The Western Financial Place (formerly known as the Cranbrook Recreational Complex) is a 4,268-seat (plus 352 standing room)

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectato ...

and an aquatics centre which is located in East Kootenay Cranbrook,

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

. Western Financial Place is a multi-purpose recreational facility. The arena is a standardised

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

size rink at 200 feet long and 85 feet wide. It was built in 2000 and it has hosted many events and concerts since its opening. It serves as an arena for the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

practice sessions, a Superdogs show,

monster truck A monster truck is a specialized off-road vehicle with a heavy duty suspension, four-wheel steering, large-displacement V8 engines and oversized tires constructed for competition and entertainment uses. Originally created by modifying stock ...

shows, a number of Champions of Skating performances and the Husky Skate the Nation performances. It also was home to the

Kootenay Ice The Kootenay Ice (officially stylized as ICE) were a major junior ice hockey team based in Cranbrook, British Columbia, and competed in the Western Hockey League (WHL). The team played its home games at Western Financial Place. The franchise ...

WHL major junior

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

team. The arena has been the host of two circus groups. The Circus Gatti and Cirque Sublime performed their show "Adamo" here.

Closure and reopening

Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

the complex was forced to close in March, 2020 due to the restrictions put in place by the provincial government of British Columbia. It was announced that the complex would reopen on November 2, 2020 with strict access rules and a number of facility changes to accommodate restrictions. During the closure, the City of Cranbrook budgeted $3.55 million for the reconstruction of the roof and arena upgrades. The construction process was carried out under COVID-19 protocols and without the general public.

References

External links

Western Financial Place
{{Coord, 49.5137, -115.75626, type:landmark, display=title British Columbia Hockey League arenas Indoor ice hockey venues in Canada Indoor arenas in British Columbia Sports venues in British Columbia Western Hockey League arenas Cranbrook, British Columbia 2000 establishments in British Columbia Sports venues completed in 2000