It’s becoming easier and easier to imagine: A brand-new state-of-the-art entertainment facility in the heart of southeastern Manitoba. That can host more than 2,400 hockey fans in comfortable seats with cup holders, easily accessible concessions, and plenty of washrooms, to name a few of the benefits the new building will bring.
With the 2024-25 Manitoba Junior Hockey League season barely three months away, the new Southeast Event Centre is getting set to welcome the Steinbach Pistons as they host the Niverville Nighthawks on New Year’s Eve for the facility’s debut event.
“It’s going to be electric because it’s going to be full,” says Jamie Roy, the Pistons’ Sales & Marketing Director. “We want our whole community to join us in this new era of excellence.”
As it becomes operational, the Southeast Event Centre is expecting to be booked with various events up to 200 days per year. Pistons season ticket holders will have first dibs on everything that happens under the events centre roof – something that makes the 2024-25 package especially enticing.
“We are very excited to be launching our season ticket drive,” says Roy. “Right now, we’re starting to raise awareness for the campaign, and starting in July we’ll be going down the list, from corporate donors and sponsors to Pistons season ticket holders. At the end of August, we’ll launch to the general public.”
There is still an opportunity to connect with Jeffrey Bannon, Southeast Events Group’s General Manager, and Roy to become a capital donor or have sponsorship/advertising in the facility. Starting on July 2nd, those who have donated towards the capital cost of the building will get the first opportunity to reserve their seats. They will be followed by SEG & Steinbach Pistons sponsors, and Pistons season ticket holders.
Pistons fans can expect to be impressed by the upgrades to comfort, amenities and accessibility at price points that remain family-friendly. Many tickets will offer the prospect of watching a top junior hockey program in a world-class space for as low as $13 per game.
“The facility is tiered. So you have your P3, P2, P1, P1 Plus, Club Seats and Suites,” explains Roy, adding that bleacher seating is a thing of the past. “All seats have a back rest, which will be nice for season ticket-holders who have been sitting on painted two-by-sixes for a number of years.”
For a limited time, the team is also giving members of the community a chance to lock in a club seat or suite along with a tax-deductible Legacy Builder Donation. The Steinbach Pistons website explains more about how to become a Legacy Builder.
All season ticket-holders, meanwhile, will benefit from an internal presale on every event the Southeast Event Centre hosts.
“If you purchase Piston season tickets, you get a first right of refusal for every other event, from bands to trade shows, guest speakers and comedians,” says Jeffrey Bannon, Southeast Events Group’s General Manager. “It’s a huge benefit. That’s one of the perks of becoming a Pistons season ticket-holder.”
Bannon emphasizes that the Southeast Event Centre will be for a lot more than just hockey. The two-level facility, with a footprint of 94,000 sq ft., will also feature banquet space, private meeting rooms, trade show floors, a walking track and hard courts for volleyball, basketball and pickleball. It will also have a fantastic audio-visual set-up for large concerts and other artistic shows.
“Every experience, every event that we have is going to be world-class, and I use that term all the time,” Bannon says. But he underlines that part of his goal is to have families be able to enjoy an event and go back home with money in their pocket.
“That’s what we’re after,” he says. “And as a man who loves snacks, we’ll make sure they’re very affordable.”
Concessions will be strategically located throughout the Southeast Event Centre, and the main food and drink area – nicknamed Concession Alley – will include six stations featuring items such as popcorn, cotton candy and mini donuts. There should be very little waiting in line, whether for snacks or to use a washroom, of which the building will have 76. Additionally, the entire facility will be licensed for alcohol.
“Our goal is to ensure costs remain as neutral as possible, and to get the building filled as much as possible,” Bannon explains. “We know what people are charged elsewhere, and that will not be happening here.”
Roy is already dreaming of having full houses for Pistons games and says the reality of the Southeast Event Centre’s upcoming completion has sunk in as he’s walked on the site.
“You get to see it, and you get to dream of what opening night will be,” he says. “We can’t wait to have a community that has supported this dream come and join us. It’s really exciting.”
Existing Pistons season ticket-holders can expect to receive a phone call this summer, and they’ll be invited to pick between the P3, P2, P1, P1 Plus, Club Seats and Suites sections, with specific seat selection following some weeks after. Further ticketing information is available online, and the office can be reached by calling (204) 346-1604 or emailing info@steinbachpistons.ca.
