Rogers K-Rock Centre
| "Kingston Regional Sports and Entertainment Centre" | |
 | |
| Former names | K-Rock Centre (2008-2013) |
|---|---|
| Location |
1 The Tragically Hip Way Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7K 0B4 |
| Coordinates | 44°14′00″N 76°28′47″W / 44.2334°N 76.4797°WCoordinates: 44°14′00″N 76°28′47″W / 44.2334°N 76.4797°W |
| Owner | City of Kingston |
| Operator | SMG Canada ULC |
| Capacity |
5,614 - Hockey 6,800 - End stage concert 3,200 - Theatre |
| Field size | 200' X 85' |
| Surface | Multi-surface |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | July 28, 2006 |
| Opened | February 22, 2008 |
| Construction cost |
$46.5 million ($51.7 million in 2016 dollars[1]) |
| Architect | Brisbin Brook Beynon Architects (BBB Architects) |
| Project manager | PMX, Inc. |
| Structural engineer | Halcrow Yolles |
| Services engineer | The Mitchell Partnership Inc. |
| General contractor | EllisDon |
| Tenants | |
| Kingston Frontenacs, 2008–present | |
Rogers K-Rock Centre is a 6,700 seat arena in downtown Kingston, Ontario, Canada, at the intersection of Ontario Street and Place d'Armes. The arena is the home of the Kingston Frontenacs ice hockey team of the Ontario Hockey League.
History
The arena was designed by Brisbin Brook Beynon Architects,[2] and was constructed by EllisDon Construction. It was built on city-owned land known as the "North Block," which at the time was being used as a parking lot. An archaeological dig of the area was necessary since the southeast portion of the site was the former location of part of the historic Fort Frontenac. The remaining ruins of the fort's northwest bastion is located directly across the street from the main entrance.
The groundbreaking ceremony took place July 28, 2006,[3] with construction beginning on November 3, 2006. On February 6, 2008, local radio station CIKR-FM (K-Rock FM) purchased the naming rights to the arena for 10 years at $3.3 million.[4] After Rogers Communications acquired ownership of CIKR-FM, the arena was officially renamed Rogers K-Rock Centre on August 14, 2013.[5]
Rogers K-Rock Centre was named the highest grossing Canadian venue, and ranked 19th worldwide for venues between 5,000 and 10,000 seats from the period of October 16, 2012 until October 15, 2013. [6]
In 2012, Kingston City Council voted to rename the street on which the arena is located to The Tragically Hip Way in honour of Kingston band The Tragically Hip.[7]
Concerts
The inaugural concert at Rogers K-Rock Centre was performed by The Tragically Hip on February 23, 2008.[8] The arena has since hosted several concerts and entertainment events by artists including Elton John, Neil Young, Cirque du Soleil, Jerry Seinfeld, Bryan Adams, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Carrie Underwood, Brooks & Dunn, Leonard Cohen, Reba McEntire, and Sting among many others.[8]
On August 20, 2016, The Tragically Hip played the final concert of their Man Machine Poem Tour at Rogers K-Rock Centre with the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, in attendance.[9][10] The tour was announced after it was made public that lead singer Gordon Downie had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.[11] The concert was broadcast live by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as a cross-platform concert special on CBC Television, CBC Radio One, CBC Radio 2, CBC Music and YouTube, and was watched by 11.7 million people around the world.[12]
Sports
The Kingston Frontenacs played their first game at their new home on February 22, 2008. Don Cherry dropped the puck for the ceremonial face off prior to the game. The Frontenacs dropped their first game in front of over 5700 fans, losing 3-2 to their rivals, the Belleville Bulls.[13] Two days later, the Fronts earned their first win at the K-Rock Centre, defeating the Peterborough Petes 7-4.[14]
From February 16 to 24, 2013, K-Rock Centre hosted the 2013 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the Canadian women's national curling championship, becoming the first Ontario city to host the event since Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario in 2010. In the tournament, Rachel Homan from Ontario defeated former Scotties champion Jennifer Jones 9-6 in the final game. Attendance for the event was over 65,000.
The arena hosted the 2015 Canadian Figure Skating Championships between January 19 and 25, 2015.
References
- ↑ Canadian inflation numbers based on Statistics Canada. "Consumer Price Index, historical summary". CANSIM, table (for fee) 326-0021 and Catalogue nos. 62-001-X, 62-010-X and 62-557-X. And Consumer Price Index, by province (monthly) (Canada) Last modified 2016-01-22. Retrieved March 2, 2016
- ↑ "About The Sports & Entertainment Centre". City of Kingston. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
- ↑ Rees Lambert, Lynn (July 28, 2006). "City throws off shackles to build sports/rec centre". Kingston This Week. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
- ↑ Press, Jordan (February 6, 2000). "K-Rock sings winning tune; Radio station awarded naming rights for new sports and entertainment centre". The Kingston Whig Standard. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
- ↑ So Far So Good for Arena
- ↑ Rogers K-Rock Centre Named Highest Grossing Canadian Venue
- ↑ "Kingston gets Tragically Hip Way". Toronto Star, February 22, 2012.
- 1 2 "Venue History - Rogers K-Rock Centre". rogersk-rockcentre.com. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
- ↑ Noronha, Charmaine. "Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip holds final show". The Associated Press. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
- ↑ "Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Pays Tribute to the Tragically Hip". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
- ↑ "Tragically Hip announces tour dates after singer Gord Downie's cancer diagnosis revealed". www.cbc.ca. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
- ↑ "Millions watch Tragically Hip live on CBC". www.cbc.ca. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
- ↑ Ontario Hockey League Stats
- ↑ Ontario Hockey League Stat