JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

MTS Centre won't open until fall, but variety of events are already booked.

Slated to open in the fall, the MTS Centre has already scheduled everything from hockey games to concerts, tennis matches to trade shows well into 2005.

"We've been approached by every single sport imagined -- bowling, tennis, hockey, figure skating, indoor football, trade shows," said Kevin Donnelly, president of Winnipeg Enterprises Corp. "It's absolutely as positive a response as we could have hoped for."

Donnelly declined to specify how many dates are already booked, but he did say event planners wanting to book a large number of weekends are being told they can't be accommodated until 2006.

The new arena is located just a stone's throw from the Winnipeg Convention Centre -- until now, the city's main large-event venue.

The MTS Centre will mean a new level of competition for the convention centre, but event planners and officials from the convention centre and the new arena say they believe the added event space will benefit everyone. For example, Donnelly noted, Winnipeg would never have won the right to host the 2005 Juno Awards without access to the two venues.

While the new arena is being outfitted for the main awards show, an industry awards night and gala dinner will be held at the convention centre.

"I think we'll complement more than we'll compete," he said.

Saturday morning, tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. for Monster Jam, touted as the world's premier monster truck show, Feb. 25 to 27. True North Sports and Entertainment said yesterday that it's the first event at the MTS Centre for which tickets are being sold.

Klaus Lahr, the convention centre's general manager and chief operating officer, said he has not had any discussions with MTS Centre officials, but he hopes the two facilities will enter into a marketing relationship to bring more large events to the city.

The convention centre has not noticed a decrease in its number of events being booked, he said. "We anticipate 2005 to be as busy as 2004," he said.

Lahr said the convention centre can offer more floor space than the arena and has on-site catering services and banquet facilities -- features not available at the arena.

"I'd like to see what we could do working together," he said. "We could benefit from each other's presence."

Winnipeg event planner Jonathan Strauss said one of his clients has already decided to move their event from the convention centre to the new arena next year.

But he said the convention centre need not worry about losing its business.

Strauss said the arrival of the new arena might actually improve the convention centre's ability to accommodate events. In the past, Strauss has been frustrated by the inability to get a venue for clients.

"Some events don't need the space and amenities of the convention centre," he said. "Conceivably, they could use the arena and free up some dates for the convention centre."

Event organizers might be more attracted to Winnipeg as they can host their conference at the convention centre and take advantage of the nearby arena to provide after-hours entertainment options for attendees, Strauss said.

He said a healthy competition between the convention centre and the new arena might also bring costs down for clients looking for a venue. Donnelly said the first year a new arena is open is bound to attract interest from event planners.

The challenge now, he said, is to keep that interest high.

"There is always a honeymoon period," he said. "The test is to see how long you can make it last."