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James Fuchs knows the physical toll that a long playoff run in junior hockey can have on the body.

The Surrey, B.C.-born forward has lived through it twice, reaching the Superior International Junior Hockey League final with the Thunder Bay North Stars in 2023 and qualifying for the Manitoba Junior Hockey League championship series with the Steinbach Pistons last season.

Fuchs and the Pistons have designs on making another run deep into April this year, and that means the 20-year-old, who prides himself on playing a hard-nosed game in the dirty areas of the ice, will need to maintain a rigid recovery schedule.

This past Friday marked a historic moment for Steinbach as the highly anticipated Southeast Event Centre (SEC) officially opened its doors.

The brand-new facility welcomed its first visitors for the Steinbach Pistons game, and among them was Kelvin Goertzen, MLA for Steinbach, who was a huge advocate for this project and shares his thoughts on the experience.

“It felt really great, of course,” he says. “As a young person, I spent many years in the old Centennial Arena and had many great memories there. The Steinbach Huskies, the Allan Cup. But I really feel good about the fact that a new generation of Steinbach and southeast residents can now make new memories in their building. I think that’s really important.”

He says that letting go of the past can be difficult, but it is necessary to provide future generations with a space that will last for years to come.

Steinbach hockey fans had their first look inside the new Southeast Event Centre over the weekend as the Steinbach Pistons played their first games in the state-of-the-art facility.

The Pistons’ debut at their new home on Friday night was met with awe and excitement from those in attendance. While the team suffered a 3-2 shootout loss, the evening was filled with enthusiasm for the future of hockey and events in the city.

Bart Zwiep was among the first to step inside and was immediately impressed. “First thing I said was wow. I’ve been to the arena in Portage and this is much better,” he said. “It’s a really good addition for the city, and I can see a lot of stuff happening here, from concerts to championship banners being lifted.”

On again, off again and now… open. This is the ongoing story of a potential multiplex, new arena or performing arts centre in Steinbach that has finally come to be known as the Southeast Events Centre.

We have followed all city council resolutions, motions and voting as well as budgets, planning and construction. Here’s a chronological look at how we got to where we are today.

When the Steinbach Pistons hit the ice on Friday night, the hockey team ushered in a new era for the southeast Manitoba city.

The Pistons’ MJHL game against the Selkirk Steelers marked the unofficial grand opening of the Southeast Event Centre (SEC) in front of a sell-out crowd.

“It was so exciting,” Michelle Sawatzky-Koop, SEC’s communications and marketing director, told CTV News. “There’s been so much work going into this, and so much anticipation for those front doors of the Southeast Event Centre to open.”

The Steinbach Pistons opened things up at their new home, the Southeast Event Centre in an evening filled with magic, hope, memories and awe, that was only slightly dampened by a 3-2 shootout loss.

It was a magical night with an energy that has been years in the making.

Cheers echoed through the facility right from the moment people set foot in the building and kept building through warm-ups.

The players and staff of the Pistons were introduced and saluted the home town fans.

The highly anticipated Southeast Event Centre in downtown Steinbach is opening its doors for the first time tonight with a special event featuring its main tenant, the Steinbach Pistons.

Michelle Sawatzky-Koop from the Southeast Event Centre (SEC) says this is an exciting moment for the community.

“We are so excited. This has been a long time coming,” she says. “I think our dream is to open the whole thing, and we will be doing that, but we are still dreaming. I think we’ll always be dreaming at the Southeast Event Centre. But this is our very first event, it’s for our main tenants, the Steinbach Pistons, and I know they’re especially excited about it.”

It’s been decades of preparing, talking and building. But now, a highly anticipated building now stands tall, wide and bold in Steinbach’s core.

The city’s mayor, Earl Funk, says, he couldn’t be more excited as the final touches are put on the Southeast Event Centre (SEC), and starts getting used — including for the first Steinbach Piston’s game on Friday night.

“I was there on Monday, and the Pistons were practicing. Wow, that was just so exciting to see someone playing in that big event centre,” he says.

