SASKATOON SPORTS FACILITY GUIDE 1 Welcome to Saskatoon, your four-season with an sport destination! Saskatoon is a city of tremendous growth and innovation. Each year, visitors travel from across Canada and from all over the world to experience Saskatoon’s natural beauty and sample its unique menu of festivals, cultures, dining, shopping and sport events; to experience open heart the spirit and character that is Saskatoon. Saskatoon has a reputation for hosting memorable sporting events of all sizes. The city boasts incredible sports facilities, accommodations, attractions and restaurants. Saskatoon is capable of hosting events of and vibrant all magnitudes, from local tournaments to world class international competitions. The diversity of culture in Saskatoon is what truly distinguishes this city from all others. The community’s volunteer spirit is well known throughout the country for embracing an event, accommodating athlete and visitor needs and ensuring a truly successful event. It is common for Saskatoon to break event records, energy setting the bar for other communities. Sports are at the heart of Saskatoon, from minor softball leagues to the beloved Saskatoon Blades Western Hockey League franchise to the numerous events held in the city each year, attracting hundreds of volunteers and thousands of fans. Saskatoon’s sports Saskatoon scene is supported by a number of competitive, world-class sports organizations, including Sask Sport Inc., the Saskatoon Sports Council and Saskatoon Sports Tourism. Saskatoon Sports Tourism is a community organization dedicated to welcomes building the sports tourism industry in Saskatoon. If you are interested in bidding, planning or expanding a sporting event in Saskatoon, contact us today! We invite you to visit beautiful Saskatoon! the world Saskatoon Sports Tourism 101 – 202 4th Avenue North, Saskatoon, SK S7K 0K1 SASKATOONSPORTSTOURISM.COM I Toll Free: 1.800.567.2444 2 3 WINTER SPORTS premium Introducing sports facilities Sports are exciting, exhilarating, electric. Sports inspire us, motivate us and let us believe in the impossible. They’re Saskatoon entertaining, terrifying and thrilling all at once. Attending an event at SaskTel Centre, you can feel the energy Sports Tourism of the crowd as they cheer on their favourite teams. Visiting the Saskatoon Sports Tourism has established itself as a leader in the Shaw Centre, you can witness some of the best aquatic athletes sports tourism industry in Canada by developing an inventory of in the country as they perfect their dives and break swimming experience through bidding for and hosting many of Saskatoon’s records. major sport events. Saskatoon’s sports facilities are home to some of the best in Saskatoon Sports Tourism’s experience comes from the advantage sport. Our athletes deserve state-of-the-art facilities to push of our 18-member Board of Directors. Each Director brings forth themselves even further to get to that next level. At this very specific expertise in a spectrum that ranges from marketing and moment, the next generation of Olympic champions might be communications, special event management, facility development putting on their cleats and heading to the SaskTel Sports Centre and operations. for their first soccer game. They might be at the Physical Activity Complex wearing the green and white of Huskie Athletics. And All this experience has allowed Saskatoon Sports Tourism to provide they just might call Saskatoon home. services to local sport groups and sport partners to assist in the management of key components of sport events, through one-on-one consultations or group presentations to ensure the event achieves success. Some of our services include: - Delegate/Visitor Materials - Programming Suggestions - Bid Development - Media Relations and Marketing Assistance - Community Listing of Events - Site Visits and Facility Information Working alongside Tourism Saskatoon’s knowledgeable and passionate staff, Saskatoon Sports Tourism is ready to host the world! 4 5 PREMIUM SPORTS FACILITIES PREMIUM SPORTS FACILITIES SaskTel Centre Physical Activity Complex (PAC) Since opening in 1988, SaskTel Centre has been the venue of choice for major With 97 Canada West and 26 Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) sport events in Saskatoon. Home to the Saskatoon Blades, the city’s beloved championships (and counting!), Huskie Athletics is one of the most dominant junior hockey franchise, and the Saskatchewan Rush of the National Lacrosse university programs in the country. Home to Huskie Athletics and the College League, SaskTel Centre is Saskatoon’s premier sports arena. of Kinesiology at the University of Saskatchewan, the Physical Activity Complex (PAC) is the home of university sports. The multi-purpose facility