opener.
Once again, I knew I was not alone.
Many of you may take things like this for granted, but as a veteran of the venerable Winnipeg Arena, I was impressed that there were individual urinals and not a trough. In addition, the sinks and soap dispensers actually worked.
I was pleased to see the city honoring its sporting past.
I was shocked that the IceDogs' store was not open. It seemed like a perfect opportunity to sell some merchandise to a captive and awestruck audience.
This automated ticket machine was the team’s only presence.
Interestingly, right after taking this shot, mayoral candidate Walter Sendzik passed by and recognized me from a recent debate I attended. I am getting around.
Before heading down to ice level for the ceremonies, I poked my head and camera into one of the private boxes.
Mayor Bryan McMullan and MPP Jim Bradley were among the dignitaries to address the crowd. I was surprised when the mayor mentioned that the facility was located on the site where the original canal went through.
IceDogs' owner Bill Burke.
Following the speeches, three young women in strange garb walked up on stage and climbed up these bands of cloth hanging from the rafters. They clearly possess an uncanny talent for contorting themselves around cloth at high altitude, but their purpose here was unclear.
The official ribbon cutting. It was a nice gesture for them to provide cuttings from the ribbon for attendees to take home as a keepsake and I was lucky enough to get one.
The mayor and a few council members posed for a shot after the ceremonies concluded.
I continued my self-guided tour with a look at the dressing rooms at ice level. First was the visitors' room.
Next was the IceDogs’ room.
The IceDogs’ workout room.
Even the Zamboni was on full display.
The retractable seats behind the goal. The row of orange seats reminded me of the Winnipeg Arena and its infamous ice-level orange chairs that sat atop creaky plywood floors loosely separating paying customers from the hordes of four-legged vermin that lived quite comfortably not far below the surface.
The view from behind the net.
The officials’ room.
The penalty boxes and the timekeeper’s box. Oh, to be a fly on the wall during a heated contest.
Looking behind the stage along the ice.
And, of course, my home city is recognized on the ice.
As impressed as I was with the facility, I was equally impressed with the friendliness of the staff who on hand to answer questions. It was another pleasant change for me coming from Winnipeg, where the Mark Chipman organization expects gratitude for the privilege of doing business with them. That is why, even though I no longer live there, my favorite NHL team is whoever the Chipman franchise is playing.
There is a part of me that laments leaving the history and tradition of older rinks behind, but the Meridian Center looks like a wonderful place to build new memories. I look forward to seeing my first game there on Thursday night at the IceDogs’ home opener.
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