discovered that in 1972, the original Preston Memorial Auditorium single-pad arena was built by Ball Brothers Construction of Kitchener (same company).” The consultant team was led by Architects Tillmann Ruth Robinson, procured through a public RFP process. Operationally, the expansion creates efficiency by allowing the City to retire an older arena. “The expansion of this arena was completed in order to allow the City to decommission one of our older arenas,” Taylor says. Staff and programming from the decommissioned site have moved to the upgraded facility, and teams are now working through the transition period of learning new systems and optimizing booking workflows. ECONOMIC IMPACT AND THE FUTURE OF LOCAL SPORT The economic benefits are expected to be measurable. A twin-pad arena opens the door to tournament hosting that was not feasible with the previous configuration. “The economic spin-off with sports tournaments is more hotel stays and more (Photo Credit: Architects Tillmann Ruth Robinson) 72 JAN 2026 | BUSINESS ELITE CANADA
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