Sleeman Centre The Sleeman Centre ( formerly the Guelph Sports and Entertainment Centre ) is a 5 , 100 seat multi - purpose facility in Guelph , Ontario , Canada . The Sleeman Centre has hosted concerts , sporting and family events as well as trade shows and conferences . The arena hosted the 2002 Memorial Cup . History . The " Guelph Sports and Entertainment Centre " was built in 2000 at a cost of $ 21 million dollars . A new arena for Guelph had been in discussion for well over a decade by Guelph City Council . The owners of the Guelph Platers , the OHL team at Guelph Memorial Gardens at the time , decided to move to Owen Sound in 1989 , one of the reasons stated was the lack of a new arena . Serious talks of a new arena for the Guelph Storm , who moved from Hamilton in 1991 and played out of the cramped Guelph Memorial Gardens , did not get started until the mid to late 1990s after the Guelph Storm ' s failed attempt to host the Memorial Cup . Finding a suitable location , as well as the cost , was debated for many years . Many sites had been looked at including the Memorial Gardens site , the Fountain Street parking lot , and in the west end of the city where there was plans to build a new recreation and community complex . When the Eaton ' s store at the Guelph Eaton Centre closed down , the city investigated the potential of locating the arena where the now empty store stood . To acquire the property , the city had to purchase the entire mall from ING Barings for $ 1 . 7 million . The 5 , 000 - seat arena was then built on the site of the former Eaton ' s store after the purchase of the mall in 1998 and demolition of the back section where the Eaton ' s store once stood . By 2009 , Guelph ' s junior B team , the Guelph Hurricanes ( formerly known as the Guelph Dominators ) officially moved to the Sleeman Centre for their regular season home games . In 2009 , the City of Guelph announced plans to upgrade the Sleeman Centre starting Spring 2010 . This upgrade consists of adding a video score clock to the arena that has 4 video replay screens as well as two LED rings at the top and bottom of the scoreboard . Private - Public Partnership . A private - public partnership was hailed as a great deal to building the Guelph Sports and Entertainment Centre in 1998 because it stipulated that the city would not be liable for private partners operating losses , nor the senior loan . The city entered a P3 agreement with Nustadia in 1998 to build and operate the Guelph Sports and Entertainment Centre for 30 years . The city contributed half of the cost of the project and also guaranteed a $ 9 - million loan for capital costs , which was to be paid back by Nustadia . However , in 2001 , the city of Guelph had to take over the $ 10 million " senior " loan for the Guelph Sports and Entertainment Centre , plus the $ 9 . 5 million " subordinated " loan the city was already paying due to Nustadia failing to make a June 1 quarterly payment of $ 181 , 250 . Guelph taxpayers had to pay $ 3 million over the a four year span to make Nustadia ' s payments on its bank loan for the downtown arena . Nustadia said difficulties to making payments were attributed to a number of factors , including the failure to generate anticipated restaurant and food court revenue and lower - than - projected ticket sales from Guelph Storm hockey games . Nustadia expected 3 , 500 people per game but the average was closer to 2 , 800 in 2000 / 2001 . The four - year reprieve granted by Guelph City Council was recommended so that Nustadia ' s fortunes can be tested under ideal conditions . Nustadia was to repay the money but a clause in the agreement between the city and the developer gave either side the ability to walk away with no financial obligations to the other . That deal expired on June 30 , 2005 which opened the door for Nustadia to walk away . In 2005 , after the four year reprieve , the city took over ownership of the Guelph Sports and Entertainment Centre because Nustadia Developments Inc . decided to walk away from the downtown facility , completing a controversial transaction that has been expected for a few months . The deal at the time transferred the ownership from Guelph Centre Partners , a division of Nustadia that was managing the arena , to the city , and left Guelph taxpayers on the hook for nearly $ 4 million in unanticipated debt plus the $ 9 - million loan previously guaranteed by the city . Coming this August 19th - 24th Guelph Regals Jr B and the Sleeman Centre are set to host the 2008 Founders Cup Tournament , The tournament is ready for the nations best teams to come together to compete for the national Championship Arena Name . In June 2007 , Sleeman Breweries and the City of Guelph finalized a $ 1 . 2 million sponsorship deal that gives the beer company exclusive naming rights to the Guelph Sports & Entertainment Centre until 2020 . The selling of the naming rights to the Guelph Sports and Entertainment Centre was actively pursued after the city took over the arena in 2005 . Layout . In the main arena the seats are blue , with private suites located one level above the main seating area . The club seats are behind the player benches . There is also a restaurant behind the club seats as well as a 200 level VIP section on the same level of the private boxes . The arena has a standard four - sided scoreboard which is blue to go with the arena theme colour . The concourse is wide and horseshoe shaped , as fans have to either exit to Old Quebec Street food court or go through the restaurant . Fans can walk all the way around the arena in a circle .