What a place to tie your laces
EDMONTON: Rogers Place has ‘wow’ factor, now Oilers need product on ice to match Terry Jones
To many involved in the entire Rogers Place project, it might have been the magic hour. At 3 p.m. Wednesday, Bob Nicholson and Kevin Lowe opened the doors of the new dressing room to Edmonton Oilers players and members of their families.
It was the proverbial cherry on the sundae.
Former equipment manager Barry Stafford, who piloted the project, took the players — some of whom had just seen the arena for the first time — on the tour.
“It was when we were upstairs and walking them through the training centre and I had a chance to stand in front of the group as they were walking towards me. That was the first time I had a chance to look at the players’ faces,” Stafford said. “They didn’t know what to say. They were just looking out the windows, looking down at the two-storey fireplace in the middle of the players lounge and ...
“I guess they were just basically in awe. It was just overwhelming.”
Yes, Virginia, there’s an upstairs. Yes, there’s a two-storey fireplace. Yes, there’s a small theatre with seats like you’d expect to find on a private plane to accommodate all the members of the team.
“In my mind, in my opinion, this is the best in the world,” said Stafford, who refused to take the “95 per cent of the credit” Oilers Entertainment Group vice-chairman Lowe tried to bestow upon him, pointing out he visited dressing rooms all over not only the hockey world, but in the NFL and major league baseball as well.
“I got to work with some of the best architects in the world at NOK. I was more of a facilitator. Kevin was very good at giving me autonomy. It’s something I worked on for four years. It took a lot of work from a lot of people.”
It wasn’t the entire Oilers team taking the tour, but clearly those who were there were blown away.
“There’s definitely a wow factor. Not only the room, but the rink,” Jordan Eberle said.
“There’s everything you need to be successful here,” goaltender Cam Talbot said.
“I’ve never been in an area of a locker-room quite as big as this one, that’s for sure,” said Matt Hendricks. “There’s nothing like this anywhere. Nothing. I still think of my first NHL room when I was in Boston thinking, ‘I want to be here one day.’ And then in Colorado and that locker-room was great. Washington got even better with the practice facility ...
“I really liked our old dressing room. It was one of the best in the league. But they did a phenomenal job planning (the new one). But this blows them all out of the water. Even if you probably combine them!”
When it was suggested some might regard it as a country club at first look, Hendricks agreed.
“This is all incredible, but the product on the ice needs to match it. That’s what our jobs in this room are all about ... This is a great opportunity for us and a great opportunity for this city. There’s some energy about this new building and the opening of it. I’m as excited as anyone. I’m going to love playing in front of these fans in this building. But I want to be winning.”
An hour after the players had their first gander at their new digs, it was the media’s turn.
“We really want to show you the dressing room the way it’s going to be used by the players,” Oilers Entertainment Group CEO and vice-chairman Bob Nicholson told the assembled media members.
“When you go into the room you’re going to see all the natural lighting. I’ve never seen any room close to this. I think it’s a place our players are going to want to be. But it’s all about winning. This dressing room is put together for the Oilers to win Stanley Cups.”
Nicholson and area project point man Bob Black were closely connected to the project from start to finish.
“When you look at all the components, the dressing room is very well done,” Nicholson said. “When you look at the training area, all the fitness areas, the rehab areas, they all are best in class. That’s been the goal.
“Now the players have to step up. (Owner) Daryl Katz has made sure that everything is first class. We built this building for the fans and we built it for the players. And we built it to win.”