SaskTel Centre has continually invested in facility upgrades. Recent includes a wide array of activity areas to meet the academic, sport and renovations included the addition of 21 permanent private viewing suites on recreational needs of the University and surrounding community. the concourse. Over 800 lower bowl seats were upgraded in 2008 and in 2009 over 800 additional seats were added to the lower bowl. These renovations The 23,000 square foot tri-gym is home to Huskie Athletics basketball and brought the total spectator capacity to over 15,000. Add a state-of-the-art volleyball teams. Over 9,000 students participate annually in numerous score clock and video screen, new boards and glass at ice level, and a power Campus Recreation leagues and events delivered out of the PAC. ring display along the upper bowl and you have a first class sports venue ready to dazzle fans. Over the past decade the PAC has hosted numerous national events including CIS Volleyball and Basketball Championships, as well as non-CIS events such In addition to being a venue for marquis sport events, SaskTel Centre plays as the Wheelchair Basketball National Championship. host to large trade shows and big-ticket concerts. The arena level can be converted to 60,000 square feet of exhibitor space and has hosted such events as the Juno Awards and the Canadian Country Music Awards. Facility Capabilities: Basketball Wrestling Badminton Volleyball Baton twirling Wheelchair basketball Facility Capabilities: Swimming Figure skating Rodeo Lacrosse Curling Basketball Concerts Hockey Volleyball Tradeshows Events Hosted: Speed skating CIS and Can West Basketball and Volleyball Championships National Wheelchair Basketball Championship Events Hosted: Western Canada Table Tennis Championship IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship International Baton Championship Tim Horton’s Brier CIS Wrestling Championship Canadian Figure Skating Championship MasterCard Memorial Cup Contact Info: NHL Pre-Season Games P: 306.966.1051 87 Campus Drive Contact Info: [email protected] P: 306.975.3155 kinesiology.usask.ca #101-3515 Thatcher Avenue sasktelcentre.com 6 PREMIUM SPORTS FACILITIES PREMIUM SPORTS FACILITIES SaskTel Sports Centre Shaw Centre The SaskTel Sports Centre indoor facility boasts a full-sized 69 x 109 yd The Shaw Centre is a state-of-the-art aquatic and fitness facility offering a artificial grass field, which is divisible by curtains to allow for more games new calibre of recreation, health and fitness opportunities to the residents to be played. An additional mid sized artificial grass field and a sport court of Saskatoon. field are also part of the complex. The mezzanine of this two storey 167,000 square feet centre allows an excellent viewing experience of every field. The competitive pool in the Shaw Centre is one of the largest volume The outdoor artificial grass fields stand as both football and soccer fields, indoor pools in the world (holding 4.3 million liters of water), with a Myrtha and have bright overhead lighting, fencing, illuminated score clocks and stainless steel basin, which is used exclusively for high calibre swimming bleacher seating for up to 500 people. Outdoor beach volleyball courts events. The pool was designed to meet Federation Internationale du are a recent addition to the facility. Natation (FINA) regulations for hosting aquatic events. This world class facility offers over 100,000 square feet of indoor field The competitive pool also features two one-meter spring boards; two space and 150,000 square feet of outdoor field space. The SaskTel Sports three-meter spring boards; and a three, five, seven and a half, and ten meter Centre features volleyball courts, 12 dressing rooms, fitness centre, circuit diving platforms. The scoreboard and video display, sponsored by the 1989 centre and walking track, large lobby, concession, deck and full service pub/ Jeux Canada Games Foundation, is the largest installation for an indoor restaurant ample free parking and wheelchair accessibility. aquatic facility in North America. Additional features at the Shaw Centre include a six-lane, 25m Warm-Up Facility Capabilities: Pool, Family Pool with a waterslide, two hot tubs and a mushroom fountain, Volleyball Martial arts Football Hamm Fitness Centre and Walking Track including cardio and weight Ultimate disc Dance Baton twirling machines, cafeteria, meeting rooms, and a multi-purpose room. Beach volleyball Gymnastics Roller derby Badminton Indoor/outdoor Community and Lacrosse soccer special events Facility Capabilities: Swimming Diving Water polo Synchronized swimming Events Hosted: Soccer tournaments and provincial/national competitions Events Hosted: Kinsmen Football League Speedo Western Canadian Swimming Championship Don Narcisse All-Star