‘All the amenities’: London Knights unveil professional-style dressing room at Canada Life Place

The London Knights unveil upgraded dressing room blending pro-level amenities with team history at Canada Life Place.

The London Knights’ goal was to provide a space which had a professional feel, while paying homage to their history and accomplishments.

The team has unveiled their new dressing room at Canada Life Place, which took more than a year to complete.

As the doors of the new entrance opened, you see replica trophies of their three Memorial Cup Championships in 2005, 2016, and 2025.

“When you walk up to that door with the with the Knights head on it, you open it up, you see the trophies up top, you’re walking into something pretty special,” said Rick Steadman, Knights’ assistant coach.

The Knights already had one of the nicest dressing rooms in the Ontario Hockey League, now it’s the top of the heap and probably nicer than some NHL rooms.

“It’s just a huge upgrade for us going in there. It’s great for the guys, they got all the amenities now,” said Rick Steadman. “It gives them that good feeling, that feeling of [being] one more step closer to pro.”

The renovations include a new gym, laundry facilities, a larger equipment room, hot and cold tubs, new lockers, and a player’s lounge for the young men to hang out, watch television and play video games.

• IN PHOTOS: London Knights unveil new dressing room at Canada Life Place

The main dressing room space where the players get dressed has also been overhauled.

LED lighting is the main feature which glows around the Knights logo, which was moved from the floor to the ceiling. The words “London vs. Everybody” surround the stalls.

“The boys are still getting dressed in the same spot, but then just the history along the walls, everything that this organization has done along the way,” added Steadman. “The guys get to walk past that every day and just see we’re here to win, we’re here to have fun and we’re here to try to make professional.”

To help with the transformation, the team partnered with Courtney Hance and her team at The Branding Firm Inc.

“What we wanted to do is make sure that when we were looking at the space, we’re looking at line of sight, we’re looking at the experience, we’re looking at the entry way,” said Hance. “We’re looking at how people feel during the space and certain moments. We also want to create an experience. We want to create an experience for fans, we want to create an experience for the players, and we want to make sure that every time the player takes the ice, they’re inspired and they’re feeling it.”

As you look down the wall of the main hallway, there are plaques which show the history of the franchise from start to present, which include special ones for the years they have reached the OHL finals and won championships.

“There’s a history and a legacy here, and we wanted to make sure that we paid the proper homage to that,” said Hance.

As part of the renovation, the Knights will no longer be using the second floor of CLP. They have moved their hockey operations offices and storage to the Dundas Street side of the back of house.