By: Martin Cash

Posted: 7:34 PM CST Friday, Jan. 10, 2025

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.

With the capacity to seat 3,000 for hockey (the Steinbach Pistons of the MJHL will be the anchor tenant) and 4,000 for concerts, the 112,000-square-foot event centre will the first of its kind in southeast Manitoba.

“It’s going to be great for the entire southeast, not just for Steinbach,” said Mayor Earl Funk.

In addition to the hockey arena/concert venue, there is a basketball court, gym facilities, walking track, space for children’s activities, restaurant and banquet facilities (for weddings up to 500 people).

SEC general manager Jeff Bannon, who ran the retail operations at Winnipeg’s IG Field for close to 10 years after that stadium opened, said he’s already thinking it could use four basketball courts.

“We’re completely booked for adult sports in the evening,” he said. “We’ve already got weddings booked up until next Christmas.”

For various reasons, it took some time to get the concept off the ground. Originally, there were plans to build it outside of the city of roughly 20,000. Some of the former ideas were even more grand than the one that now stands at 321 Elmdale St.

It took an impressive level of commitment from the city, which is responsible for about $32 million of the costs, and generous investments from the federal ($9.5 million) and provincial ($8 million) governments to get the project in motion.

What got it over the hump was an impressive $25.5 million in total donations from the public.

“We’re the third-largest community in the province, we were due for something,” said Lazaruk.

While some might balk at spending money on such a project, community support in Steinbach has been strong.

“I’m a very accessible mayor, I’m around town all the time,” Funk said. “The main thing people are saying now about the centre is that they just can’t wait to get inside it.”

Over the life of the project, the donations rolled in, ranging from $100 to six- and seven-figures.

“I don’t know of another community that has raised $25.5 million towards a centre like this,” said Lazaruk. “We’re quite proud of the achievement.”

The SEC is expecting to draw from the entire region, including Winnipeg (some 50 kilometres northwest), for certain events. “It’ll be a game-changer for the province, not just for Steinbach,” said Bannon.

In addition to all sorts of community events — both Lazaruk and Funk said while the Pistons are the anchor tenant, the facility is designed for broad-based access — Bannon believes there will be the opportunity to book acts that might not otherwise perform in southern Manitoba.

“They do such a good job of booking shows at True North (Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Canada Life Centre and Burton Cummings Theatre in Winnipeg) that there’s lots of acts that are coming across the country, but have no place to play,” said Bannon. “They are looking for other opportunities and we feel we can fill that void.”

The SEC is on the downtown site of the old Centennial Arena that was demolished in summer 2023. It will be connected to the remaining T.G. Smith Arena and the Keystone Cinema.

All in all, Bannon said it’s going to allow the region to book better programming and larger tournaments.

Funk spoke to the Free Press after accompanying some City of Winnipeg councillors, seeking ideas for potential developments in the capital, on a tour of the facility. “I think they were impressed,” he said.

Bannon has been on the job for about two years, moving to Steinbach from Edmonton, where he ran the retail operations for the Edmonton Oilers for two years.

“I’ve spent time in NHL locker rooms. The Pistons locker room will rival NHL standard locker rooms,” said Bannon. “It’s so good, we are not allowing anyone to take pictures until it’s unveiled.”

With an expansive west-facing glass wall and the “gorgeous” atrium, superlatives are being bandied about. Bannon said the technology that will be deployed “is through the roof.”

Funk is not concerned about the SEC stealing business from existing local operators, even though the city-owned facility will effectively be in competition with existing banquet halls, athletic centres and restaurants.

“I think what the SEC is going to do is grow the pie. It’s going to bring more people to Steinbach,” he said.

“When my wife and I opened Earl’s Meat Market about 20 years ago, there were no meat markets in town. Now there are three in the vicinity, as there is a lot of business for all of us.”

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca