The Best Seats
In The House

With two campuses in the province of New Brunswick, the University of New Brunswick (UNB) is solidifying itself as one of Canada’s premiere post-secondary institutions. Boasting over 230 years of history and over 75 program choices for current and prospective students, UNB aims to provide an exceptional and transformative education for their students, by encouraging initiative and innovation, unlocking their creative potential.

As part of their budding athletic programming which includes representation in sports such as basketball, soccer, volleyball, hockey, and swimming, UNB approached our team for assistance in replacing some dated bleacher seating. Located on the outdoor portion of the BMO Centre located on the school’s Fredericton campus, the existing bleachers had been deemed to have served their purpose over the years and were no longer code-compliant. 

Held on a bi-annual basis since 1967, the Canada Games are celebrating their 50^th anniversary this summer as they kick off in Winnipeg next month.  The games, being held in tandem with Canada’s 150^th birthday, feature 16 sports spread across over 250 events during the 17-day event showcasing Canada’s top athletic talent.

The games are expected to draw over 20,000 visitors to Winnipeg, this year’s host city.  In addition to the anticipated visitors, Winnipeg will also play host to over 4,000 athletes and coaching staff members.

The events are scheduled to be held across 23 of the city’s athletic facilities and recreational areas.  One such facility and perhaps the most anticipated one is the Canada Games Sport For Life Centre, which is set to host the Games’ basketball and indoor volleyball events.  Located in the heart of downtown Winnipeg, this facility has been ten years in the making and was spearheaded by Sport Manitoba, the leading planning, programming, and funding agency for the development of amateur sport in Manitoba.

As part of Canada’s upcoming 150^th birthday bash, the Ottawa 2017 committee has planned big events for the past few months and has much more to come in the next few months.. As Canada Day approaches on July 1 of this year, Ottawa 2017 planned 12 months of immersive and moving experiences to complement national celebrations and upcoming events and festivals.

Concentrated in the Nation’s Capital, Ottawa 2017 is cementing the city as the best place for Canadians of all ages to celebrate the 150^th anniversary of this great country’s confederation.

Recently, we headed back to the Waterloo region of Ontario where just last year we aided the University of Waterloo in revamping their Columbia Icefields Centre.  The athletic complex, which opened in early 2014 came to our team when the need for a customized bleacher solution was required for the arena within the multi-use facility.

It was then our team installed a three-row arena bleacher system complete with extended rear decking for standing room viewing, contoured seating with numbering and custom vinyl end curtains complete with the University’s logo.

Each bleacher system we design, supply and/or install is unique in one way or another.  While some are designed from the ground up, such as large-scale grandstands, others are solely designed to accommodate special hindrances and seating capacities.

Going beyond traditional uses such as stadiums, gymnasiums, and outdoor sports fields, we also supply a line of bleachers specifically crafted and suited for high-humidity environments such as aquatic facilities.

These facilities, often humid and wet in nature, require certain material and construction requirements in order to last a number of years; a point our team took into consideration while developing our innovative pool bleachers for use in moisture-rich environments.

During the fall of 2016, an opportunity presented itself that would allow us to work closely with a school district in the picturesque Canadian Maritimes.  The opportunity was sent to tender by the Anglophone South School District, a district that operates 79 public schools serving over 10,000 students in Kings and Queens Counties in New Brunswick.  The school district was looking to acquire bleacher seating systems for a few gymnasiums in three different schools in the district.

A project nearly a year in the making came to fruition this fall as our team was busy designing a set of seating banks that were quite different than most.  In December of 2015, we were approached by Sublime Architecture who had a client in need of a very unique and customized retractable bleacher product.

Naturally, our team took the task at hand and quickly got to work with both the architecture firm and the end user.  The product was to be installed and utilized at Cégep Garneau, a public academic institution located in Quebec City.  Currently speaking, approximately 6,000 students call Cégep Garneau home as they embark on a two-year study program that is in place to better help students in the province of Quebec prepare for post-secondary education.

Straddling the border of Canada and the United States lies a trio of waterfalls that collectively form the southern end of the Niagara Gorge and are aptly referred to as Niagara Falls.  Not far from this popular tourist destination that attracts visitors from around the world, you will find Niagara Falls, Ontario, a small, but vibrant city known for its friendly population and long list of outdoor experiences available to visitors.

Our most recent project landed us in the City of Niagara Falls, which contracted our organization to breathe some new air into a set of out-dated grandstand bleachers in one of the city’s many outdoor parks.  Oakes Park is found smack dab in the centre of this bustling small city and is only roughly 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) from the falls themselves.  Amenities at the park include an ample parking area, children’s playground, soccer pitch, two baseball diamonds, track surface, restrooms and concessions.

Before the snow hit the ground last winter, our crews were working diligently on getting the final touches on what is now one of Ottawa’s most beautiful recreational parks.  After two years of planning, the Millennium Park project grew wings of its own and took flight.

The $8 million park expansion includes a new artificial turf football and soccer field, stadium seating and lighting, nine full-size soccer fields, a junior-size soccer field, two ultimate Frisbee fields, a 400m running track, two shade structures, a club house for junior sports clubs, a splash pad with both senior and junior play zones, and junior and senior play structures and swing sets.

If you own or operate a facility that contains an open space such as a gymnasium, the versatility of a telescopic bleacher system cannot be beat.  Stacking up against a wall or installed within a recessed wall, these seating structures are discrete when not in use.  When the time comes for a special or athletic event, these bleachers can be pulled out either manually or by way of electric operation, giving spectators a proper place to sit and cheer.

In addition to the versatility of these systems, they can also be customized in a number of different ways including the number of rows, the kind of seating installed and with custom colour configurations.  Oftentimes you will see these seating systems adorned with the school or team colours across each row of seating and we even have the ability to customize messaging such as school or team initials.