The 10th anniversary of the public opening of Rogers Place, home of the National Hockey League’s Edmonton Oilers, was celebrated Thursday. Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz, then mayor Don Iveson, and Wayne Gretzky opened the arena on Sept. 8, 2026. Two days later, it welcomed nearly 60,000 people for an open house. Since then, city officials said Thursday Rogers Place has established itself as a premiere entertainment venue through not only multiple Stanley Cup playoff runs, but concerts by some of music’s biggest names – Garth Brooks and Lady Gaga in 2017, Paul McCartney in 2018 and Elton John in 2019 – and sporting events like the World Juniors, Professional Women’s Hockey League and Women’s National Basketball Association games, and the Professional Bull Riders national finals. “When we reflect on all the buildings that have gone up, all the shows, all the events, the deep runs into the Stanley Cup finals and all the great things that have happened, it starts with this building,” Oilers executive Tim Shipton told reporters after a ceremony that morning. “Rogers Place has been a game changer. It is the anchor of Ice District.” The idea of Rogers Place and a surrounding Ice District began to solidify when Katz bought the hockey team in 2008. City council approved the arena deal in 2013 and ground was broken in March 2014. “I lived across the street when Rogers Place was under construction and it was amazing to see not only the building get built, but the change that happened in downtown after that,” said Ward O-day’min Coun. Anne Stevenson. “You just knew when it was a game night because I’d walk by and be like, ‘Why are all the restaurants full? Oh, it’s a game night.’” The city proclaimed Thursday Rogers Place Day. By the numbers According to officials, in 10 years, Rogers Place has: Next 10 years Shipton said Thursday was as much an opportunity to reflect on the last 10 years as it was to look ahead to the next 10. The arena is only the first phase of the Ice District plan. The second phase will produce a new $250-million event park as well as mixed-use development – called the Village at Iced District – consisting of about 3,000 residences, 74,322 square metres of office space, and 18,580 square metres of retail space on 13 acres of land immediately adjacent to Rogers Place. The event park is scheduled to be completed in 2029. Remediation work for the Village at Ice District has started and the first housing units are scheduled to come online by the second half of 2028. “What we have always hoped for Ice District is that there would be a knock-on effect. This is never about us winning and others not succeeding…. So we’re going to do our part," Shipton said. “What the last 10 years have also done is laid the foundation for the next phase of development. Phase II of Ice District will be as big a vision as Phase I, and Phase II is really about bringing people into our downtown core, creating spaces for people to live and work. We’re just as excited for the next 10 years as we have been proud of the last (10).” He said the arena’s birthday would be celebrated all month long. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Evan Kenny
