Debates about which city is better – Regina or Saskatoon – have existed forever in Saskatchewan.
In the coming years, I’ll be interested to see which city thinks biggest, fastest when it comes to multi-purpose arenas.
The Brandt Centre, which is now 40 years old, will host the 2018 Tim Horton’s Brier and MasterCard Memorial Cup.
The centre was built in 1977 and will soon hit a crossroads. A decision will have to be made to either to renovate or rebuild.
The 29-year-old SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon was built for a capacity of around 9,000 people in 1988.
The facility now holds more than 15,000 fans for concerts and hockey games.
However the concourses, washrooms and concessions were built for 9,000 spectators. SaskTel Centre is the fourth-oldest building on Ed Sheeran’s upcoming 46-city North American tour. A renovate or rebuild scenario will face that city in the coming months.
Multi-purpose arenas are economic drivers in urban centres. The city that realizes it first, and can find the path to renovating or rebuilding, will have a major leg up in Saskatchewan’s age-old debate.