Modernizing the Events Centre’s ticketing process and booking Alice Cooper as the first post-COVID-19 concert are two memories that will stick with general manager Ryan MacIvor as he says goodbye after four years.
MacIvor came to The Friendly City after more than 10 years of managing an events centre in Dawson Creek, British Columbia. Interestingly, he will return to that West Coast community this fall — his last day here is July 28 — to become the municipality’s general manager of community services, including parks, tourism, facilities, and recreational programming.
The main reason he is returning to Dawson Creek, he explained, is because his family — parents, wife, and children — still live there.
“My four years in Moose Jaw have been pretty spectacular,” MacIvor said, noting it was great to come to a municipality that possesses an “exceptional” sports and entertainment venue that has a positive economic effect on the community, enhances residents’ quality of life and is in a great location.
Furthermore, the building offers a recreational location and a sense of opportunity for many, from amateur athletes to players in the WHL or AAA who aspire to compete professionally.
“The building is a great community asset. Who woulda thought to move to a community to take over the building and then be shut down six months into it by COVID?” MacIvor said. “As we all remember, ‘Flatten the curve, it’s just two weeks, it’s just two weeks.’ But really, two weeks turned into two years.”
MacIvor was thrilled to have helped usher in many structural changes at the Events Centre that put the venue on a better path. Some changes included food and beverage enhancements, upgrades to how tickets are sold, “dramatic changes” to how business occurs, and attracting diverse events like Jurassic Quest.
“It was just three years ago we were using cash registers and (had) no real inventory management systems. That (modernization) … is going to be a massive legacy for the community, for sure,” he continued.
“I’m really proud of the staff here at the Events Centre. They work tirelessly day in and day out for the community,” MacIvor said. “They really are the unsung heroes and MVPs because they’re working 6 a.m. (to) 11 p.m. for most of the season … to ensure the doors are open, the venue is clean and the services that the citizens want and expect are delivered.”
A legacy of which the Multiplex itself can be proud is successfully hosting the 2023 World Para Hockey Championships, an international event that no other North American community has held before, he pointed out. Even the governing para hockey body said the Events Centre “is a perfect facility” in “a perfect community.”
Some memories that will stick with MacIvor include organizing the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in February 2020 and the para hockey tournament this past May, and bringing in Alice Cooper in April 2022 as the first post-pandemic concert.
“That was just great to have the doors open and have people come back and experience live entertainment,” he said. “For myself, who’s been in the music business for 20 some-odd years, of tearing (up) during that first sound check, that first strum of the guitar, it was just like, ‘We’re back!’”
Overall, it’s the fans and employees who make the inanimate building what it is and breathe life into it through their cheering, applauding and smiles, MacIvor said. They should be thrilled to have one of the best venues in Western Canada.
MacIvor added that the next general manager should “stay the course” since he and his team have done great work ensuring “the ship is going in the right direction.”
