The Sandman Centre had an over $1 million renovation this summer and the results are quite spectacular.
In addition to the City of Kamloops adding new boards and safer glass to the arena, the Kamloops Blazers expanded on their "Loge Area," as well as their north and south face concessions.
Starting with phase two of the Loge Area, the Blazers contributed just under $200,000 to create a cheaper alternative to box seats. There are 25 tables between phase one and two which seat four people each for a semi-private experience at $6,500 per season. City of Kamloops' Parks and Civic Facilities Manager Jeff Putnam explained the idea of the area came while he and Blazers President Don Moores were taking in an Edmonton Oil Kings game on the road.
"We went to Rogers Place in Edmonton for a WHL game and we noticed they had these loge suite areas," said Putnam. "What it is, the area where I'm standing is the newest phase, and of course it is not finished yet, we still need to put the tabletops in, chairs, and some cabinetry. The finished areas are down on that end so we got 16 tables down at that end and 8 on this end. I believe there are about 24 or 25 tables. What it is, in a sense, is it's a mini private suite."
"This is kind of satisfying a market that maybe didn't want to commit to the full box seats, yet they wanted a bit of a semi-private experience. We're one of the first facilities in the entire WHL to have this."
Putnam adds that the City is making improvements to the concession for the first time in close to 25 years. In addition to a newly modified booths, a larger selection of refreshments could be on the horizon.
"One thing we're really excited about this year is the improvements to the food services. Most people coming to a Blazers game know that we have two main concessions on the concourse. One on the south end and one on the north end of the building. We're doing complete renovations with a total value of $175,000. New flooring, newly tiled walls, new ceiling, and all new countertops."
"We're working with Compass Foods who is our food service provider, and we're definitely refreshing the menu."
The City went just under budget when installing new glass, boards, and lighting in the arena, clocking in at approximately $950,000. Putnam mentioned that the new additions, including curved glass by the benches, make for a much safer Sandman Centre.
"This year, what we've done is the largest project which is new dasher boards and glass. That came in just under a million dollars, it came in a little bit under budget which we're really happy with. This particular brand called 'Athletica' is in 31 NHL arenas and it is state of the art."
"In terms of payer safety, big improvement because the old boards were four inches higher. Because we lowered the actual dasher board, there is more glass so the glass is the one that has the shock absorber. When players do go into the glass, there are shock absorbers underneath and they will bend significantly. The other benefit of that too is that it's acrylic glazed glass so they're much lighter to handle."
The Loge Area, as well as the concession, will be open come the season opener.
