Sudbury Community Arena

The Sudbury Community Arena is a multi-purpose arena in the downtown core of Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. It was built in 1951, on the site of the former Central Public School, at a cost of $700,000. The approval and construction of the arena was overseen by Sudbury Mayor Bill Beaton.[1] It is home to the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League.

Sudbury Community Arena
Sudbury Community Arena is located in Ontario
Sudbury Community Arena
Sudbury Community Arena
Location within Ontario
Sudbury Community Arena is located in Canada
Sudbury Community Arena
Sudbury Community Arena
Location within Canada
Address240 Elgin Street
LocationSudbury, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates46°29′19″N 80°59′33″W / 46.48861°N 80.99250°W / 46.48861; -80.99250
OwnerCity of Greater Sudbury
OperatorCity of Greater Sudbury
CapacityHockey: 4,640
SurfaceMulti-surface
Construction
Broke ground1950
Opened1951
Renovated2007
Construction cost$700,000 ($6.6 million in 2014 dollars)
Tenants
Sudbury Wolves (OHL) (1972–present)
Sudbury Five (NBLC) (2018–present)

It has an ice surface of 200' x 85', with a capacity of 4,640 seated, 5,100 standing and is wheelchair accessible.

During the summer of 2007, the arena underwent extensive renovations, which added 12 private boxes and a new club seating section, with padded seats and refreshments services along with new washrooms, concession stand and lounge. Seating was sacrificed to make way for the improvements. Standing room capacity was shrunk from 1,000 to 500, while seating capacity was dropped by 150. The new arena capacity, with standing room patrons, became 5,100, down from 5,750.[2]

On November 5, 2015, a life size statue of Stompin' Tom Connors was unveiled on the grounds of the arena. The reason behind the statue was due to one of Connors' most famous songs, Sudbury Saturday Night.[3]

The arena is featured extensively in the Canadian television show Shoresy, where it serves as home of the fictional Senior hockey Sudbury Bulldogs.[4]

Occasionally, other events, such as concerts or ice skating, have taken place at the arena; on May 29, 1998, country musician Shania Twain kicked-off her debut tour, the Come On Over Tour, at the arena.

In 2024, with the structure nearing its time to be renovated or replaced, city council tentatively approved a plan to construct a new arena within the block immediately east of the current structure.[5]

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References

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  1. ^ C.M. Wallace, Ashley Thompson (1993). Sudbury: rail town to regional capital. Dundurn Press. ISBN 1-55002-170-2.
  2. ^ Haddow, Scott (August 17, 2007). "Cool million spent on rink renos". Sudbury.com. Laurentian Publishing. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  3. ^ "Sudbury's Stompin' Tom statue will be unveiled next week". Sudbury.com. Laurentian Publishing. October 29, 2015. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  4. ^ "Letterkenny spinoff Shoresy embraces everything about Sudbury". CTVnews.ca. CTV. May 12, 2022. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  5. ^ Tyler Clarke, "Full Story: $200M arena/events centre greenlit by city council". Sudbury.com, April 16, 2024.
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