Swift Current Broncos
Rink: Credit Union iPlex
Capacity: 3,200
Built: 1967
League: WHL
City: Swift Current, Saskatchewan
Home Of: Swift Current Broncos
Games Attended: 1
Only Game: October 4, 2019 vs Red Deer
Unique Arena: #47
WHL Arena: #6
The Innovation iPlex sits on the east side of Swift Current surrounded by parking lots. On one side of the rink is a residential area, and across the highway on the other are sports fields and a lot of prairie land stretching to Moose Jaw. The iPlex is the oldest remaining building in the WHL, and with the Titan now out of Bathurst the rink is a gathering place for the smallest community in the CHL. The building reflects this, as it is one of the smallest buildings in the current CHL as well. It also gives off a very community rink vibe, likely because it also doubles as one. Like many community buildings there is plenty of free parking on site.
The front lobby of the building, like many across the CHL, is a newer addition stuck in front of the barrel-roofed rink in behind it. As you walk further into the building you find a common area which holds all of the rink’s concession stands and the team store. This open common area, we found out, is directly behind one of the nets and under a row of suites. The building opens up to the ice and the seating bowl. The seats in Swift Current are laid out in a U shape, with the common area at the top of the U. The bottom of the U has some more suites at the top of the small bowl, while down the sides feature standing room. There is a small concourse walkway that goes around the bowl of seats, but to access it you have to climb the stairs in the sections closest to the concession area, much like in Blainville-Boisbriand.
I got a big time Owen Sound vibe from this place, except even smaller if you can believe that. The seats were comfortable enough (I’m assuming they’re not original). It was a small crowd the night we were there, so nothing felt overly cramped. The seats are actually set way back from the boards, so it would be easy to walk between the first row and the glass, though I would imagine the fans you walk in front of wouldn’t appreciate that. It doesn’t seem to be an actual dedicated pathway.
I’ve heard crowds in Swift Current can be rowdy and very loud, which isn’t hard to believe considering the small space, but the night we were there it was fairly dead. The small rink was only half-full, and while the game was close until late in the third period the crowd noise was nearly nonexistent, save for one guy up behind us pissed with the officiating (as is tradition in every rink.) I chalked it up to just being there for an early season game against a non-rival coming off a rebuilding season with more rebuilding to come.
Going to a game in Swift Current didn’t exactly live up to the hype, but it certainly wasn’t a bad experience either. I was happy to go to a game and have a feel of a true community team with an outdated rink that isn’t screaming for a replacement quite yet. Swift Current, Saskatchewan isn’t exactly a place you find yourself in on purpose often, but if I find myself in southern Saskatchewan again, I would love to give the iPlex another shot.
