The ribbon cutting has been held and the $33-million expansion at Canada Life Place in downtown London was unveiled on Friday. The project which started in June of 2024 took more than two year to complete. The 10,000 sq. ft. expansion includes the new Casey’s Club Lounge on the main level as well as the new MNP District Lounge on the upper level. “It can be used to host VIP events or different community gatherings,” said Kelly Austin, the General Manager with Oak View Group at Canada Life Place. There is also a new larger back of stage area, along with expanded locker and training facilities for the London Knights Hockey Club. Austin says the expansion is bound to help attract more events at Canada Life Place. “When we have those national or international events like the Junos or the Memorial Cup prior to the expansion a lot of time we would have to build tents out in the parking lot or out on Dundas Street for example to host media,” she added. “Now we are able to bring them in-house which makes us a lot more competitive when going after those bids.” Austin says a lot of planning and work went into the project but in the end, “We’re extremely happy about how it all turned out.”