THUNDER BAY – This is not your grandfather’s Fort William Gardens
It will be a brand new game day experience for fans of both the Lakehead Thunderwolves and Fort William North Stars hockey teams this season the 70-year-old facility, following the installation of a new state-of-the-art video scoreboard above centre ice.
Featuring screens on all four sides, the scoreboard will allow teams to create interactive fan experiences, such as dance cams, and eventually offer instant replay of goals and other close plays to enhanced the audience experience.
Jaimie Mintenko, assistant athletics director at Lakehead University, said the new scoreboard is a great addition to what they’re able to offer fans, modernizing their enjoyment each night while providing plenty of entertainment as well.
“I think it’s going to make a huge change in our audience participation. It’s going to bring hype back to the Gardens and we’re really excited to be able to showcase our first games back with such a critical piece,” Mintenko said.
“We really want to put it to its full potential right off the hop, looking at fan participation, getting young fans into the game and being able to focus on the people who have seen us through and the fans who have been with us for the last 20 years and really make them experience what Thunderwolves hockey is all about.”
The Thunderwolves won’t be the first team to test out the new addition.
The North Stars plan to make full use of the scoreboard on Friday night when they host the Wisconsin Lumberjacks, the Superior International Junior Hockey League team’s 2021-22 home opener.
Mike Tallari, the team’s director of business development, said it’s hard not to look up, saying the entire hockey community is looking forward to seeing what it adds to the game-night experience at the Gardens.
“Of course the building itself has an atmosphere that you can’t really double anywhere in junior hockey, but now adding this first-class clock is just going to take it to the next level. From the team’s perspective, it’s going to allow us to engage in the community, play live streams out in the community, advertisements, happy birthday messages, fun promotions throughout the game,” Tallari said.
The scoreboard is part of $1.1 million in improvements being made to the Miles Street facility, including new rigging that will allow concerts to return to the building.
Paul Burke, the city’s supervisor of sport and community development, said the scoreboard comes with all the bells and whistles fans might expect, but it’s also got plenty of usage possibilities that fall outside of just hockey.
“This is not just for the Thunderwolves and the North Stars or even just for the Scotties,” Burke said. “This is going to enhance all events that come here. And there’s lots of non-ice events we can do as well, like viewing parties. If you think about gaming events, we’ve had the Quest gaming event here in non-hockey season.”
