Avenir Centre (Moncton, Canada)
Avenir Centre
Avenir Centre is an indoor arena in Moncton, New Brunswick. Opened in September 2018, it serves as the home to the Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Proposed as a replacement for the Moncton Coliseum, the arena was approved in the spring of 2014 by the Moncton City Council on an 8–3 vote. Groundbreaking took place in the spring of 2016, with a planned opening in the fall of 2017. That date was pushed back a year. SMG would serve as operator of the new arena. Naming rights to the arena were acquired by Avenir Hearing—a New Brunswick-based chain of hearing clinics, naming it Avenir Centre; the company sponsors the distribution of free earplugs at events.
Avenir Centre's first event—a concert by country singer Keith Urban on the Graffiti U World Tour—was held on September 12, 2018. The Moncton Wildcats played their first home game at the arena on September 28, 2018, beating the Saint John Sea Dogs 5–2.