November 16, 2013
Barrie Molson Centre (Capacity: 4,200)
Barrie, ON
Barrie Colts vs Niagara Ice Dogs
Final Score: 8 – 2
* The arena has been renamed Sadlon Arena
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In the hopes that this would be the first of many trips to see the Ontario Hockey League, we made the journey to Barrie. This rapidly growing city of 136,000 is located in Central Ontario, about an hour north of Toronto, and is known for the abundant outdoor recreational opportunities in the nearby area. The local hockey team has always been known as the Colts and after different incarnations in various lower junior leagues, the Colts began 1995 as an expansion franchise in the major junior OHL. The team has done very well, finishing with a winning record 14 of their 18 years and they have won their division five times. One league championship sits in their trophy case, while last season, they lost a heartbreaker in Game 7 of the Finals to London (the Knights scored with virtually no time left). Barrie Molson Centre was opened the same season the OHL version of the Colts began and this building was a model for a newer wave of future arenas in the league. While I don’t quite understand the tight spaces despite ample room to build out, the arena works well for the team and city.
Prestige Ranking: 3 out of 5
Location
Barrie features a cute little downtown section that sits on a waterfront thanks to Kempenfeld Bay (which goes into Lake Simcoe). Because of an early Santa parade, the city was jammed and we never had the chance to explore, but we at least drove by the signature structure of Barrie, the Spirit Catcher. The arena is not near downtown as the location 6 km (4 miles) to the south is a generic commercial area built up with recently-completed sets of big business, strip malls and chain restaurants. Some of those places to eat (Buffalo Wild Wings, Panera, Milestones) are within walking distance from the arena.
Location Ranking: 5 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
The location is very simple to get to as it is right off Exit 90 on Hwy 400. That highway connects Barrie with Toronto and also becomes congested in the summer-time as Ontarians make the trek just past Barrie into Cottage Country. Though it is a breeze to find the arena, I was surprised not to see one sign for the Barrie Molson Centre when driving in. Abundant parking is adjacent to the facility and the multilane access roads made it hassle-free to depart.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 7.5 out of 8
Exterior
The building has a mostly tan look to it with the lower half built in brick. Dominating the view from the front is the Horsepower Sports Bar & BBQ Grill, which is a part of the arena. In a gentle arc near the top of the arena, brown letters spell out “Barrie Molson Centre”.
Exterior Ranking: 6 out of 10
Concourse
Before heading inside, the continued lack of signage caused a problem because I could not find the ticket office for Will Call. There are three entrances, but only one has the box office and it is in the back of the building at the East entrance. Picking the wrong door leads to an annoying walk around the arena. Inside, I’m not sure why the concourses are so small when there was plenty of land available to build the arena outwards more. The congested concourse is walkable on all sides, but at the West end, you actually have to walk through the restaurant to get to the other side. Bathrooms are oddly placed too (right near the entrance to the seating bowl).
Concourse Ranking: 1.5 out of 5
Food
One nice thing was the overwhelming smell of popcorn throughout and that was provided by Charlie’s Popcorn Factory, which had all kinds of flavors. The rest of the food was unmemorable as generic stadium items were available and the pizza was kind of crappy. I was also disappointed in the beer as just offering Molson and Coors is not enough for a city that has a couple decent craft brews. Only the restaurant brings this ranking up a point.
Food Ranking: 4 out of 8
Interior
The BMC is an intimate facility and there are some nice quirks that make the arena stand out from other seating bowls. Starting with the restaurant at one end, there are two enclosed areas to dine and watch followed by lower sections in the arena with drink-rails. The bowl has a good design with all of the brown seats surrounding the rink at a decent pitch that is steep and able provide very solid sightlines. Suites are only on one side and they are actually at the top and bottom, with the lower-level ones acting as baseball-style dugout suites. Interesting, as this was the first I’ve seen this design in an arena. While the small surface area is undesirable in other aspects of the building, the tight space inside helps to make the rink a more intimate experience for hockey.
Interior Ranking: 9.5 out of 14
Scoreboard
The square scoreboard at center is exceptionally and unnecessarily large for an arena this size. It is old-school in look and design. In the middle is a video screen, which primarily displays stationary graphics or ads through the game, despite the capability of displaying more video. Curiously, the end scoreboard was either purposely off or not working, which must be annoying for the players trying to find the clock.
Scoreboard Ranking: 2 out of 4
Displays
Inside the restaurant is where some of the better displays can be found as the walls are adorned with Barrie jerseys and a neat little picture display of former Colts that made the NHL. Around the concourse, fans will see a case with team pictures and the Captains Wall, which features a large picture of each Barrie captain. Near the East entrance is the Barrie Molson Centre Wall of Fame, which is a nice historical series of flyers (my favorite was the WWF promo for a house show in 1997). Perhaps most impressive are the rafters above the rink. While the standard team accomplishments are posted, it was pretty cool to see stat boards hanging for team leaders in various statistical categories. And it wasn’t just like there were three names listed…each one had room for 20 names! Pretty cool little touch inside.
Displays Ranking: 4 out of 6
Cost
It’s nice that ticket prices are generally the same for any seat in the building as they range between $19.50 and $22, even the restaurant seats. The $3 to $5 fee when buying online is annoying however. Compared to the rest of the league, these prices are right in the median. Barrie does have a leg up on everyone else with the fan-friendly free parking. As for other items, the program was $2 and food prices were a little high ($4.50 for a pizza slice, $3.50 for a 20oz soda).
Cost Ranking: 7 out of 8
Fan Support
It was mostly full on a Saturday Night in the Barrie Molson Centre and the announced crowd of 3,854 was a decently accurate gauge of true attendance. The Colts have been around the 3500 number for the last several years and that puts them in the middle of the OHL attendance rankings. While the building looks mostly full, I’m surprised this city of over 100,000 does not come out more to games. In the playoffs last season, there were 10 home games and only the last two (Games 4 and 6 of the Finals) reached a sell-out.
Fan Support Ranking: 5.5 out of 8
Atmosphere
The crowd at our game was very subdued, something I did not expect on my first Canadian OHL visit. They were just waiting for something to happen and failed to generate noise at other points of the game besides a goal. When there was a score, most raised their arms, but stayed in their seat as sporadic cowbells would ring. With the low roof and tight building, this has the potential to be a very loud arena (which I’m sure it was in the playoffs). But on the night I came, it was only somewhat loud a few times. On a side note, I enjoyed the “Colt” references through the game as occasionally horse noises would be played and variations on that equine theme were noticeable.
Atmosphere Ranking: 5.5 out of 14
Other Stuff
The most noticeable thing walking around the inside of the seating bowl was how sticky the floors were. Either they never mop the place or folks from Barrie are all clumsily spilling drinks. My sneakers stuck pretty much with every step, no matter where I went…..Another boo goes to the restaurant after the game. Only appetizers were served and they took forever. That food leftover was bad too as we left half of our bland Quesadillas……On the positive side of things, the TV’s throughout the concourse focused on the clock until intermission ended was a great touch…..There is a very small merchandise store called ColtSport.
Game
The game was even and competitive through two periods as Barrie and Niagara were tied at 2. Things changed drastically in the third period, which was probably the most dominant I have ever seen from a team. The Colts scored six in the last frame and they did it by peppering goalie Brent Moran with 23 shots. Barrie controlled the puck and having five power plays helped to keep the game mostly in Niagara’s zone. Most of the team picked up a point on the night and centerman Erik Bradford finished with two goals.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
