Canada Life Place is a sports-entertainment centre, in

London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...

, Canada – the largest such centre in

Southwestern Ontario Southwestern Ontario (census population 2,796,367 in 2021) is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. It occupies most of the Ontario Peninsula, bounded by Lake Huron (includ ...

. Its previous names include John Labatt Centre and Budweiser Gardens. Opened as the John Labatt Centre in 2002, it was named after

John Labatt John Labatt (11 December 1838 – 27 April 1915) was a Canadian businessman and brewer. Labatt took charge of Labatt Brewing Company, formally known as Labatt and Company, after his father's death in 1866. Labatt helped Labatt Brewing Company e ...

, founder of the

Labatt Labatt Brewing Company Limited () is a Anheuser-Busch InBev-owned brewery headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1847, Labatt is the largest brewer in Canada. In 1995, it was purchased by Belgian brewer Interbrew. In 2004, Interb ...

brewery in London. The centre's name was changed to Budweiser Gardens (after Labatt's sister brand in

AB InBev Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, known as AB InBev, is an American-Belgian Multinational corporation, multinational Drink industry, drink and brewing company, brewing company based in Leuven, Belgium. It is the largest brewer in the world, and in 20 ...

) in Fall 2012. Naming rights of the stadium were attained by

Canada Life The Canada Life Assurance Company ( French: ''La Compagnie d'Assurance du Canada sur la Vie''), commonly known as Canada Life (''Canada-Vie''), is a Canadian insurance and financial services company with its headquarters in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The ...

, and finalized in October 2024. The centre was built to be the new

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

home of London's

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

team, the

London Knights The London Knights are a junior ice hockey team from London, Ontario, Canada, playing in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League. The Knights started out in 1965 as the London Nationals but changed to their ...

, replacing the 40-year-old

London Ice House The London Ice House was an arena in London, Ontario, Canada. It was originally built in 1963 and was home to the London Knights ice hockey team from 1965 to 2002. The design was influenced by the first level of the Boston Garden, and had a ca ...

in the south end of the city, near

Highway 401 King's Highway 401, commonly referred to as Highway 401 and also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway or colloquially referred to as the four-oh-one, is a controlled-access 400-series highway in the Canadian prov ...

. Since 2011, it is home to London's

Basketball Super League Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

team, the

London Lightning The London Lightning is a Canadian professional basketball team based in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, with home games at Canada Life Place. The team competes in the Basketball Super League (North America), Basketball Super League. History The ...

Ownership and management

The arena is leased from the City of London by the London Civic Centre Corporation, an example of a public-private partnership. The London Civic Centre Corporation is owned in turn by EllisDon and Global Spectrum, the

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

-based subsidiary of Comcast the American cable company. Global Spectrum manages the arena, and operates more than 100 other arenas.

Seating and ticketing

Approximate capacities: * 9,046 - Hockey * 9,000 - End stage concert * 3,200 - Theatre mode (smaller concert) * 2,800 - Theatre mode (with

proscenium A proscenium (, ) is the virtual vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor itself, which serves as the frame ...

) * 10,200 - Centre stage concert In addition to the standard end stage configuration for large concerts, the arena can be set up to accommodate touring Broadway shows or smaller concerts in its theatre mode. The theatre mode features a small, intimate atmosphere and a 30-line fly grid to suspend scenery or lighting and sound. When the sports-entertainment centre was originally being planned, estimates for sports seating were as low as 6,500 and high as 12,000 before settling on the original 9,090. It was decided due to several smaller arenas in the 4,000 to 7,000 range struggling financially and the cost on construction nearly doubling to have 12,000 or more seats. The sports-entertainment centre features 38 luxury suites and 1,100 club seats. The arena complies with the

Ontarians with Disabilities Act The ''Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005'' (, AODA) is a statute enacted in 2005 by the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in Canada. Its purpose is to improve accessibility standards for Ontarians with physical and mental ...

and has 55% more public washrooms than required by the law.

Cost and construction

John Labatt Centre was built at a cost of approximately $42 million by the

-based construction company EllisDon Corp., builders of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Rogers Centre Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a retractable roof stadium in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, it is home to t ...

. The City of London contributed $32 million for arena construction and $10 million to purchase the land, while the London Civic Centre Corporation added $9.5 million to the arena's construction. The sports-entertainment centre was originally named the John Labatt Centre, after the

Labatt Brewing Company Labatt Brewing Company Limited () is a Anheuser-Busch InBev-owned brewery headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1847, Labatt is the largest brewer in Canada. In 1995, it was purchased by Belgian brewer Interbrew. In 2004, Interb ...

which has a production plant in London, until 2012 when their 10-year naming rights expired. The Labatt Brewing Company had an exclusive first rights on a second deal and could change the name if they chose, which they did, to Budweiser Gardens to further promote the main brand of their sister corporation,

Anheuser-Busch Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC ( ) is an American brewing company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008, it has been wholly owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (AB InBev), now the world's largest brewing company, which owns multiple ...

. The original deal was $5-million for 10 years and the deal signed in 2012 was $6.4 million for 10 years. Global Spectrum, which manages the sports-entertainment centre, was selected by the City of London to choose the naming rights and they used a subsidiary called Front Row Marketing. Proceeds from naming rights are put into the net revenue, though the exact divide of the amount going to the City of London and Global Spectrum is unknown.

Sporting events

Within a few years of opening, the London Knights had a championship season in 2004–05 and the centre was well positioned to take maximum advantage of the team's popularity. Canada Life Place hosted the

2005 Memorial Cup The 2005 Memorial Cup (branded as the 2005 Mastercard Memorial Cup for sponsorship reasons) was held May 21–29, 2005 at the John Labatt Centre in London, Ontario. It was the 87th annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major ju ...

, the Canadian Hockey League's national major junior championship series, which the Knights also won after winning the OHL championship. The arena also hosted the

2014 Memorial Cup The 2014 Memorial Cup was a four-team, round-robin format tournament played from May 16–25, 2014 in London, Ontario. It was the 96th Memorial Cup championship and determined the champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The tournament ...

, in which the

Edmonton Oil Kings The Edmonton Oil Kings are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, that play in the Western Hockey League (WHL). The team, founded in 2006, shares an ownership group with the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers. The te ...

were champions defeating the

Guelph Storm The Guelph Storm are a major junior ice hockey team based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. They have played in the OHL since the 1991–92 season. The team plays home games at the Sleeman Centre. History The franchise started as the Toronto Marl ...

by a score of 6–3. The

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

Mustangs hockey team used Budweiser Gardens as their home arena from 2005 until 2007. They have since moved back to Thompson Arena. In addition to hockey, the arena is used as home play arena for the

professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

team. Canada Life Place is host to national-level events, such as the 2005 Canadian Figure Skating Championships, the

2006 Scott Tournament of Hearts The 2006 Scott Tournament of Hearts, the Canadian women's curling championship, was held at the John Labatt Centre in London, Ontario, February 25, 2006 – March 6, 2006. The tournament consisted of 12 teams, one from each of Canada's provi ...

(curling), the 2007 World Synchronized Skating Championships, the

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

and

2023 Tim Hortons Brier The 2023 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held from March 3 to 12 at the Budweiser Gardens in London, Ontario, London, Ontario. The defending champion Team Canada rink, skipped by Brad Gushue won the event, and ...

(curling), as well as a wide variety of family entertainment such as ''

Disney on Ice Walt Disney's World on Ice is a series of touring ice shows produced by Feld Entertainment's Ice Follies And Holiday on Ice, Inc. division under agreement with The Walt Disney Company. Aimed primarily at children, the shows feature figure ska ...

'', the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters is an American Exhibition game, exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 ...

Monster Jam Monster Jam is a live motorsport event tour operated by Feld Entertainment. The series began in 1992, and is sanctioned under the umbrella of the United States Hot Rod Association. Events are primarily held in North America, with some addition ...

(extreme motorsports) and ''

Stars on Ice Stars on Ice is a touring figure skating show produced by IMG. It was co-founded in 1986 by Bob Kain, IMG executive, and Scott Hamilton, the 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist in men's figure skating. The production is a theatrical show featuring a ...

''. It also hosted an international

jousting Jousting is a medieval and renaissance martial game or hastilude between two combatants either on horse or on foot. The joust became an iconic characteristic of the knight in Romantic medievalism. The term is derived from Old French , ultim ...

tournament two years in a row, and the

World Figure Skating Championships The World Figure Skating Championships are an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU). The first World Championships were held in 1896 in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and they have been held e ...

in 2013. The arena also hosted on September 22, 2014, an

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

preseason game between the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

and the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

. Toronto won, 3–2, in a shootout.

Other events

The arena has also hosted many other well known artists and Broadway Shows. Canada Life Place was launched as a concert venue with Cher's " Living Proof: The Farewell Tour" in 2002. The tour returned for an encore performance in 2005. Sum 41 recorded their live album

Go Chuck Yourself ''Go Chuck Yourself'' (released as ''Happy Live Surprise'' in Japan) is a live album by Canadian rock band Sum 41 recorded in London, Ontario in April 2005. "Nothing on My Back", "Machine Gun", "That's All Right" (Arthur Crudup cover), "In Too De ...

from their tour of the same name here on April 11, 2005. In 2007, Meat Loaf's "3 Bats Live" DVD from the " Seize The Night" tour was recorded here.

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; ) is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, Montreal, Saint-Michel, Montreal, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Jun ...

chose Canada Life Place to stage its first-ever arena show, a rebuilt production of

Saltimbanco ''Saltimbanco'' was a touring show by Cirque du Soleil. ''Saltimbanco'' ran from 1992 to 2006 in its original form, performed under a large circus tent called the Grand Chapiteau; its last performance in that form was in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, ...

Sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...

performed during his Symphonicities Tour on July 21, 2010, along with the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, England. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording contracts and important engagemen ...

. In 2010, Canada Life Place was awarded as the Canadian Venue of the Year at the Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Awards. The arena hosted the 2019 Juno Awards on March 17, 2019. On March 30, 2024, Canada Life Place hosted

All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned and operated by Shahid Khan, Shahid and Tony Khan, with the latter serving as President (corporate title), president an ...

Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011; the promotion was subs ...

for a live television taping of

AEW Collision ''AEW Collision'', also known as ''Saturday Night Collision'' or simply ''Collision'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It airs live every Saturday at 8 p.m. ...

and taped episodes for

AEW Rampage ''AEW Rampage'', also known as ''Friday Night Rampage'' or simply ''Rampage'', is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW), running from August 13, 2021, to Dece ...

and

Ring of Honor Wrestling ''Ring of Honor Wrestling'' (also known as ''ROH Honor Club TV'', and often shortened as ''ROH Wrestling TV'', ''ROH TV'', ''ROH TV on HonorClub'', or ''ROH on HonorClub'') is an American professional wrestling television series produced by Rin ...

References

External links

Canada Life Place
{{Authority control 2002 establishments in Ontario Companies based in London, Ontario Indoor arenas in Ontario Ice hockey venues in Ontario London Knights London Lightning Music venues in Ontario Ontario Hockey League arenas Public–private partnership projects in Canada Sports venues completed in 2002 Sports venues in London, Ontario