Saint Mary's community celebrates the Dauphinee Centre

Saint Mary’s University celebrates the Dauphinee Centre.

A new chapter in Huskies hockey lore was recognized and lauded on Saturday, Jan 11. On Hockey Day at SMU, the Santamarian community came together in the Barbara Holmes Gathering Centre to celebrate the Dauphinee Centre and the donors who supported the project: Glen and Nancy Holmes, and the late Bob Dauphinee BComm’60.

"Saint Mary's University has a proud and successful hockey tradition that will continue for generations to come in the Dauphinee Centre," said Saint Mary's President Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray. "This new arena will contribute to the continued success of our varsity men's and women's hockey teams, and provides our athletes and coaches with a new home to continue their tradition of excellence."

The Dauphinee Centre is named in honour of the late Bob Dauphinee, a Saint Mary's alumnus and community champion, who donated $2 million for an arena through his estate.

The Dauphinee Centre is the home of both the women's and men's hockey teams. The centre features an NHL-sized ice surface with seating for 850 fans and ample standing room that brings the capacity to more than 1200 people. The building is fully accessible with an elevator between floors and six accessible changing rooms for visiting teams, community-based recreational sports groups and summer camps.

On the upper level is a heated gathering centre with an attached room for spectators overlooking the ice surface. This community-oriented space is named the Barbara Holmes Gathering Centre.

The Pseudio Link, a pedway connecting the Homburg Centre for Health & Wellness to the new arena, is another new addition. The Huskies also have a great new area to prepare for games in the Holmes Family Varsity Suite.

These enhancements and the varsity suite were made possible by a generous gift of $2 million from local entrepreneurs Glen and Nancy Holmes, parents of Saint Mary's students. Glen and Nancy Holmes are the owners of Pseudio, Samuel & Co and Envy.

“The main reason I did this was that I love Halifax – I love everything about Halifax. There was a need for a rink, and we were in a position that we were able to pull it together,” said Glen Holmes. “I got a lot more out of this than I put into it. Everything I do in life, normally at this size, there’s a return that’s expected. This was more than any financial return I could have asked for. ”

The Dauphinee Centre is on track to open this season with a surprise for Huskies Stadium

The paint is drying, and the seats are installed as The Dauphinee Centre continues on its path towards opening day this fall. The varsity dressing rooms are coming along nicely, as is work on the ice surface, where the piping is in place, and the concrete surface has been laid.

“Although construction only began about a year ago, we are now closing in on the final month of this project,” said Gary Schmeisser, The Dauphinee Centre project manager. “Everyone involved in this project has been doing a great job to keep us on schedule. We all keep looking toward the opening with anticipation, and we are excited to share the finished product with our community.”

The flooring has, for the most part, all been installed and all the interior walls are in place. The elevator has been installed, and the interior and exterior of the arena have all been painted. Landscaping for the centre has already begun, showing just how close this project is coming to completion.

Earlier this summer a ceremony took place to where the iconic smoking pipe of the late Bob Boucher was laid at centre ice. This ceremony brings a direct connection between Saint Mary's storied hockey past with the future of the sport at The Dauphinee Centre. Bob was rarely seen without his smoking pipe, which became a symbol of the well-loved coach and the tradition of excellence he brought to the university’s hockey program.

While the project is winding down, other aspects of the project will soon be appearing on campus, coming as a pleasant surprise for Huskies fans.

“As some of our Saint Mary’s community members may have noticed, the scoreboard for Huskies Stadium is no longer in place,” said Scott Gray, director of Athletics and Recreation. “I am happy to share with you that as part of this project, the stadium will receive a new scoreboard that will include a video screen. Now Huskies fans will never miss a moment of the action.”

The Dauphinee Centre is scheduled to open this fall. Don’t miss out on the action, purchase tickets to the Men’s and Women’s hockey home openers and more  at http://www.smuhuskies.ca/fan_zone/Tickets.

Fence signage offers glimpse into the future The Dauphinee Centre

The Dauphinee Centre is sporting a new look thanks to new fence signage on the build site.

Installed in time for Homecoming, the signage showcases various members of the Saint Mary’s community, acknowledges donors, and helps promote the centre slated to open in time for the 2019 hockey season.

The signage is designed to reflect the fact that centre will make a significant contribution not only to varsity athletics but to the wellness of our entire community, with 50% of its usage capacity dedicated to community groups. SMU varsity athletes Marc Terriault and Siobhan Birch are featured wearing their Huskies gear. Another panel pictures Tyler Naugler, Assistant Coach, Men’s Hockey with his daughter as they walk by the Homburg Centre. The Saint Mary’s student body is represented with a photo of students Mohammad Ashiq, Jesus Hernandez, Jillian Taylor, Ashley Brewster and Sehmat Suri.

Additional panels highlight the Saint Mary’s University branding, and promote the arena name as well as the Pseudio Link and the Barbara Holmes Gathering Centre.