“The amount of work that’s getting done is just phenomenal, and how wonderful the building on the inside looks. It’s actually breathtaking. It’s majestic, and I do believe it’ll be the diamond of the southeast area.”

On again, off again. It’s the ongoing saga of a potential multiplex, new arena or performing arts centre in Steinbach. We have followed all city council resolutions, motions and voting as well as budgets, planning and construction. Here’s a chronological look at the last many years of this hot button issue in our city.

The Steinbach Chamber of Commerce has announced that this year’s Taste of Steinbach event will take place at the newly opened Southeast Event Centre. The annual event, which celebrates local food and community, is scheduled for May 27.

Taste of Steinbach expands to new venue

Tessa Masi, executive director of the chamber, shared the update during a recent presentation to Steinbach city council.

“Last year we were at the airport, we had 500 guests there,” said Masi. “This year, because the Southeast Event Centre is so brand new, we are going to be hosted in there. We’ve upped our number of tickets to be just over 600, so more people are able to attend. Tickets are going to go on sale shortly.”

Tickets for the event will be available through the Steinbach Chamber of Commerce website. Masi said the chamber is focused on continuing to elevate the event each year.

An “ice-ential” part of the Southeast Event Centre is ready to go, bringing it one step closer to opening.

Mike Pries, the senior arena and parks maintenance manager with the City of Steinbach, says ice making in the building is complete — thanks to the help of some new equipment, including a new ice plant.

“We’re running at 325 horsepower instead of the old one which was 155 (horsepower). So, our cooling capacity is really good right now,” he says.

Despite the newness of the facility and some equipment, he says the process stays the same.

Well, except for the fact that this year, they had to prep the concrete for the ice.

After a decade of dreaming, years of planning, countless months fundraising, and day after day of hard work, the Steinbach Pistons proudly opened their space in the Southeast Event Centre.

Head Coach and GM Paul Dyck has been right there every step of the way, alongside his brother Russ, and he had to pause when asked to talk about the space that to him, is more than just an area for hockey players.

“Took me a moment there, that’s a big question, there’s a lot,” he said with a laugh. “I needed a second to get my thoughts together. Depending where you start, you just walk into the locker room, there’s a lot of nice touches. We wanted to create something that would be around for a long, long time.

You may assume, and rightly so, that the Southeast Event Centre will have concessions selling arena favourites such as hot dogs and popcorn. However, culinary offerings, even in the concessions area, will go well beyond – with an onsite restaurant for those seeking a more elevated dining experience.

Led by Hylife Corporate Chef JP Charpentier, Forum & Bistro will be a casual French bistro, where people can come to enjoy a good meal and have a good time.

The Steinbach Pistons are counting down the days until they can finally call the Southeast Event Centre home. 

With lines and logos getting painted on the ice and the video boards nearly completely installed, excitement is building. A booth promoting season tickets and multi-game packs was a popular destination during Steinbach’s 5-4 win over Dauphin inside their temporary La Broquerie home Feb. 21. 

Steinbach residents have been waiting for almost two decades for this moment: the Southeast Event Centre is finally going to open its doors this spring.
The $75-million, multi-purpose downtown hub was slated to open in fall 2024, and then in December — but this time, it’s for sure, organizers say.
“If it doesn’t open in March, it will open in April, but it’s opening,” said Grant Lazaruk, president of Southeast Events Group, the volunteer organization that will run the facility on behalf of owner City of Steinbach.

Steinbach’s Southeast Event Centre is on track for completion, with ice making to start in a couple of weeks and occupancy expected by March. That is according to City Manager Troy Warkentin. He provided a detailed construction update to city council during a public meeting on Tuesday evening, highlighting progress on both the exterior and interior of the facility.

For Ken Dyck, hockey has always been more than just a game – it’s a tradition, a way to bring family together, and a cherished part of the Steinbach community. What started as a love for the sport has blossomed into a family tradition that has…

The Southeast Event Group is a volunteer group, non-profit organization whose sole focus is to enrich the lives of those in the southeast through community events, sports, recreation, social and cultural activities.