Avenir Centre (french: Centre Avenir) is an indoor arena in

Moncton, New Brunswick Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the Maritime Provinces. The city has earned the nickname "Hub City" because of ...

. Opened in September 2018, it serves as the home to the

Moncton Wildcats The Moncton Wildcats are a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. The franchise was granted for the 1995–96 season, known as the Moncton Alpines for one season, and as the Wildcats ...

of the

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The l ...

History

Proposed as a replacement for the

Moncton Coliseum The Moncton Coliseum (french: Colisée de Moncton) is an event venue and former ice hockey arena in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. Atlantic Canada's largest trade show facility, the Coliseum has over of exhibition space and a drawing power of 1.4 ...

, the arena was approved in the spring of 2014 by the Moncton City Council on an 8–3 vote. Groundbreaking took place in the spring of 2016, with a planned opening in the fall of 2017. That date was pushed back a year. SMG would serve as operator of the new arena. Naming rights to the arena were acquired by Avenir Hearing—a New Brunswick-based chain of hearing clinics, naming it Avenir Centre; the company sponsors the distribution of free

earplugs An earplug is a device that is inserted in the ear canal to protect the user's ears from loud noises, intrusion of water, foreign bodies, dust or excessive wind. Since they reduce the sound volume, earplugs are often used to help prevent hearing ...

at events. Avenir Centre's first event—a concert by

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

singer

Keith Urban Keith Lionel Urban (born 26 October 1967) is an Australian-American musician, singer, guitarist and songwriter known for his work in country music. Recognized with four Grammy Awards, Urban also received fifteen Academy of Country Music Award ...

on the

Graffiti U World Tour ''Graffiti U'' is the tenth studio album by New Zealand-born Australian country music singer Keith Urban. It was released on 27 April 2018, through Hit Red and Capitol Records Nashville. The album was heavily influenced by experiences from Urba ...

—was held on September 12, 2018. The Moncton Wildcats played their first home game at the arena on September 28, 2018, beating the

Saint John Sea Dogs The Saint John Sea Dogs are a major junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The team was founded as an expansion team in 2005 and play at TD Station in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. The Sea Dogs became the first tea ...

5–2.

Notable events

Avenir Centre hosted UFC Fight Night: Volkan vs. Smith on October 27, 2018, marking the first

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

event to be held in New Brunswick. It is scheduled to co-host the

2023 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 2023 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships are the 47th edition of the IIHF World Junior Championship, scheduled to be held from December 26, 2022 through January 5, 2023 in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Moncton, New Brunswick. They were origina ...

with

Scotiabank Centre Scotiabank Centre (formerly known as Halifax Metro Centre) is the largest multi-purpose facility in Atlantic Canada, located in the heart of downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The main entrances to the building are located on Brunswick Str ...

in Halifax.

References

External links

Official websiteOfficial website in French
{{Moncton landmarks 2018 establishments in New Brunswick Music venues in New Brunswick Quebec Major Junior Hockey League arenas Sports venues completed in 2018 Sports venues in Moncton Indoor arenas in New Brunswick