Can Hamilton, Ontario join Toronto as a top-tier North American tour stop? Oak View Group (OVG) is banking on it.
The Denver-based company is renovating the arena formerly known as FirstOntario Centre and Copps Coliseum into its flagship Canadian venue.
A public-private project with the City of Hamilton, which owns the land and the building, it's a $290 million upgrade alongside EllisDon construction and Brisbin Brook Beynon Architects that will see the entire arena gutted and rebuilt.
It's such a drastic and complete renovation that the company doesn't even like using the word renovation.
"We're calling it more of a transformation because we're renovating over 80% of the building," says Ryan Zrenda, OVG's VP of project management. "In some ways, it will be unrecognizable."
Last December, Billboard Canadatalked to OVG chairman and CEO Tim Leiweke about what appealed to the company about the arena and Hamilton as a concert market.
"If you look at that old building, everyone looks past it. We saw a jewel," he said. "What we saw was the economy, the energy level, the kids and youth. They're in Hamilton."
Now, donning a hard hat and orange vest for a tour, the investment is easy to see in action. There are 300 workers in the construction zone of the arena daily, sprinting toward the late-December 2025 finish line.
The bowl of the Hamilton Arena, mid-renovation.Courtesy Photo
When the former Copps Coliseum opened 40 years ago, it was primarily built for hockey. The thought of the biggest artists in music coming to play there, especially at the scale of modern-day arena mega-concerts, was not top of mind.
The new Hamilton Arena project, however, is built for music first – an increasing trend for arenas and stadiums, including Live Nation's new Rogers Stadium opening in Toronto this summer.
That's been a major focus of the renovation, much of it in ways that aren't easily spotted without a tour guide. There's new acoustic panelling in the ceiling, reducing reverberation off the building's abundant glass and concrete. There's also a newly installed rigging grid under the scoreboard for artists' teams to quickly set up and remove sets and stage dressings required for larger shows.
Acoustic panelling in the roof of the Hamilton Arena.Courtesy Photo
The venue is also converting a large segment of the basement level, much of it previously unused, into a new "artist compound." Instead of using locker rooms as green rooms, there will be five performer dressing rooms, four production offices, an artist lounge and a meet and greet area that can be accessed via non-public entrances and exits.
Though many of those new touches will benefit artists and their teams more than the general public, new general manager Nick DeLuco says it's tantamount to getting in top-quality artists.
"When you focus on those things, like the back of house spaces, like the rigging, like the sound, those are the things that really differentiate you and make artists want to come play here. They remember it and want to come back," he says.
With the capability to host any show that could also go to Toronto's Scotiabank Arena, the Hamilton Arena, with its Live Nation strategic partnership, can book like a primary tour stop.
"We fully believe that this venue can host anything that happens in Toronto," DeLuco says.
No programming has been made public yet, but he says those announcements will start coming soon. Alex Patton, who was recently appointed OVG's Senior Director of Booking in Canada, will oversee the calendar.
DeLuco says it will be more of an opening series than an opening concert, which will show off all of the different kinds of shows the arena might host. In recent years, the arena has boasted shows by Pearl Jam and Korean acts like Blackpink and BTS (with a surprisingly robust K-pop scene, it's often been the sole Canadian stop for Korean acts).
While it will cater to Hamilton, OVG is also looking at it as a destination for Southern Ontario, nearby American markets like Buffalo and Detroit and – yes – also Toronto. Just a 90-minute drive away, the urban centre's orbit has been expanding rapidly over the last decade.
"Whether it's competition or complementary, we want to be in the same conversation. For a population of 10 million people in this general area, you don't only have one or two venues [this size]," says DeLuco. "It's [an] underserved [market], and this facility will absolutely be a great asset to all of us."
As the large concert market expands, another big trend in the world of live music is for venues to offer special VIP packages similar to festivals. As we continue the tour, Zrenda says the word "premium" countless times, showing special lounges and boxes on every level each with their own bars and amenities. Another priority has been opening space for better flow and sightlines, and now box seating merges right into the bowl, offering spaces right next to the stage instead of well above the action.
Bottom "bunker" suites, with sightlines direcly into the bow. Courtesy Photo
Another emphasis is ease of motion, avoiding bottlenecks and queues with more concourses, concessions, entrances, stairways and elevators. Accessibility is another major upgrade, as might be expected for a venue that originally opened in the '80s, with new elevators, accessible seating and ADA-compliant concessions going in all over the building.
OVG has built and renovated arenas all over the world, from Manchester to Seattle to Baltimore, and takes cues from many of those venues in the design.
The company also manages venues in Winnipeg, Edmonton, London and more and has invested heavily into Departure festival in Toronto – but Hamilton is the emphasis of the Canadian operation, and part of a sustained push within Canada.
OVG's Canadian office is in Toronto, but its hopes are in Hamilton.
