Thousands of people braved the cold to get a sneak peek of Edmonton’s Rogers Place arena.
Construction on the new home for the Edmonton Oilers slowed for a day to give members of the public and media a tour of the bowl and the adjacent community rink.
“I’ve been to many games at Rexall and I can’t wait to see games here,” said hockey-fan Ryan Wolfert. “The design and the way it’s coming along, it’s going to be a great new home for the Edmonton Oilers.”
“It’s big. It’s definitely big in here,” said Kyle Bishop. “It’s going to be very cool once it’s all done.”
PCL construction manager Mike Staines said the open house was an idea the company came up with about one year ago.
Staines said the arena is about 65 to 70 per cent complete. On most days, up to 1,000 workers are on site.
“I get blown away every time I walk into the building. It changes every day,” said Staines. “It’s pretty awe inspiring. We think it will be a pretty good place to watch a hockey game.”
The seats are now being installed and workers are painting the walls.
“My standard line for these things remains: We’re on time, we’re on budget,” said Rick Daviss with the City of Edmonton.
Construction on the $604-million building is expected to be complete by September 2.
With files from CTV’s Breanna Karstens-Smith
