December 30, 2003 - Construction Update #17 will be the first update since the announcement that Winnipeg's new sports and entertainment arena will officially be named MTS Centre and the last news release from the site for this year. As the reduced workweeks around the Christmas and New Years celebrations arrive, the project reaches the 50% completion milestone. In less than one year crowds of spectators will enjoy the first of many sports and musical productions in MTS Centre.

In the past week, two of the four permanent site cranes were dismantled. Two large temporary cranes were moved onto the event floor to lift the first 282-foot long roof truss into place at the south end of the building. A decorated Christmas tree now adorns the roofline steel lighting the downtown sky above the site for Christmas

More than 84 million pounds of concrete have been formed and poured in place to shape the emerging superstructure of MTS Centre on Portage Avenue. The upper concourse floor slab of the third and highest concourse in the building is now poured, the upper concourse seating stadia is more than 75% complete and the "ring beam" that encircles the perimeter of the building above the upper concourse and most of the columns that will support the steel trusses of the roof structure are completely in place.

Interior finishing continues at the event level, on the main concourse at street level and on the MTS Centre private suite level. The outline of 46 private suites is now clearly visible in a ring around the mid-level of the facility with the steel studs for walls defining the outline of each suite. The lower event level and main concourse are now completely closed in with tarps and heated to provide a comfortable working environment for a number of trades who are building rooms and installing electrical, mechanical and plumbing systems.

In the first weeks of the New Year more structural steel will arrive to frame in the remaining roofline and exterior walls. The entire building envelope will be in place by March 2004. MTS Centre is projected to open on schedule in mid November 2004.

For more information contact:
Jim Millican
Vice President Marketing and Communications
True North Sports and Entertainment Ltd
(204) 989 - 6813, cell 792 - 4145

[MTS Centre Construction Updates Archive]