Wheat Kings Unveil major venue upgrades
The Western Hockey League’s Brandon Wheat Kings have added another layer of excitement for their fanbase heading into the upcoming 2024-2025 season.
This past week, the Wheat Kings organization announced it had completed its new renovations at Westoba Place, which included removing the arena’s 5,100 seats and replacing them with bigger, padded seats that contain fitted cup holders. The new seating addition will not only add more comfortability for Brandon's faithful, but will also provide a newly-refreshed look to Westoba Place.
“This marks the first time we’re introducing brand-new seating to Westoba Place,” Keystone Centre general manager Connie Lawrence during a past press conference. “This is our one opportunity to change the look to give a good fan experience — to open those doors and say, ‘Let’s go back to Westoba Place.’”
In addition to new seats, the arena has also implemented two rows of premium seating - available at ice level in two corners - as well as semi-private premium seating with in-suite service around the top of the concourse. Every box suite is bordered by a railing and also has plenty of space for all individuals, including people with mobility issues.
“We want to make sure that any person, any size, is comfortable sitting in our seats,” added Lawrence. “We want to accommodate everyone.”
The cost of comfortability for the Jacobson & Greiner Group, owners of the Wheat Kings organization, was a steep one, as all the seat renovations amounted to over $2 million. The new seats, which were supplied by the Hussey Seating Company, also measure 20 inches in width compared to the previous 16-inch seat, unfortunately meaning a reduction in the number of seats within the arena.
With around one seat from each row being removed due to space, the Westoba Place capacity went from 5,101 seats to roughly 4,600 seats. The numbers may seem like a fairly significant decrease on paper, but the atmosphere inside the arena shouldn’t feel very affected by the lowered capacity.
After the old seats were removed from the arena during June's renovation beginnings, the Wheat Kings created an event named ‘Walk In Wednesdays’ at the Keystone Centre. Every Wednesday until the end of July, seats were sold in sets of five at $1 per chair to fans, giving them the chance to purchase some memorabilia that had stood strong in Westoba Place since 2005.
With the seat replacement phase now complete, the Jacobson & Greiner Group announced their next priority is renovating the bathrooms inside the arena and incorporating air-conditioning and dehumidification for further comfort. It will no doubt be another expensive project, but it would be a long-term investment, which may also help Brandon's fortunes for 2026.
In mid-June, the Wheat Kings announced their intent to bid on hosting the CHL Memorial Cup in May of 2026. With renovations being made to Westoba Place at the Keystone Centre in Brandon and a commitment to more on the way, the Wheat Kings have made a good case for themselves on why they are deserving of being the host team. Not to mention, the Wheaties will also have a tremendous amount of talent on their team, with promising prospects such as Charlie Elick, Roger McQueen, Jaxon Jacobson, and Brady Turko stepping in, along with netminder Carson Bjarnason.
The first night fans will get to experience the new seat renovations at Westoba Place will be Brandon’s home opener against the Moose Jaw Warriors on Friday, September 20.
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