Image Credit: CFJC today

By Adam Donnelly

CITY OF KAMLOOPS

Crews put final touches on the Sandman Centre as the start of the Memorial Cup draws near

May 24, 2023 | 4:16 PM

KAMLOOPS — The field is set. The rink is almost ready. In close to 48 hours, the Sandman Centre will packed to the rafters with fans, as the Memorial Cup gets underway Friday night (May 26).

“You look at this building and the city has stepped up and done so much work to get us to be ready for this event,” Blazers’ President Norm Daley tells CFJC Today. “I just can’t thank everybody enough to be able to get to this point.”

It’s been a couple of weeks since the Blazers’ faithful have packed the seats of the old barn. When they arrive on Friday night for the first game between the host team and the QMJHL Champion Quebec Remparts, it’ll be as if they’re stepping into a whole new barn — right from the ice on up.

“There’s a whole process to [replacing the ice]. We had to shut the plant down, then we removed the ice the following day and started to make new ice last Friday,” Joe Vetere, Arenas and Pools Supervisor for the City of Kamloops, explains. “Here we are not even a week later, and it’s ready to be played on.”

Stay Ahead of the Curve with Kamloops' Trusted Property Manager - Rohit Kumar

May 20, 2025

Question of the Week

Do you believe the G7 summit in Alberta will help forge a smoother relationship between Canada and the U.S.?

14h ago

1000 Ways to Heal

1000 Ways to Heal: NIPD - A Path Toward Healing

17h ago

New banners and branding have been hung throughout Sandman Centre and infrastructure is in place for TSN, which will broadcast the event across Canada. The biggest change is at the east end of the arena, where suites for each team, as well as CHL officials, have been built atop a scaffolding platform.

“It was really labour intensive,” Vetere says. “For people who were at the Blazer games, when they were here originally, they saw a tiny section that was built out and they thought, ‘Geez, is this what’s being talked about?’ But of course, if you look at it now, it goes from one side to the other.”

Fans may have noticed the new screens that line the concourse on each side, as well as the new ads on the boards. However, one improvement fans won’t see will make a huge difference to the modern in-game experience.

“Another big thing that was added was a Wi-Fi upgrade. It’s going to make the experience better for people that are coming into the arena,” Vetere explains. “They’ll be able to log on and have Wi-Fi throughout the building.”

With two days until the puck drops on the tournament, crews are putting on the final touches throughout the building. Both Vetere and Daley are proud of the hard work that’s been poured into the venue and can’t wait until the fans start filing in.

“It’s incredibly exciting,” Vetere says. “All the city staff that’s been involved, everybody’s worked really hard to get it to the point where it’s ready to go for Friday night. It’s just such a huge positive for the city itself.”

“There’s just been a lot of work that’s been undertaken over the last year to get to this point,” the Blazers’ Daley says. “Just really amazing, the team of volunteers we’ve got together. The fan support has been fantastic in snapping up the tickets. Obviously, the sponsorship base here in the community has been great.”