Meridian Centre Community Use Program

The City of St. Catharines is pleased to offer local non-profit organizations and sports organizations the opportunity to attend sporting events at the Meridian Centre through the Meridian Centre Community Use Program:

Use of the City's community suite (12 tickets) for Niagara IceDogs hockey games
Use of 12 lower bowl tickets for Niagara River Lions basketball games

We match program applicants to a select number of available games through two streams:

Groups planning to use the community seats for fundraising purposes
Groups planning to bring children and youth to a game

Applications for use of the City's community suite for Niagara River Lions games will be open from March 17 to April 4, 2025. Application deadline is 11:59 p.m. on April 4.

Apply

Upcoming games

Subscribe to this page and watch our news and notices for updates on available games with the Meridian Centre Community Use Program.

Eligibility

Your organization must meet all criteria to apply for the program:

Organizations must be a registered charity, incorporated non-profit, or a minor not-for-profit sport association. Documentation is required.
- All registered charities and incorporated non-profits are eligible to apply, however we give preference to those that provide services focusing on youth.
- Only minor not-for-profit amateur sports leagues or associations that solely administer activities for children or youth under 18 are eligible. The organization must operate on a not-for-profit basis and access to the organization's program must be widely available to the community, without discrimination on any grounds. The organization must also govern multiple teams, spanning several age groups. Individual teams involving a narrow age group or small number of participants are ineligible.
Organizations must serve the residents of St. Catharines to be eligible. We give preference to organizations located in St. Catharines.
Organizations are expected to provide Community Use Program tickets to youth to either attend, and/or sell, auction or raffle the tickets for charitable fundraising purposes.
- Organizations must indicate how they will use the tickets as part of the application process. Tickets will be considered available for that use only.

Scoring criteria

Our selection committee uses the following scoring criteria to qualify and prioritize requests from applicants. Each category has a total of 20 possible points applicants can earn, broken down by category.

If eligible demand exceeds supply, we hold a draw to determine the recipients. Games will be drawn at random and the decision of the committee is final.

Groups intending to bring children and youth to events

Tickets will be used for youth (18 and under) to attend: 10 points
Organization is located in St. Catharines: 5 points
Organization applied, but did not receive tickets in the previous year: 5 points
Total points available: 20 points

Groups intending to use tickets for fundraising purposes

Tickets will be used for fundraising purposes: 10 points
Organization is located in St. Catharines: 5 points

Organization applied, but did not receive tickets in the previous year: 5 points
Total points available: 20 points

Meridian Centre Community Seats and Suite Licence Agreement Terms and Conditions

The City reserves the right, entirely at its discretion, to accept or reject any application for the use of the Suite.
The applicant and user shall obey and observe all rules, regulations and policies of the Centre, laws, by-laws and regulations of the City, the Province of Ontario, and the Government of Canada, and further, the applicant and user personally, and jointly and severally, agrees to and with the City that the applicant and user will indemnify and save harmless the City and its agents, tenants and licensees against all loss, costs, claims, damages, actions, suits of any nature and kind whatsoever which may arise as a result of the use of the facility or area granted under the agreement.
It is further agreed that the City and/or the Centre reserves the right to terminate this agreement, to prosecute, suspend, or otherwise penalize the applicant or other representatives for violation of the conditions contained herein.
The applicant shall provide the Centre a credit card number or a $250 refundable security/damage deposit for the use of the Suite. This must be provided within 10 days of the game date and may be payable to the Centre via cash or cheque. An administration fee applies for all NSF cheques. Interest at the rate of 1.5% per month will be added to cost of damages greater than $250.
At all times, the applicant and user shall restrict occupancy of the Suite to no more than 12 people.
The applicant must ensure that a minimum of one representative over the age of 18 of the approved applicant organization be in the Club Seats and Suite at all times to ensure compliance with the rules and regulations.
The applicant and users shall not bring any food or beverages whatsoever into the Suite; all food and/or beverages used or required therein shall be obtained at the applicant/users sole expense only from the Centre or a concession designated by the Centre. All food and beverage consumed in the Centre and the Suite must be purchased through the Centre at current suite menu pricing. All food must be ordered in advance and must be secured through a valid credit card. Mandatory gratuity and hosting fees will apply and will be detailed on the food pre-order confirmation. Youth attendees in the Club Seats will be provided popcorn and fountain pop at no charge by the Centre.
The applicant is responsible for all food and beverage costs, hosting/gratuity fees, and other fees of the selected event and any damages associated with the use of the Suite.
The applicant is responsible for the behaviour of their guests who are required to abide by the same rules as other suite holders.
The applicant and users shall at all times maintain proper decorum while using the Suite and shall not attach or display any signs, advertisement, notices or other items in or around the Suite area without the prior written consent of the Centre.
The applicant and users shall not install or permit the installation of any video or audio recording equipment in the Suite and neither applicant nor user will at any time audio or video tape or otherwise copy any portion of any event broadcast in the Suite area by means of closed circuit television or any other media.
The applicant must report back to the City on how the Suite was used and the amount of charitable funds raised.
The City and/or the Centre shall not be responsible for theft or any other loss or disappearance of any of the property of the applicant and user in and around the Suite area.