A pair of Canadian rock icons will help the residents of Estevan and area celebrate the opening of Spectra Place.
Kim Mitchell and Tom Cochrane have been signed for the arena's grand opening festivities which are scheduled for April 15. A somewhat informal announcement was made during Monday's meeting of city council when Mayor Gary St. Onge accidentally let the cat out of the bag. The City had initially planned to make an announcement in January.
City manager Jim Puffalt said the Spectra Place committee has been working for the past few months to line up some acts for the grand opening and was exciting to land Cochrane as their headlining act and Mitchell to open for him.
"We want to showcase the facility and show what a great area it is going to be for concerts and events," said Puffalt. "To do that, we wanted to make sure that we brought a big name band into the city that people would be excited about it and want to see. We had a short list of bands that we talked to and Tom Cochrane and Red Rider were top of the list. They have promised they will put on a show that will knock our socks off."
Cochrane first rose to prominence in the early 1980s as the lead singer of the Toronto act Red Rider. After four successful albums and hits such as White Hot and Lunatic Fringe, the band went under the radar for a couple of years before resurfacing as Tom Cochrane and Red Rider.
They continued to put out a string of hits but rose to international stardom in 1991 when his signature song Life is a Highway became a global smash. Cochrane and his mates have continued to release albums and tour in the years since and remain one of the country's top draws.
Mitchell is known as the man behind some of Canada's top party songs with hits such as Go for a Soda, Patio Lanterns and I am a Wild Party. He is currently a radio DJ on Toronto station Q107 and has continued to tour with his band mates of 27 years.
Puffalt said further announcements about ticket sales and prices are expected in January. He noted they want to keep the concert affordable for all and prices will likely be in line with other shows that have been in the city recently. He also hopes it will be the first of many concerts in Spectra Place.
"The venue will speak for itself. We believe that producers and promoters will want to come and have a secondary stop in southern Saskatchewan," said Puffalt. "Garth Forster, who is the events manager at leisure services, has been getting lots of inquiries 'when are you guys opening, when can we start looking into booking bands' so we are pretty excited about it. It is going to be one of the best facilities in Saskatchewan and Western Canada. There is not a bad seat in the place."
Puffalt said another event is also planned for Spectra Place in late March. Although he did not say what that event is, speculation in the community is that it will be the fifth arena fundraising dinner.
