In December 2011, after years of debate, St. Catharines City Council voted 9–3 to approve the construction of a multi-use spectator facility with 4,500 to 5,300 seats, at a maximum cost of $50 million. The project was to be funded with $17 million from the civic project fund, $5 million in fundraising, $1 million from the federal gas tax fund.[2]
In October 2012, city councillors voted 11–2 to pay $45 million to Ball-Rankin Construction to build a new 4,500-seat facility, to be completed by September 2014.[3] Ball-Rankin donated a pair of 25-metre elevated walkways to connect the centre to the city's downtown area on St. Paul Street, at a cost of $2 million.[4]
Naming rights
Meridian Credit Union was given the naming rights of the facility in recognition of its $5.23 million contribution to the project. The name of the arena was announced in September 2013.[5]
St. Catharines Sports Hall of Fame
The St. Catharines Sports Hall of Fame was founded in 1990 to recognize the outstanding accomplishments of both women and men, athletes and builders whom have significantly contributed to the development of sport in St. Catharines and went on to success at Provincial, National and/or International levels of competition. Upon completion of the Meridian Centre, the St. Catharines Sports Hall of Fame was relocated to concourse level of the arena.[6]
Arena information
Plaque officially commemorating the opening of the Meridian Centre
The arena offers four main concession stands as well as multiple food carts and seat vendors. The IceDogs also run a retail store inside the Meridian Centre. The arena offers basic concession fare but also has other menu items not typically found including jalapeño sausages, macaroni and cheese and fresh salads. Beer including craft beers and local wines can be found throughout the concourse. The arena also has the IceDogs store which is the main retail store for the IceDogs and sells all fan gear.
Sports
The primary tenant at the Meridian Centre is the Niagara IceDogs of the Ontario Hockey League. The Niagara IceDogs won their first game at the Meridian Centre on October 16, 2014, against the Belleville Bulls by a score of 7–4 in front of a sellout crowd of 5,300, the largest attendance in franchise history. This record was later broken when standing room tickets were sold during the 2015–16 playoffs with an attendance of 5,580.
The Meridian Centre hosted the 2016 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship in January 2016. The final, a 3–2 overtime victory for the United States over Canada, resulted in the largest hockey crowd in arena history at 5,516. Overall, the total tournament attendance of 34,523 surpassed the previous record of 16,855.[7]
On September 29, 2016, the Meridian Centre hosted a pre-season exhibition game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League. After regulation and overtime, the game remained scoreless. Matt Moulson would ultimately give the Sabres the 1-0 shoot-out win.[8]
The Meridian Centre hosted the 2017 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the annual Canadian women's curling championship, between February 16 and 26, 2017. Team Ontario, led by Rachel Homan, defeated Team Manitoba in the final by a score of 8–6. The overall attendance throughout the tournament was 56, 804.
In 2020, St Catharines and the Meridian Centre hosted the 2020 CEBL Bubble. The tournament took place at the venue with teams quarantining at city hotels. The Edmonton Stingers were named the champions at the end of the tournament.In 2021 Meridian Centre hosted 3 UFC events.
They have also played host to Harlem Globetrotters basketball games, WWE NXT and Cirque du Soleil. Comedians such as Jeff Dunham and Jerry Seinfeld have also performed shows at the venue. Other guests who have made appearances include Theresa Caputo. The center has also held numerous cheerleading competitions, expos and skating shows.
