Quote:
Originally Posted by #-3
It will be vary close to 20K, but probably under.
At 18,600 the new Arena in Edmonton will be the smallest rink built for a preexisting Canadian team.
I would bet Money it will be larger than that.
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I wouldn't bet too much if I were you. ACC, GM Place, Centre Bell were all built relatively around the same time.
- ACC was an obvious upgrade on the gardens but focused primarily on boxes
- GM Place again was a big step up from Pacific Coliseum
- Centre Bell is the biggest arena in the NHL, and also a massive improvement on the old forum
All three of those buildings replaced existing buildings that were decades outdated from another era. Only the new arena in Edmonton and (soon) Calgary are replacing buildings that were built in the newer age where higher seat counts were better. Of the 14 NHL buildings opened since Centre Bell only 2 (BB&T and Tampa Bay) have had capacity above 19,000. The Saddledome is actually the 5th largest arena in the NHL currently. It is likely the new rink will drop towards league average in the 18k range with an increase in the number of corporate boxes, club seats, and a decrease in "press level" type seating.