OLG Stage biggest entertainment venue in Niagara

The new 5,000-seat OLG Stage entertainment venue at Fallsview Casino Resort is like nothing else in Niagara. 

Modeled after the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, its fan-shaped design gives every spectator a view of the front of the stage. And each seat is no more than 150 feet away from it, even in the second balcony. 

Officials from OLG (Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation), MGE Niagara Entertainment Inc. (Mohegan) and ARK Architects walked members of the media through the impressive new venue last week. And to give them a feel for the acoustics of Niagara’s newest live music and arts venue, they were treated to an eight-song set by Toronto rock band The Beaches.

Sitting in one of the 1,100 lower orchestra section seats, the sound and the sightlines were perfect. A quick walk around the upper orchestra section, where another 1,900 seats are situated, seemed to bring no change in either sound quality or the ability to see the action on stage. 

In a Q&A session following their set, the four members of the all-female Juno Award-winning band gave rave reviews of the venue. 

“One thing I noticed is how amazing it sounded onstage,” said drummer Eliza Enman McDaniel. “And it’s a really professional staff who work here. They’ve been super helpful.”

The Niagara Falls facility employs 24 staff daily for operational maintenance and another 15 on show days. 

Added lead singer and bassist Jordan Miller, “It’s really cool to be able to play to so many levels as well. You don’t often have that opportunity, it allows for some more fun blocking.”

Miller was referring to the two balcony levels in the venue, similar to the layout of Caesars Colosseum or Massey Hall in Toronto. Both of those facilities, in comparison, have a capacity that is lower than that of the new OLG Stage. The casino’s Avalon Theatre, which is slated to remain open, only holds 1,500. 

“It’s another unique venue,” said Niagara Casinos director of marketing services Jennifer Ferguson. “We’re going to be able to bring larger acts into the property and give more people a better experience. Everything about it is state-of-the-art. It will continue to elevate the concert experience.”

Construction on the $130 million facility began in 2017 and involved 4,000 tonnes of structural steel. Work was completed by June, 2020, and country singer Brad Paisley was scheduled to open the venue. But the pandemic pushed any on-stage activity back until live gatherings were permitted.

That gave officials time to tweak the sound system and the acoustics and complete some other finishing touches. 

CTV’s Canada’s Got Talent was the first to use the stage, shooting its upcoming season there, beginning last October. Since then, there have been a handful of concerts in the space, but the grand opening performance featuring Billy Joel, which received much attention due to the price of the tickets, is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 25. 

There’s little doubt that the Piano Man will be happy with the 6,400 square foot stage, flanked on both sides by 30’ by 18’ high-definition screens. Senior property asset manager Rob Divencha claimed the stage is the largest in the region. 

And Joel will certainly feel comfortable backstage, in both the large dressing room and bright, spacious green room provided to performers and their entourages. 

His crew, as well, will be happy to pull their buses, limos and trucks right inside the building, and to use the tractor-trailer-sized freight elevator to unload their gear and bring it to stage level.

“We’ve had rave reviews from those who have performed here,” Divencha told the media. “They’re talking about the acoustics, they’re talking about the lighting, they’re talking about the technical support and features, and the performer amenities too.”

As members of the media rode the escalator up to the 400-level balcony, Christophe Gauthier, managing partner at ARK, explained to The Local that the lobby areas were designed to be bright, open spaces visible through floor-to-ceiling glass to onlookers on the street below. 

“That way they will see that something is going on here,” he said, “and they will want to be a part of it.” 

Gauthier also pointed to the animated and moving lighting that can be fine-tuned for specific purposes in those lobby spaces. And he stressed that accessibility and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) principles were foremost on the architects’ minds throughout the design process. 

Walking through the 200,000 square foot building, which took a total of 685,000 onsite person hours to build, with up to 300 workers onsite per day, it’s easy to forget that it was all constructed on top of the existing Hilton Hotel parking garage. 

And though the exterior doesn’t jump out at passersby on Stanley Avenue, it is an awe-inspiring experience once inside. 

A list of upcoming shows speaks to Ferguson’s promise of attracting bigger acts to the Niagara Region. Following Joel, another Billy, last name Idol, plays the venue on May 5. Rock band Cheap Trick visits May 27, and John Fogerty, fresh off of a recent court decision that finally gives him royalties on the songs he wrote as the leader of Creedence Clearwater Revival, takes to the stage in June. And September will see Rod Stewart and Kenny Loggins performing there.