Halifax Metro Centre

Halifax Metro Centre
Location	1800 Argyle Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia
Opened	February 1978
Owner	Trade Centre Limited
Capacity	Hockey: 10,595 Basketball: 11,093 Concerts: up to 13,000
Tenants
Nova Scotia Voyageurs (AHL) (1978–1984) Nova Scotia Oilers (AHL) (1984–1988) Halifax Citadels (AHL) (1988–1993) Halifax Windjammers (WBL) (1991–1992) Halifax Windjammers (NBL) (1993–1994) Men's Basketball Championship (CIS) (1984–2007, 2011-2012) Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) (1994–present) Halifax Rainmen (NBL) (2007–present)

The Halifax Metro Centre is a multi-purpose indoor sporting arena located in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The building is next to the World Trade and Convention Centre, at the foot of Citadel Hill. It is the largest arena in Halifax.

History

The arena was opened in February 1978 and was built into the ground to compensate for the steep elevation of the land it occupies. One can see cars at street level, outside, while watching an event.

In recent years there has been some talk of a possible new, larger arena to be built sometime in the next few years. It would likely have a seating capacity of over 15,000 for hockey games.^{[citation needed]} In December 2007, an Ozzy Osbourne concert sold out in nine minutes, setting a box office ticket record for the Metro Centre. In July 2008, the Metro Centre also set a record sell-out (25,000 tickets sold in forty minutes), for two back-to-back Elton John concerts held in late September 2008. In April 2012, the Halifax Mooseheads sold out game 6 of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League semifinals in 20 minutes, setting another attendance mark for the Metro Centre.^{[citation needed]}

Arena information

It originally featured a full ring of bright orange seats around the playing surface, which is known as the "lower bowl". It also has an incomplete "upper bowl" on each side of the arena facing rink-side (court-side) with seats of the same colour. In the mid to late 1990s, there were numerous renovations to the arena, including the addition of forty-three SkyBoxes and eleven "Executive Suites". The addition of the SkyBoxes has since partially obscured views for people sitting high up in the upper bowl. These boxes do not cut off views of the events, but more cut off views of the rest of the seating area. Before the 2002–03 ice hockey season, in preparation for the World Junior Ice Hockey Championship, a new scoreboard and "SilverVision" LED screens were added. The arena concourses feature photographs of the various events that have taken place at the Metro Centre, with one side featuring entertainment events and the other featuring sporting events. It currently has a seating capacity of 10,595 for ice hockey. The building is connected to the Downtown Halifax Link system.

Notable events

The Metro Centre prior to a Mooseheads game against Lewiston on December 27, 2005

• 1978, Gordon Lightfoot first concert.
• 1978, Nova Scotia International Tattoo.
• 1990, World Figure Skating Championships.
• 1992, WBL Basketball All Star game.
• 1992, Scotties tournament of hearts. Canadian Womens Curling. *1993 WWE Superstars T.V. taping.
• 1994, NHL regular season netrual site game.
• 1995, Labatt Brier.* 1995, NHL regular season netrual site game.* 1996, Garth Brooks 3 sold out shows
• 1997, WWE Raw live T.V. taping.
• 2000, CHL Memorial Cup.
• 2003, IIHF World Junior Hockey championships.
• 2003, Nokia Brier.
• 2003, WWE Raw & Smackdown live T.V. taping.
• 2004, World Womens Hockey Championships * 2006,Juno music Awards Host, Pam Anderson. *2007, Ozzy Osbourne.
• 2008, Michael Bublé Call Me Irresponsible concert.
• 2008, IIHF World Hockey Championships,Elton John.
• 2010, Tim Hortons Brier
• 2011, Canada Games. *2012 Canada/ Russia Hockey series
• 2013, CHL Top Prospects Game.
• 2013, Halifax Mooseheads win President's Cup

External links

• Official web site
• Halifax Mooseheads Official Site
• Halifax Rainmen Official Site
• Arena review
• Halifax Metro Centre at Hockeyarenas.net