Heavy Metal Place will officially open to the public on Saturday, May 10, 2025, providing an exciting new community gathering place and more opportunities for recreation, culture, and learning in Spruce Grove.

Residents are encouraged to “save the date” for the grand opening celebration which will include guided tours of the facility, live entertainment, and many other activities.

“We’ve been watching this incredible facility rise and take shape week by week, month by month for the past two and a half years and I am so thrilled that it’s finally time to throw open the doors and share it with both residents and visitors,” said Mayor Jeff Acker. “This is the largest infrastructure project we’ve ever done as a City and it’s going to be an incredible place where we can come together to build community connections and make lasting memories for years to come.”

Once open, Heavy Metal Place will include a branch of the Spruce Grove Public Library, an art gallery, a black box theatre, a community arena, and a spectator arena that will be home to the Spruce Grove Saints hockey club starting with their 2025/2026 season. Unfortunately, despite everyone’s best efforts, the facility will not be available for the Spruce Grove Saints this season.

More details about the grand opening celebration will be announced soon, so stay tuned!

Construction at Heavy Metal Place is still underway, and throughout February work focused on implementing the finishing touches on the facility, with more than 100 workers on site. In addition to construction, there was significant work related to start up, testing, and inspections.

Highlights from the work completed throughout February include:

Overall facility

• Furniture was delivered and set up and millwork was completed.
• All doors, locks, and hardware have been installed.
• All major mechanical and electrical systems have been inspected, tested, and are currently running.
• The elevator and lift were commissioned and tested, and the fire alarm system was also completed, tested, and activated.
• The technology that runs and controls various systems in the facility is being installed and tested and the audio/video equipment has been delivered and is being installed.

Spectator and community arenas

• The ice plant was turned on and the two ice slabs were slowly cooled for the first time.
• The community arena and dressing rooms have been inspected and the contractor is finalizing these spaces.
• Over at the spectator arena, the concourse level group seating area is complete and the drink rail around the concourse is being installed. The structural steel for the centre ice score clock was also installed.

Other progress

• The flooring in the Spruce Grove Public Library branch is complete and the SuperNet connection has been installed.
• In the black box theatre, the retractable seating has installed, the flooring has been installed and painted, and the acoustic panels are being installed. The theatre lighting system has also been delivered.
• The system to hang art in the art gallery is being installed.

Check out the monthly one-minute timelapse for February.

Photo gallery

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