'A special place': Looking back at the history of Canada Life Centre as it marks 20 years

A hectic blur. That is how the opening day of Canada Life Centre—originally MTS Centre—is remembered by many who were involved in bringing the arena to downtown Winnipeg 20 years ago.

On Nov. 16, 2004, doors opened to the public for the first time. Thousands filed into the newly minted MTS Centre to witness a myriad of performances by local artists, from Doc Walker and Chantal Kreviazuk to Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings.

"I remember not sleeping for a long time," said Kevin Donnelly, the senior vice president of venues and entertainment for True North Sports and Entertainment.

"There was a core of us that are still with True North that really were putting in an unbelievable effort to sort of get their component of the operation up and ready and to meet that deadline."

The foundation 

The arena is at the site of the former Eaton's Winnipeg store, which was demolished in 2002, and ground broke on MTS Centre in April 2003.

While the arena has turned into the home of the Winnipeg Jets and hosts hundreds of concerts and shows, Jim Ludlow, the current president and CEO of True North Real Estate Development and the former president and CEO of True North, said it was the Manitoba Moose who first put the wheels in motion for a new building.

"When we first bought the Minnesota Moose of the International Hockey League and moved to the old Winnipeg Arena. (They) played in that arena for many, many years; realizing the shortcomings of that arena, there was an idea percolating, 'Why don't we develop a new building downtown?'" said Ludlow.

"For me, the first round of memories were working with the provincial government, working with our private sector ownership group to try and interest people in a new building in downtown Winnipeg, which had all the accolades and all the benefits and accoutrements that it would need to have for a city like Winnipeg."

Part of the Eaton's demolition in downtown Winnipeg in 2002. (CTV News)

The original location was set for Broadway, but Ludlow said that changed to Portage Avenue after then-mayor Glen Murray suggested it take over the recently closed Eaton's building.

Looking back, Donnelly said location was critical for a project like this, and it was the right choice.

"You need a tentpole. You need certain things or locations that you sort of rally around and develop around and encourage people to come in and utilize around," he said. "Nothing feels better to me than to leave an event, whether that's a concert or a hockey game, and see people spilling out onto the sidewalks, going someplace else, going to a bar, going to a restaurant, going to meet their friends, staying downtown."

Construction inside MTS Centre between April 2003 and November 2004. (CTV News)

During the construction of the arena, Donnelly said the date of Nov. 16 was set around nine months before opening, and it was a hard deadline. It meant there was always a risk of the building not being ready on time.

"We picked the date; put everybody on notice that there's no variation. We had an opening concert, the very next night, an opening hockey game. And then to conceive an event that you hope would attract people to come into the building and see the venue for what it is and to celebrate that opening occasion. The concern is that you would build this event, build this arena, and no one would come."

That concern soon dissipated as Winnipeggers packed the building, and just like that, a new era in downtown Winnipeg was born.

Shortly after those first few days, Donnelly said they brought in David Copperfield for four shows in two days, and the Tragically Hip were the first rock band to grace the stage.

He noted country artists also started making their way back to Winnipeg as MTS Centre had improved acoustics compared to the old Winnipeg arena.

The ice 

As well, hockey had success in the new building. Scott Brown, the director of hockey communications for the Winnipeg Jets, was working communications for the Moose at the time of the new arena coming to life.

Brown echoed the hectic feeling, saying there was an adjustment period being inside as he was getting lost in the early days.

"Realizing it's just one big circle, none of the rooms were really marked off properly at that point in time. So I remember just walking around, not really knowing where any of the rooms were for the first couple of days," said Brown.

Getting used to the workflow in the new building was also a challenge at first, with Brown saying there were small details "that you didn't realize you needed to worry about until you had to worry about them."

Inside MTS Centre on opening night of the arena on Nov. 16, 2004. (CTV News)

He remembers the first hockey game and how the arena captured the gaze of fans.

"There was a lot of people just taking in the building itself, as opposed to the focus being what was going on, on the ice."

But the focus did eventually turn to the ice as the Moose went to the conference final that season.

The building also helped pave the way for the NHL to return to Winnipeg. Brown said when he first joined on with the Moose, the NHL was never on his radar.

Then, just before the Vancouver Olympics, the NHL returning became much more of a reality.

"I was told that there was a very real possibility that Gary Bettman was going to announce that if there were continued struggles in Arizona, the Coyotes were going to move back to Winnipeg," said Brown.

Brown thought the popularity of the Moose was on the rise as they had just been to the Calder Cup a few years prior and were seeing continued playoff success.

He said the Moose were pulling in decent, steady crowds, and when playoffs rolled around, people showed up to cheer them on.

"Then, I got pulled into that meeting, and I was quite surprised to hear it, to be very honest with you. I probably was a little bit naïve, but I was quite surprised to hear that that was as close as it had been."

Remembering those meetings and conversations about the Jets return, Ludlow said it was the success of the Moose, concerts, and having a full building that really made Winnipeg an appealing spot for the NHL again.

"I think if we'd started this way back when and said our whole purpose is the NHL, we probably would have been laughed all the way down Portage Avenue. So, that's not how we started; clearly, it's how we ended up," said Ludlow.

The legacy 

For Brown, he believes that is Canada Life Centre's legacy—without the arena, the second coming of the Winnipeg Jets may have never come to be.

"If you look back on the situation as it was, in 2000, and when everything kind of got announced, there's no denying that it changed the future of sports in the city," said Brown.

Donnelly said the arena continues to be a light for optimism in Winnipeg.

"The legacy of optimism, I would think, would be part of it. It took 20 years to land Bruce Springsteen here. I think the next (on my bucket list) is a Stanley Cup ring. I think that this town deserves one. I think this team is capable of delivering one. But I think that Winnipeg should be optimistic... We shouldn't take it for granted; this is a special place, and it's been really special for 20 years. It's got an opportunity to be that again in the years to come," said Donnelly.

The outside of MTS Centre in downtown Winnipeg in 2004. (CTV News)

Meanwhile, Ludlow said Canada Life Centre turned into the first stepping stone of a much bigger picture in downtown Winnipeg that developed over time.

"We see residential density, we see a head office for Canada's largest mutual assurance company, we see more activity in the Convention Centre, soon to see a Sutton Place Hotel coming out of the ground. But all of those kinds of things are part of the dots that you connect," said Ludlow.

"It's a spectrum, right? We started thinking sports, then it's entertainment, then it's multi-family, then it's office, then it's retail, then it's hotel, then it's parking, then it's health care delivery strategy, and that is a much larger continuum. When we were kicking around the idea in 2000, 'Well, let's build a building for the Manitoba Moose,' that was the box we were thinking in. Then, fortunately, we've been able to continue to think outside of that box."

As part of celebrating the 20th anniversary, there will be a celebration on Nov. 19 at the Winnipeg Jets game against the Florida Panthers.

Fans will be able to look back over the past 20 years, and the first 5,000 fans in the building will get a commemorative Canada Life Centre coin.