Prince Albert Raiders
Rink: Art Hauser Centre
Capacity: 3,300
Built: 1971
League: WHL
City: Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
Home Of: Prince Albert Raiders
Games Attended: 1
Only Game: October 5, 2019 vs Regina
Unique Arena: #48
WHL Arena: #7
The Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert has followed a trend that a lot of older CHL rinks have, and that is sprucing things up a bit by adding a brand-new lobby to the front of the building. It definitely gives it a much newer look just like at other arenas in Rimouski, Swift Current, and Owen Sound, but you can clearly see the original building behind it and its age. We learned post-game that the newer addition to the building has a lounge upstairs that actually doubles as a venue for the team’s post-game radio broadcast to interview players as fans watch with drinks and food. Very cool setup. Luckily for a rink not far from downtown, there is plenty of free parking on site.
Prince Albert is one of the best old barns I’ve visited in the CHL. It has charm but not it’s not overly cramped. A big man like myself in a big crowd was comfortable in the plastic seats, and I had plenty of legroom. While it is old, it did not feel run down at all. The atmosphere was fantastic too considering it was an early October regular season game. In today’s CHL it’s not often you see a great atmosphere outside of the playoffs, but PA delivered it in a random Saturday night regular season game.
The Art Hauser Centre has another old barn mainstay, and that is a gorgeous wooden roof. Also, the rink has managed to add a few suites to the end of the rink without taking away the atmosphere of the place. They weren’t shoehorned in; they seem to fit naturally. Major bonus points for the fans in PA, not just because of the atmosphere but because of how friendly they all were. I was there with a friend who is a Regina Pats fan (that night’s opponent), and despite a big time 6-0 win for the Raiders, everybody treated him and our group very respectfully and thought it was awesome that we traveled to see their rink and town. It took us a full hour after the game before we could leave as people kept wanting to talk to us after noticing my Guelph Storm jersey and Kevin’s London Knights jersey.
Much of this hospitality can perhaps be traced to a sign in the concourse under the stands that says ‘Treat visitors with respect, our boys play on the road too!’ I absolutely love that sign. Also, in one of the rink’s stairwells hangs the original retirement banner for Johnny Bower (PA native) that was hung in Toronto when Scotiabank Arena (then ACC) opened in 1999. Those banners have since been replaced, but those originals were all sent across Canada to the hometowns of those players. The experience in Prince Albert was fantastic. It came early in my WHL travels and set the bar high enough that no other team in the league was able to surpass it.
Unfortunately, the Raiders’ days at the Art Hauser are numbered. Just across the street a new community complex is already under construction. When the community side of things are finished up, the plan is to build a new rink for the Raiders that will be attached to it. So, if you love old barns, I highly recommend you get going to the Art Hauser Centre while you still can.
