Saint John Sea Dogs
Rink: TD Station
Capacity: 6,308
Built: 1993
League: QMJHL
City: Saint John, New Brunswick
Home Of: Saint John Sea Dogs
Games Attended: 1
Only Game: October 21, 2023 vs Moncton
Unique Arena: #70
QMJHL Arena: #19
TD Station is a large, impressive building nestled between some hills and a highway at the edge of downtown Saint John. It’s actually a pretty setting that reminds me of a nicer version of where the Meridian Centre in St. Catharines sits. There is also a sign across the street that boasts that TD Station has the best ice cream in the CHL. I don’t think I had ever tried ice cream at a CHL rink before Saint John, but with a sign like that I had to give it a shot and I can confirm it’s damn good.
Walking into TD Station feels like it should be sitting somewhere out in the WHL, as it’s very reminiscent of the rinks in Red Deer, Lethbridge and Regina. It’s a large building with a two bowl, one concourse setup. The lower bowl is capable of having seats all the way around, but the seats are retracted behind one of the nets for an ice level bar and viewing area which was packed all game. The upper bowl is laid out in a U-shape, with the top of the U being taken up by suites and advertising. There are also some more suites that run down one side of the building, while the opposite side has the press box. The night we were there they had a stage setup at concourse level above the bar that was used for a pair of short rap concerts at each intermission. The Sea Dogs have been very proactive in making the game an entertainment experience, and almost every game is some sort of theme night or big event happening.
An odd quirk about TD Station is that padded club style seats are only located in the bottom three rows of the entire upper bowl. None down low or on the sides of the ice, just up top in the first three rows. They have an obscene amount of padding, and your ass really sinks into them. My seat’s armrests were halfway up my torso. It was somewhat comfortable but felt off. Views of the ice are good with the odd railing in the way. The scoreboard appears to be pretty old but I’m fairly sure the videoboards themselves inside are newer, as they were HD quality. There are a few areas the concourse gets narrow and a couple spots where it opens up very wide. The building was half full for the game I attended at most, and getting around was fairly easy.
There is nothing overly remarkable about TD Station in Saint John and yet I really like the place. There’s lots of team history on display and the team is doing its best with marketing and trying to bring people in for the games with other bells and whistles. At 30 years old it doesn’t have some of the cutting-edge things that new buildings have, and it’s not an old barn either, but it does its job very well and it was a great place to watch a game. Like many places the worst thing I can say about it was I wish the crowds were bigger and more into the game as the atmosphere lacked a tad. Saint John has had a lot of success over the years, but they’ve also had a lot of down years rebuilding on their way to titles. We caught them during a rebuild, so perhaps it’s not always like this. I’d love to see a game at a full TD Station but even half full it’s a very enjoyable experience and I wouldn’t mind going back again one day.
