New buildings being polished up for OHL action
By Aaron Bell
When the 2005-06 season kicks off in the next few weeks, two of the OHL's most storied franchises will be moving into brand new homes.
The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds will open the Steelback Centre in October and the Oshawa Generals will be moving into the Oshawa Sports and Entertainment Facility in November.
After opening the season with eight road games, the Greyhounds will open the Steelback Centre with their home opener on October 11 against the Sudbury Wolves.
Former Greyhounds coach Ted Nolan, who was recently introduced as the new coach of the New York Islanders, had a private tour of the 5,000 seat facility earlier this month.
"I was blown away by the place," Nolan told SooToday.com. "It's definitely going to be special. When the people walk in they are going to have a wild look on their faces and that's for sure. Words cannot do it justice. It's one of those things you have to see for yourself."
The Generals will open the season in historic Oshawa Civic Auditorium before the grand opening of the Oshawa Sports and Entertainment Facility on November 3 against the Owen Sound Attack.
The new building will seat 5,400 and features state-of-the-art amenities such as private suites and pro-calibre dressing and training facilities.
"Spectacular," Generals' owner John Davies told Oshawa This Week about their new building. "I think the dressing room will be as good as any NHL dressing room. The city has gone all out to make this a world class sports and entertainment facility. This is going to be the prototypical major junior facility in the country."
Oshawa and Sault Ste. Marie join Barrie, Brampton, Guelph, Kitchener, London, Mississauga, Peterborough, Plymouth, Saginaw and Sarnia with new or refurbished buildings during the past decade. The Kingston Frontenacs expect to be playing in their new facility during the 2007-08 season.
