Every single ticket for the Rogers Place open house has been reserved, meaning tens of thousands of people are expected to flock to the city’s core to see the inside of the downtown arena Saturday.
CTV News has compiled tips for getting to and from the downtown arena district, and what to expect inside the new facility.
Getting there:
- Organizers advised attendees to avoid traffic, leave their cars at home, and take transit to Rogers Place
- LRT users are advised to take the LRT on the Capital Line to the Churchill Square or Bay/Enterprise Square stations, and walk a few blocks
- If you must drive, organizers have set up a website for drivers to pre-purchase parking, and the City has their own website for downtown parking
- For cyclists, there is a bicycle map showing route disruptions and bike rack locations – there are 35 bike racks on the north side of Rogers Place
The Entrance:
- Entrance for Open House is at 103 Street and 103 Avenue – ticketholders will travel through a so-called ‘pedestrian portal’ through construction site, into Rogers Place
- Accessible entrance: a drop-off and pick-up location for DATS and vehicles with placards has been set up along 104 Avenue and 102 Street
Time:
- When the tickets were reserved, a time had to be chosen – officials advise ticketholders to arrive no more than 20 minutes before the time on the ticket
- If you’re late, officials said you can line up with the next time slot
Ticket:
- Ticketholders must have a printed ticket, or be able to show their ticket on a mobile device at the gate - there will be no will call at the gate
Don’t bring…:
- Outside food or beverages, backpacks, umbrellas, or bags larger than 12” x 12” x 6” are not allowed in Rogers Place, Strollers are allowed
- Organizers have put together a list of items prohibited from Rogers Place during the open house
- Some food and drinks will be available from the concession
Tickets to the open house were made available online at the end of August, officials said on Friday, September 9, that every ticket – 57,700 in total – had been spoken for.
On Friday, the City of Edmonton said there would be some traffic and transit detours: 103 Avenue between 102 and 103 Street will be closed for the event, drivers asked to use 102 or 104 Avenue.
Plus transit routes 7, 8, 15, 52, and 112 will be detoured off of 103 Avenue for Saturday – routes 7, 8, 15, and 112 will be detoured to 104 Avenue, and route 52 will be detoured to 102 Avenue.