Upgrades underway at Centre In The Square include new seating

Downtown Kitchener’s Centre In The Square is in the midst of major upgrades, with a plan to install new seats and add an accessible row with a better view.

Earlier this month, the venue started tearing out seating to be replaced with wider, more cushioned ones.

"On average. We're going to see at least an inch extra width in each seat. We've got a little bit of a higher seatback as we go. So it'll be considerably more comfortable,” said Bill Zeilstra, the director of production for Centre In The Square.

The biggest change is a new accessible row with a better view. Before the renovations, clients with accessibility challenges could only sit on the sides of the stage. The new row will face the stage and quadruple the amount of accessible seating.

“Not only quadruple the numbers of accessible seating, but also the sight view will be better and more comfort, better sight view, better experience for all our patrons,” said Eric Lariviere, executive director of Centre In The Square.

While the accessible row can accommodate different forms of accessibility equipment, it will be able to add seating if needed.

“It is fully modular. We'll have the capacity to put in 45 additional seats or we can mix and match to provide and support for anything that we need in the future,” Zeilstra said.

The new seating and row will change the seating map and reduce the amount of spots available.

“Overall, we drop our house count by about 100 seats, so we're just shy of 2000 seats in total,” Zeilstra said.

The venue installed new accessible washrooms last year, and said these new chairs and row is the next step to modernizing the building.

“The way venues used to be built, it was a different time. We're 45 years old and it's incredibly important to do it as we have the opportunity to change the seats and do that improvement,” Lariviere said.

Zeilstra said with a change in seating, they are fully aware of the impact on acoustics and are taking steps to ensure it’s not changed.

“We'll actually be bringing in acoustic consultants who actually worked on the original construction of the building to sort of verify what our acoustic picture will look like when it's all said and done. But no, the intent is to keep it as similar to what it was in the eighties to what we see today,” Zeilstra said.

Funding for the project came from a federal government infrastructure grant, the province, the City of Kitchener and Centre In The Square itself.

“This will last us for another 20 years, without a doubt,” Zeilstra said.

The new seating started arriving on Wednesday. All are expected to be installed and ready by September 20. Comedian Russel Howard is scheduled to take the stage on September 26.