SaskTel Centre

The interior of SaskTel Centre prior to a Saskatchewan Rush game.

SaskPlace was constructed as a replacement for the Saskatoon Arena, a concrete building constructed in Saskatoon's downtown core in the 1930s, and which was in use until 1988, hosting its final hockey game only a week before SaskPlace opened. Nicknamed "The Barn", the facility had outlived its usefulness some 20 years earlier and had become infamous for leaky roofs and substandard amenities, yet Saskatonians were hesitant to lose the landmark and a number of years passed between the 1970s proposal to replace the structure and the eventual demolition of the Arena and the opening of SaskPlace.

In 1982, Bill Hunter, a local sports promoter, attempted to purchase the St. Louis Blues NHL team and bring it to Saskatoon. Part of his plan included building an 18,000-seat arena. Two locations were suggested: the site of a decommissioned power plant downtown, just west of the then-present Saskatoon Arena, and another site east of the city's airport in the North Industrial area. Despite Hunter's best efforts, the NHL rejected his offer and Hunter's plans to relocate an NHL team and build a new arena collapsed.

The site eventually chosen for the arena was initially, and still is, unpopular with some Saskatoon residents. Situated in the remote Agri Place industrial park at the north end of the city, accessible only via highways 11 and 16 and Marquis Drive, SaskPlace was accused of being too inconvenient for seniors and people of limited transportation to access, as opposed to the original downtown arena site which was close to most bus routes. The city's original plan was to relocate Saskatoon's exhibition grounds alongside SaskPlace as well, but this proposal was defeated in a civic plebiscite following public protest over access and safety concerns. At the time of construction, there were very few businesses and services located in the immediate area. As of 2016, the surrounding area has expanded, but the lack of fan amenities that most would find in other cities, such as nearby bars and restaurants, remains. A Motel 6 was the first hotel to be built near the arena, in 2004. A second hotel was constructed in the early 2010s.

Plans to build interchanges on the two major access routes into the facility were announced soon after the arena opened. However, these plans never developed, with the city and province instead opting to install a set of traffic lights at Marquis Drive and Highway 16 only 27 years after the arena's opening. Near-sighted planning on behalf of the city at the time of construction has led to traffic severely backing up after large-scale events in recent years.

In the early 2000s, Saunders Avenue, a street leading into the parking lot of Credit Union Centre, was renamed Bill Hunter Avenue in honour of Bill Hunter, who died in 2002. This was considered ironic by many Saskatonians, given Hunter lobbied for the facility to be built in another location near the old Saskatoon Arena. The city then transferred the 'Saunders' name to a new street in the River Landing redevelopment area—running through the former site of the Saskatoon Arena.

The arena's inaugural event was the Saskatoon Blades' first WHL game at the arena, defeating the Brandon Wheat Kings 4–3. Grant Tkachuk scored the first goal in the arena's history.[19]

The Saskatoon Blades have hosted the Memorial Cup twice at SaskTel Centre, first in 1989 (where they lost in the Final to the Swift Current Broncos), and again in 2013. As of 2016, they remain the Blades' only two appearances in the Memorial Cup.

During a World Wrestling Federation taping at the arena on October 12, 1992 for a Coliseum Video release, Bret Hart of Calgary (whose father, Stu, was a Saskatoon native) defeated Ric Flair to win his first WWF World Heavyweight Championship. In a match taped for Superstars, Calgary's Bill Jordan was squashed by the debuting Yokozuna, who dethroned Hart the following April at WrestleMania IX. [20]

In February 2019, it was announced that SaskTel Centre would host the 2021 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics.[21]

• The current attendance record for SaskTel Centre is 16,874, which was set on September 15, 2018 for a concert by Metallica.[32]
• The largest crowd for a hockey game at the arena, was 15,171, set on December 31, 2009 for a round robin game of the 2010 World Juniors between Canada and the United States. It was tied on January 5, 2010 for the final of the 2010 World Juniors between Canada and the United States.
• The largest crowd for a Saskatoon Blades game, was 12,588, set on February 9, 2013 in a game against the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
• The largest crowd for a Saskatchewan Rush game, was 15,192[33] set on May 21, 2016 in a game against the Calgary Roughnecks.

A bronze statue of former Detroit Red Wings player and Saskatoon native Gordie Howe has been located outside the arena since 2005. The statue was created by Michael Martin but remained in Eston, Saskatchewan until 1993, when private donations were used to fund its completion. As city property, Saskatoon's city council rejected a proposal to place the statue outside the arena, as they felt it had no artistic value or "enduring quality." The statue, however, would be purchased by the owners of Midtown Plaza, and installed on a street corner near the mall. The placement was criticized by a Saskatoon Star-Phoenix columnist, who felt (as per a survey the paper conducted, and an opinion from Howe himself) that the arena would be a more appropriate location for the statue. In 2005, the Gordie Howe statue was moved outside the arena's main entrance.[34]

Following Howe's death in June 2016, the statue transformed into a memorial site for the player. In September 2016, the cremated ashes of both him and his wife Colleen Howe were both buried at the base of the statue.[35]

• Official website
• Credit Union Centre Hockey League, official website