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WATCH ABOVE: The much anticipated opening of Rogers Place happened this week. On Saturday, the first members of the public will get their chance to get up close and personal with the Oilers new home. Nearly 60 thousand tickets were released for the open house and it sold out quickly. It wasn't an easy road to get here as the city battled the wants and needs of the hometown team, an elusive billionaire who is a major part of the deal and the residents who questioned the whole deal. Sarah Kraus reports – Sep 10, 2016
They saw the building rise from the ground, steel beam by steel beam, and tuned in for Thursday’s grand opening. But on Saturday, tens of thousands of people finally got a chance to see inside Rogers Place themselves.
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Over 57,000 tickets were claimed for the free open house, held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Every 30 minutes, a new wave of 4,000 people were let inside.
Justin and Julie Lee were the first fans in on Saturday morning, eager to see the $613.7-million project.
“It was absolutely amazing! It was beyond any of my expectations. And I can’t wait to come watch my first Oilers game. I’m so excited to come back,” Julie said.
“Blown away. One of the big things I noticed is just how open it is, how light it is with the windows everywhere,” said Justin, who works downtown and has watched the construction over the past two-and-a-half years.
The couple left their kids at home for the tour, but said they are excited to bring them to future concerts and Edmonton Oilers games at the downtown arena.
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“This is a day we’re going to be able to tell our grandchildren about,” Julie said.
At 819,200 square feet, Rogers Place is almost twice as large as Rexall Place, which was the home of the Edmonton Oilers from 1974 until the end of this past season.
“There’s no more looking through a little tunnel with your popcorn waiting to get back to your seats. You can still view the game. It’s incredible.”
The arena can seat over 18,000 people at hockey games and over 20,000 for concerts. Over half of the seats are in the lower bowl.
Between the lower and upper bowls are exclusive rings of executive suites, theatre suites and loge seats. At the far end is a sports bar and an after-hours-type club. Between the blue lines in the lower bowl are wider club seats, with exclusive lounge access.
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BELOW: From top to bottom, a gallery of Rogers Place.
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Rogers Place Arena, the new home of the Edmonton Oilers, in Edmonton, Alta., on Thursday, September 8, 2016.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
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Rogers Place Arena, the new home of the Edmonton Oilers, in Edmonton, Alta., on Thursday, September 8, 2016.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
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Rogers Place Arena, the new home of the Edmonton Oilers, in Edmonton, Alta., on Thursday, September 8, 2016.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
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The upper concourse concession at Rogers Place, which has food and beverage, and bathroom facilities. The downtown Edmonton arena is one of a few in the NHL to have an upper concourse. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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The upper concourse concession at Rogers Place, which has food and beverage, and bathroom facilities. The downtown Edmonton arena is one of a few in the NHL to have an upper concourse. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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View from the cheapest seat in the house at the Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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View of the loge seating from the upper concourse at the Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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View of the loge seating from the upper concourse at the Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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The south mezzanine club, one of two such areas, at the Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Each club has 1,600 seats and
Image taken September 7, 2016.
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The south mezzanine club, one of two such areas, at the Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Each club has 1,600 seats and is on the mezzanine level. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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The south mezzanine club, one of two such areas, at the Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Each club has 1,600 seats and is on the mezzanine level. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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The south mezzanine club, one of two such areas, at the Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Each club has 1,600 seats and is on the mezzanine level. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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The concession in the south mezzanine club, one of two such areas, at the Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Each club has 1,600 seats and is on the mezzanine level. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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The escalators on the main concourse at Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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The ceiling of Ford Hall (formerly the Winter Garden) on the concourse level at Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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The entrance of the main concourse, just inside from Ford Hall (formerly the Winter Garden) at Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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View looking west inside Ford Hall (formerly the Winter Garden) at Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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View looking east inside Ford Hall (formerly the Winter Garden) at Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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Main concourse artwork of Wayne Gretzky, "The Great One," at Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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View from the premium seating area at the top of the lower bowl at Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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Main concourse view looking up at the upper level walkways at Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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The concourse of the Scotiabank suite level, where there are over 50 premium suites, at Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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The concourse of the Scotiabank suite level at Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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View looking into a partially-furnished suite (one of 57) on the Scotiabank suite level at Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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Kitchen amenities inside one of the 57 suites on the Scotiabank suite level at Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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View looking down at the ice from one of the 57 suites on the Scotiabank suite level at Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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View looking up from one of the 57 suites on the Scotiabank suite level at Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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There are 24 theatre boxes located at one end of Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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Lounge space outside the premium theatre seating at Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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There are 24 premium theatre seating boxes at Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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A hallway near the premium theatre seating at Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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View from the reservation-only Curve restaurant looking down at main concourse entrance from Ford Hall (formerly the Winter Garden) at Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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View from the suite level looking down at main concourse entrance from Ford Hall (formerly the Winter Garden) at Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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View from the suite level looking down at main concourse entrance from Ford Hall (formerly the Winter Garden) at Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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The reservation-only Curve restaurant at Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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Glasses at the reservation-only Curve restaurant at Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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View from the reservation-only Curve restaurant looking down at main concourse at Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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View from the reservation-only Curve restaurant at the Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton of the 14-metre diameter mosaic tile art piece on the floor of Ford Hall (formerly called the Winter Garden). The piece was created from artist Alex Janvier's Tsa tsa ke k'e (Iron Foot Place) painting. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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The 14-metre diameter mosaic tile art piece on the floor of Ford Hall (formerly called the Winter Garden) at the Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. The piece was created from artist Alex Janvier's Tsa tsa ke k'e (Iron Foot Place) painting. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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The loge seating level at at the Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. The level has 850 seats, which were custom designed and exclusive to Rogers Place. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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View of the upper bowl seating from the upper concourse at the Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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The exclusive, 60-member VIP Chairman's club on the event/ ice level at Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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The entrance to the Edmonton Oilers locker room on the event level at Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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View from the ice at Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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View from the ice looking up at the lower bowl of Rogers Place arena in downtown Edmonton. Image taken September 7, 2016.
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Rexall will be on site at Ford Hall during the Nov. 29 and Dec. 11 Edmonton Oilers games to offer flu shots to anyone over the age of nine.
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The City of Edmonton’s Rick Daviss, who was the arena project manager, visited other arenas in North America during the planning and design stage and is confident there is no other like Rogers Place.
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“This is your house! Edmontonians, you put up with this for five years of debate and construction and mess and traffic and everything else. We’re done! Enjoy it,” Daviss said on Saturday.
“We’re pleased to be able to deliver this project on time and on budget,” Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson said. “Thirty months to build something like this just goes to show what Edmonton’s construction companies and construction workers are capable of.”
Iveson pointed out the spin-off effect the arena is having on the rest of downtown.
“People may not yet realize the scale of the investment that the arena catalyzed,” Iveson said. “A number of condominium projects elsewhere in downtown that have opened because of this, a number of restaurants.”
The project’s completion required thousands of workers and an enormous amount of material. At the peak of construction, an estimated 9,000 workers helped build the arena. Even more people applied for jobs.
“We received, I think, over 18,000 applications and we hired about 1,600 people,” Rogers Place general manager Susan Darrington said. “We’ve got the best of the best of Edmonton in Rogers Place.”
The first pre-season Edmonton Oilers game is on Monday, Sept. 26 against the Calgary Flames. The two teams will face off in a battle of Alberta home opener on Wednesday, Oct. 12.