Since its opening in September 2015, the Videotron Center has aroused a lot of sarcasm: what a mistake to invest 370 million public money in an amphitheater without the assurance of obtaining an NHL team! A state-of-the-art building with 18,000 seats for a junior club is the height of ridicule.
Allow me, when Régis Labeaume is about to leave the town hall of Quebec, to oppose this lapidary judgment. And to pay tribute to its dynamism, its strength of conviction and its steel shell. A mayor who goes for it, who imagines structuring projects for his city, I did not know that growing up in Quebec. And I envied Montreal, a city where young people my age could dream: Expo 67, construction of the metro, obtaining a major baseball club, the Olympic Games …
For the boy that I was then, it was despairing to see the little scope with which my city was led, especially in sports. By repeating that we were born for a bun, we behaved like one. Everything always seemed too daring. As if the word “investment” did not exist. There were only “expenses” and these had to be controlled with an iron fist.
For generations, Quebec’s potential as a winter sports city has been under-exploited. The last mayor to have had a vision on this subject was Lucien Borne. In March 1949, after the fire in the old Colisée de Québec, he seized the opportunity. Never mind, we will take the opportunity to build a more beautiful, bigger, more modern one.
A few weeks later, the construction of the new Colosseum got underway and the opening took place in December of the same year! At that time, it was an amphitheater with revolutionary architecture, without columns inside obstructing the view of some spectators.
Thanks to Jean Béliveau, the success was instantaneous. During its four seasons in Quebec (two with the Citadelles for the juniors and two with the Aces for the seniors), the Coliseum has sold out dozens of times. A game between the Citadelles and the Barrie Flyers even drew 16,000 spectators, well over its 10,000 seats.
Twenty-five years later, when the Nordiques were admitted to the NHL, Lucien Borne’s guts were only a distant memory. After long discussions, an expansion of 5,000 seats was agreed. The town hall of Quebec contributed to the effort, but the agreement was first of all the result of the bonds of trust between Prime Minister René Lévesque and one of his predecessors, Jean Lesage, then president of the board of directors of the Nordiques. and member of Carling-O’Keefe, team owner.
PHOTO ROBERT NADON, PRESS ARCHIVES
The Coliseum of Quebec in 1981
In the spring of 1995, for lack of a new Coliseum, the Nordiques left Quebec. For Mayor Jean-Paul L’Allier, his city no longer had the means to afford an NHL club. I remember an interview at his office shortly before the team moved to Colorado: he spoke of the “small market” in Quebec and did not see how the sale of corporate boxes would be possible in a new amphitheater.
A few days later, another hard blow to the morale of Quebec: its candidacy for the organization of the 2002 Winter Olympics was beaten to the ground. Later, we learned of the cheating organized by promoters in the winning city, Salt Lake City. Their shenanigans have tarnished the image of the Olympic movement.
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In 2007, Régis Labeaume was elected mayor of Quebec. We didn’t know it yet, but the Town’s attitude was about to change. The capital would now see bigger and fight to get its fair share of investments.
This aggressive attitude led to the construction of the Videotron Center, an initiative carried at arm’s length by Mr. Labeaume. It is often said that a large investment project needs a “ball carrier” to convince the public and public partners. If this art were taught at university, Mr. Labeaume would be the ideal teacher. As a result, the Charest government has assumed half of the bill. The amphitheater, it should be noted, was completed on time and at the expected costs thanks to the rigorous monitoring of the town hall.
No, the NHL is not back in Quebec. But the city needed this amphitheater to replace the obsolete Colosseum.
I remember my last visit to the old building, where I spent so many evenings applauding the AMH Remparts and Nordiques, and where I made my radio debut with live reporting from the Tournament international peewee hockey. The place was dilapidated and could no longer accommodate tours of international artists. Our capital deserved better.
Will the Videotron Center ever host an NHL team? It’s unlikely in the short or medium term, let’s face it. But if ever the opportunity arises, Quebec will move quickly thanks to this magnificent amphitheater.
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With cross-country skiing races on the Plains of Abraham and outdoor events of all kinds, Quebec now displays a dynamism that I would have greatly appreciated in my youth.
Last August, the Ice Center was inaugurated. This premier complex allows the elite of long track speed skating to train in an ideal environment. Residents also benefit from the facilities, which include two ice rinks built inside the main ring. This old dream of Mayor Labeaume, made concrete at a cost of $ 67.8 million, was funded in equal parts by the governments of Canada, that of Quebec and the City of Quebec.
As for the old Colosseum, it will avoid the peak of the wreckers, which is excellent news. It will be converted into an emerging sports center: sport climbing, skateboarding, BMX, inline skating …
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Of course, like any political figure, Mayor Labeaume has his faults. But a few days before he left town hall, I told him this: I would have liked you to be the mayor of the city when I was growing up. Collective life would surely have been more stimulating. Today, after 14 years at the helm, you are leaving a solid sporting legacy.