Steel construction is underway at Rogers Place, a $480-million multi-use arena in the heart of downtown Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
The 820,000-sq.-ft venue will mainly be used for the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers and other indoor sports, as well as music concerts. The arena is expected to open in time for the 2016–17 NHL season and will have a seating capacity of more than 18,000 as a hockey venue, and nearly 21,000 for concerts.
Rogers Place aspires to be the first LEED Silver-certified NHL facility in Canada. Its certification will be anchored by sustainable efficiencies including development density, transportation, reducing water use and optimizing energy performance. Being constructed as a compact and dense development, it will be well connected to the community with seven Light-Rail Transit (LRT) stops within walking distance, strong pedestrian connections and charging stations for electric cars in the arena’s parkade.
More than 15,000 pieces of steel (about 10,000 tons total) is being used for the project. The steel fabricator is Structal - Heavy Steel Construction, a division of Canam Group (an AISC Member and AISC Certified Fabricator). Thornton Tomasetti is the structural engineer for the project, and PCL Construction is the general contractor. The steel construction phase of the project will take about a year to complete.
Rogers Place recently issued a steel facts sheet on its website (www.rogersplace.com). The site also features videos of the steel installation and updates on the project’s construction progress, as well as an onsite webcam.
The city of Edmonton also gathered community feedback on the architectural design of the arena project during a public consultation. Response to the design was very favorable, with 80% of respondents agreeing the arena design is "landmark"/iconic. 360 Architecture is the architect for the project.
Steel plan image: Courtesy of Structal and PCL