SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — Eastlink Arena is about to get a little swankier.
Construction recently got underway on five new premium seating skyboxes overlooking the main Credit Union Place ice surface.
Both the city and the arena’s main tenant, the Junior "A" Summerside Western Capitals, say they stand to gain financially from the new additions.
As part of its contract with the city, the Capitals can sell access to the arena’s boxes for their games, while the city can sell them for other events, like concerts.
Pat McIver, general manager of the Capitals, said the new boxes are great for everyone involved.
“When this came along, we were quite excited. It’s a really good opportunity for us to generate some much-needed revenue for the hockey team,” said McIver.
There are already 10 skyboxes in the arena and there has been a waiting list of up to 19 names to access them for several years. Their popularity has meant they do not change hands frequently. In fact, all the new boxes are already spoken for and there is still a waiting list of several names.
“The reality is that there is huge demand for it and it’s a great way to generate revenue that the building needs,” said JP Desrosiers, the city’s director of community service. “The major events that we bring into this building, or the conferences, or the restaurant services, the ticketed events and the premium seating – all that revenue that we generate helps pay for minor hockey kids to play on this ice and kids to swim in our pool. We’re always trying to utilize the corporate side of the business to pay for the youth recreation side of it.”
Desrosiers said of the five new boxes, two will be at a ‘platinum tier,’ and would be larger with more amenities than the other skyboxes. A new media box is also being built as part of the same project.
Funding for the project was revealed a few months ago as part of a larger Canada Games facility upgrade announcement for Credit Union Place.
The overall cost of the project is $518,000, but most of the bill is being paid by the federal and provincial governments through the federal Investing in Canada Infrastructure Fund. The city’s contribution is $120,000.
Eastlink Arena will be losing a number of regular seats for the duration of the construction, but McIver said the long-term opportunity is well worth the short term lose.
“We’ve had a lot dialogue with our season ticket holders who usually sit in those seats and they’ve all been great,” he said.
The project is expected to be completed by Feb. 19.