Shawinigan Cataractes
Rink: Centre Gervais Auto
Capacity: 4,300
Built: 2008
League: QMJHL
City: Shawinigan, Quebec
Home Of: Shawinigan Cataractes
Games Attended: 1
Only Game: March 4, 2022 vs Charlottetown
Unique Arena: #55
QMJHL Arena: #11
The Centre Gervais Auto was opened at the end of 2008, replacing the ancient Arena Jacques Plante just down the street. There is lots of free parking on site, but the way the parking lot is set up eliminates a lot of space that they could use. While we got there early enough to get a good spot, we noticed on the walk back from the microbrewery that’s just out of frame of the above photo that closer to game time many were parked on nearby streets. The building doesn’t look too big from the outside, but it is built partially into a hill.
With only a capacity of 4,300 and having been told the rink was small, I was somewhat surprised when I walked in and found a pretty roomy arena. Perhaps it’s because the seating in the corners goes much higher up, but this rink feels way bigger than its listed capacity. The corners go up higher due to the square nature of the outer structure of the building. It was like they were given an empty building first and then said ‘OK, shoehorn in as many seats as you can.’ I say that like a bad thing, but it works here.
The production level of games here is top notch. But in an arena of this size, it can almost be too much for the senses. Those with epilepsy, beware! I found the music and PA could be turned down just a tad, but perhaps that’s just me getting older; also, get off my lawn. At the old rink in Shawinigan they had a tradition like the stuffed wolf in Sudbury where a figure of a Native American holding a lightning bolt would be trotted out over the ice via a cable system after Cats goals. He still sits up in the corner of the new rink, but the Cats were shutout the night I was there, so I am not sure if it still gets sent out over the ice, as it now appears to be possibly fixed in location.
I will say the concourse that is outside the arena bowl is somewhat narrow, and I imagine with a packed house like say the 2012 Memorial Cup, it would be hard to maneuver around. However, the in bowl mid-level concourse takes some of that pressure off. The game I attended I didn’t find it too hard to move around, though that night there was only a listed attendance of around 2,800.
Politically incorrect logos be damned.
I really liked this arena. It’s not super high up on my favourites list, but in a world where most new arenas have the exact same layout I was pleasantly surprised to find something that didn’t fit the usual mold. I love just about everything about this rink beyond the logo. Call me woke all you want, but other than the fact that we don’t need that crap in 2025 anymore, it just makes no sense considering the teams nickname translated to English is ‘waterfalls’. They also had logos for years that had nothing to do with Native American headdress, but I digress. The point here is I really enjoyed going to a game in Shawinigan and if I find myself back in the area during hockey season I will gladly go again… maybe this time they will even score a goal!
