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Shawinigan Cataractes
Arena Name: Aréna Jacques Plante |
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| Aréna Jacques Plante |
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| What's the Arena Like? |
| The Arena Jacques Plante in downtown Shawinigan, Quebec, is the oldest arena in the QMJHL and the second-oldest in the CHL. While the Windsor Arena may trump Shawinigan by being thirteen years older, make no mistake about it - in spite of Windsorites' complaints about their run-down old barn, at least they have use of such amenities as plastic seats and a centre scoreboard. Shawinigan has none of those things. Instead, they have uncomfortable wooden seats, fat iron support columns blocking views, dirt and grime everywhere, and, in spite of everything, one of the most quirky, lovable hockey rinks in Canada. Like the old Comiskey Park in Chicago before it was demolished, Shawinigan isn't a lyric little bandbox; it isn't a place for suburban families or tourists or corporate types making deals. It's a place for diehards to watch hockey, in an environment that is almost completely unchanged from the day it opened 70 years ago. Located on the edge of Shawinigan's lively downtown and wedged onto a city block on the banks of the Saint-Maurice River, the Arena opened under the name of the Shawinigan Municipal Auditorium in 1937 (the name was changed in 1994). It's a tall, red brick building done in the Art Deco style, with windows dotting the building's exterior. Ivy covers much of the wall surface on the sides and rear of the rink. The only newish artifice anywhere is the giant Cataractes logo over the main entrance, along with a new sign giving the building's new name. In spite of that, if you look up as you pass through the front door, you can still see the building's old name etched in stone above the door underneath the new sign. The building's ticket lobby is tiny and leads directly into the main seating area. A ring of coloured wooden bench seats, painted bright red, blue and green, surrounds the ice, with a mini-concourse about halfway up the seating area. Above that on each side is just wooden benches, with no seat backs. Support columns come down from the ceiling in each section to hold the roof up. Directly behind one net, there is a second tier of yellow seats extending to the top of the building, which ultimately gives the building layout a similar feel to the Peterborough Memorial Centre. As mentioned, there is no centre scoreclock or other amentities. The building really is nothing more than wooden seats surrounding a sheet of ice. The building's quirkiest - and least politically correct - feature is suspended above the yellow seats - it's a cigar store Indian, who holds a little "Go Cats Go" sign in his hand and is apparently wheeled out after every home goal. The Indian is huge and really has to be seen to be believed. Although its days may be numbered (see below), the Jacques Plante Arena is probably the most unchanged old arena in Canada, with virtually no signs inside that anything has changed in seventy years. The place feels ancient. It's also at the top of my list of places I would like to visit for a game in the CHL, so hopefully I can make the trip back sometime when the Cataractes are going to be in town. |
| Future Developments |
| Construction started on a new arena in Shawinigan on September 21, 2007. The projected opening date is December 1, 2008, which means I will be going to a game there before that date! Architectural drawings were posted online, which you can see here and here. |
| Inside the Aréna Jacques Plante |
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How To Get There |
| From A-55: Exit at Boul. Trudel (Exit 211) and follow it past the lake into town. When the road dead-ends at Ave. Station, turn right. From there, the route is very well-signed, but for the record, you make a left onto rue 5E and then another left onto Broadway when 5E dead-ends. The rink will be on your left. |
| Admission Prices |
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Adult: $13.00 Student: $8.50 Child: $4.50 Top Platform Seating: Adult: $6.25 Student: $4.25 Child: $2.50 |
| Franchise History |
| The Shawinigan Bruins were originally a QJHL team with a franchise history dating back further than I have been able to find evidence. In 1969, they were one of the founding members of the new QMJHL. The team today is the only remaining original Q team still in its original location, although the team's name was changed in 1973 to the Shawinigan Dynamos, and then again in 1978 to the present Cataractes. |
| Retired Numbers |
| 7 Michel Brière 14 Benoit Plouffe 17 Patrice Lefebvre 18 Marcel Giguere 26 Dean Bergeron 27 Stephan Lebeau |
| Local Rivals |
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Historically, nearby Trois-Rivières was Shawinigan's biggest rival, but with the Draveurs long gone, the Cataractes' biggest rivals now are the other teams in the Montreal-Quebec City corridor, such as Drummondville, Victoriaville, and Quebec. |
| Inside the Aréna Jacques Plante |
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Feedback |
If anything is incorrect or you have something to add, please e-mail me at  and I'll update the guide. |
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Copyright © Kevin Jordan
2002-07. |