Leon's Centre (formerly K-Rock Centre, and Rogers K-Rock Centre) is an indoor arena in downtown

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between To ...

. Opened in 2008, it is the home of the Kingston Frontenacs of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overa ...

History

The arena was designed by Brisbin Brook Beynon Architects, and was constructed by EllisDon Construction. It was built on city-owned land known as the "North Block", which at the time was being used as a parking lot. An

archaeological dig In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

of the area was necessary since the southeast portion of the site was the former location of part of the historic

Fort Frontenac Fort Frontenac was a French trading post and military fort built in July 1673 at the mouth of the Cataraqui River where the St. Lawrence River leaves Lake Ontario (at what is now the western end of the La Salle Causeway), in a location traditio ...

. The remaining

ruins Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

of the fort's northwest bastion is located directly across the street from the main entrance. The

groundbreaking Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are ...

ceremony took place July 28, 2006, with construction beginning on November 3, 2006. On February 6, 2008, local radio station

CIKR-FM CIKR-FM is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 105.7 FM in Kingston, Ontario owned by Rogers Sports & Media. The station broadcasts an active rock format branded as ''K-Rock 105.7''. History The station was originally owned by K-Rock 105 ...

(K-Rock) purchased the

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of t ...

to the arena for 10 years at $3.3 million. After

Rogers Communications Rogers Communications Inc. is a Canadian communications and media company operating primarily in the fields of wireless communications, cable television, telephony and Internet, with significant additional telecommunications and mass media ass ...

acquired ownership of CIKR-FM, the arena was officially renamed ''Rogers K-Rock Centre'' on August 14, 2013. In 2012, Kingston City Council voted to rename the street on which the arena is located, formerly a part of Barrack Street, to ''The Tragically Hip Way'' in honour of Kingston band

The Tragically Hip The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as the Hip, were a Canadian rock band formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1984, consisting of vocalist Gord Downie, guitarist Paul Langlois, guitarist Rob Baker (known as Bobby Baker until 1994), bassis ...

. In 2018, furniture store chain

Leon's Leon's Furniture Ltd. () (Meubles Léon Limité in Quebec) is a Canadian furniture retailer which first opened its store in 1909 in Welland, Ontario. The controlling interest in the company is owned by the Leon family, while some shares are tra ...

, represented by the owner of its local location, acquired the naming rights under a 5-year deal, valued at $257,000 per-year.

Concerts

The inaugural concert at Leon's Centre was performed by The Tragically Hip on February 23, 2008. The arena has since hosted several concerts and entertainment events by artists including Elton John, Avril Lavigne,

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fur ...

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...

Deadmau5 Joel Thomas Zimmerman (born January 5, 1981), known professionally as Deadmau5 (stylized as deadmau5; pronounced "dead-mouse"), is a Canadian electronic music producer and DJ. He mainly produces progressive house music, though he also produce ...

, Jerry Seinfeld,

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (1 ...

, Carrie Underwood,

Brooks & Dunn Brooks & Dunn are an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. The duo was founded in 1990 through the suggestion of Tim DuBois. Before their formation, both members were so ...

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

, Reba McEntire, Billy Talent, and Sting among many others. On August 20, 2016, The Tragically Hip played the final concert of their

Man Machine Poem Tour The Man Machine Poem Tour was a concert tour by The Tragically Hip in support of their thirteenth full-length studio album ''Man Machine Poem''. The tour consisted of 15 shows, the first held on July 22, 2016, in Victoria, British Columbia, and ...

at Leon's Centre (then Rogers K-Rock Centre) with the

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority the elected House of Commons; as su ...

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

, in attendance. The tour was announced after it was made public that lead singer

Gord Downie Gordon Edgar Downie (February 6, 1964 – October 17, 2017) was a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, musician, writer and activist. He was the singer and lyricist for the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip, which he fronted from its form ...

had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. The concert was broadcast by the CBC's radio, television, and digital platforms under the title ''The Tragically Hip: A National Celebration''.

Sports

The Kingston Frontenacs played their first game at their new home on February 22, 2008.

Don Cherry Donald Stewart Cherry (born February 5, 1934) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and television commentator. Cherry played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins, and later coached the team for five se ...

dropped the puck for the ceremonial face off prior to the game. The Frontenacs dropped their first game in front of over 5,700 fans, losing 3–2 to their rivals, the

Belleville Bulls The Belleville Bulls were a junior ice hockey team, founded in 1981 and based in Belleville, Ontario, Canada. The team played in the Eastern Division of the Eastern Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. The team moved to Hamilton, Ontario ...

. Two days later, the Fronts earned their first win at the Leon's Centre, defeating the

Peterborough Petes The Peterborough Petes are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The team has played at the Peterborough Memorial Centre in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, since 1956, and is the oldest continuously operating team in the league. ...

7–4. October 28 to 31, 2010, the City of Kingston played host to the

2010 Skate Canada International The 2010 Skate Canada International was the second event of six in the 2010–11 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the K-Rock Centre in Kingston, Ontario on October 28� ...

, an ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating event. This was the first major international sporting event to be hosted at the rink, and was broadcast across the world. From February 16 to 24, 2013, Leon's Centre hosted the

2013 Scotties Tournament of Hearts The 2013 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the Canadian women's national curling championship, was held from February 16 to 24 at the K-Rock Centre in Kingston, Ontario. It was the ninth time Ontario hosted the Tournament of Hearts. Ontario last hos ...

, the Canadian women's national curling championship; becoming the first Ontario city to host the event since Sault Ste. Marie in 2010. In the tournament,

Rachel Homan Rachel Catherine Homan (born April 5, 1989) is a Canadian international curler. Homan is a former Canadian junior champion, a three-time Canadian national champion, and the 2017 world champion, all as a skip. She was also the skip of the Can ...

from Ontario defeated former Scotties champion

Jennifer Jones Jennifer Jones (born Phylis Lee Isley; March 2, 1919 – December 17, 2009), also known as Jennifer Jones Simon, was an American actress and mental health advocate. Over the course of her career that spanned over five decades, she was nominated ...

9–6 in the final game. Total attendance for the event was over 65,000. The arena hosted the

2015 Canadian Figure Skating Championships The 2015 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships were held January 19–25, 2015 in Kingston, Ontario. Organized by Skate Canada and sponsored by Canadian Tire, the event determined the national champions of Canada. Medals were awarded in ...

between January 19 and 25, 2015. From February 29 to March 8, 2020, Leon's Centre hosted the 2020 Tim Hortons Brier, the Canadian men's national

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns slidi ...

championship; commemorating the 200th anniversary of Kingston's first organized curling game. The Brier was held in Kingston for the first time since 1957.

Kingston and District Sports Hall of Fame

The Kingston and District Sports Hall of Fame is located in the Leon's Centre. The hall of fame honors any athlete or "builder of sport" (such as a coach) who has contributed meaningfully to sports in Kingston. Athletes must be retired from the sport for which they are nominated for at least three years or be older than 50. Builders are eligible at any time. The hall officially opened in 1996, and in 2008, it moved into the K-Rock Centre (now Leon's Centre).

References

External links

Leon's Centre websiteKingston and District Sports Hall of Fame
{{Authority control Indoor arenas in Ontario Indoor ice hockey venues in Canada Ontario Hockey League arenas Sports venues in Kingston, Ontario Music venues in Ontario