Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, along with Verdun Borough Mayor Jean-François Parenteau, proudly inaugurated the new design of the Verdun Auditorium. Thanks to a major investment of more than $44 million by the City of Montreal, this emblematic building has undergone a major transformation to become more functional and efficient in terms of sustainable development.
The inauguration also marked the official naming of the Scotty Bowman Space and Rink and the Denis Savard Space and Rink. The two hockey legends from Verdun were present to share some of their many memories of the Auditorium.
The redesign of the Auditorium is in line with the City of Montreal and the Verdun Borough's objective of providing the population with modern infrastructures to support an active lifestyle. The revamped complex will be able to host sports, cultural and artistic events. The new facilities are universally accessible and will allow sledge hockey practices and events to be held on both ice surfaces. In its new vocation, the Auditorium also acts as the home of the 21.02 Women's Hockey High Performance Centre, the only one of its kind in the country.
These major renovations have also helped preserve the memory of a place that has marked generations of Montrealers. The building's architectural heritage was respected and restored, starting with the wooden bleachers and the Art Deco style façade, which was restored to its original state.
This project was also made possible thanks to the involvement of the Ministère de l'Éducation et de l'Enseignement supérieur du Québec, which granted a $1 million subsidy for the completion of the work.
A more ecological building
The City of Montréal is committed to fight climate change and has ensured that the Auditorium's modernization work will allow it to replace its Freon refrigeration system with an ammonia-based system that emits no greenhouse gases (GHG).
This change is part of the City's Climate Plan, which aims to reduce GHG by 55% by 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
Quotes
"Today, the Verdun Auditorium has regained all the charm that has seduced so many Montrealers. It is an exemplary rehabilitation that takes into account our objective of carbon neutrality as well as our concern to enhance Montreal's built heritage. We have invested so that this complex will continue to be a place of social cohesion, which is so essential to solidify the feeling of belonging to the neighbourhood and to the city. And I am very proud to see the beauty of the final result, which is a tribute to the past of the Verdun Auditorium and an assurance that this place will still be there for generations to come," said the City of Montreal Mayor, Valérie Plante.
"It is a great pride for all Verdunites to rediscover the original heritage of this mythical building in our collective history. This anchor on the shores of the river becomes the beacon of a unique sports and cultural hub in Montreal. These new facilities will allow all citizens to showcase their various talents and offer large-scale events in the heart of our neighbourhood," said Verdun Borough Mayor, Jean-François Parenteau.
"With the renovation of the Verdun Auditorium, we are continuing to take concrete measures to make Montreal more active and promote healthy lifestyles. This means offering a wide range of activities, and that is exactly what this emblematic building will be able to bring to Montrealers," said Nathalie Goulet, who is responsible for social inclusion, homelessness, the status of women, youth, sports and recreation on the Executive Committee.
About Scotty Bowman and Denis Savard
Verdun native Scotty Bowman won nine Stanley Cups as a coach in the National Hockey League, including five as head coach of the Montreal Canadiens in 1973 and from 1976 to 1979. He is the most winning coach in NHL history with 1,244 regular season wins and 223 playoff wins. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991 and is considered the greatest coach in NHL history.
Denis Savard first made a name for himself on the ice of the Verdun Auditorium in the 1970s with the Verdun Leafs and the Montreal Juniors. He played 1196 games in the National Hockey League with the Chicago Blackhawks, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Montreal Canadiens, with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 1993. He is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame since 2001.
