Monday's Southeast Event Centre funding announcement was met with a lot of excitement and for Steinbach Pistons Head Coach, he says it's also a bit of a relief. 

"These conversations have been taking place for many, many years," says the long-time bench boss. "I've always kind of known enough people to know where things are at (with the process) and over the years there's been excitement followed by disappointment. But yesterday, what a surreal moment. So many people who have been a part of the planning for many years were there and you could just see the pride. It's an amazing feeling to know it's really going to happen."

While it's going to be an "events center", Dyck says it could just as easily be a "community center" given all the people that helped make this happen. "It takes the whole community and we needed a lot of things to line up. We needed a unified council, strong leadership from our Mayor, strong leadership from the SEC group, and some private investors who have been driving this project. It truly is a community events center."

Dyck also notes that it's going to provide options for a lot of people to enjoy.

"When you step back and really look at what's all going to go on with that building, it's going to be so diverse. That's what makes it so exciting for so many. It's not just for hockey, it's for graduation, to dances to trade shows. They'll have an opportunity to bring so many types of events to our areas. There won't be too many days on the calendar where that won't be an event going on with that building."

From a Piston's perspective, Dyck says this new facility opens all kinds of doors.

"What this does is provides us with opportunities. Something we've talked about as a group is hosting some national events. From a National Championship to World Junior A Challenge, there's a number of events throughout the year that cities our size or even smaller have hosted. They do extremely well doing these events, it's quite a boost for the local economy. Our arena just didn't have the capacity to even apply for certain events."

In addition, Dyck says a new facility like this will be helpful in recruiting players. 

"We have a tremendous atmosphere in our building but I think getting into a more comfortable, spacious building, one that's a little bit warmer in the winter, will be good for our fans as well. From sightlines to seats, the whole experience will just be more positive. Back to capacity, when we host events or playoffs, we won't have to cap our attendance at 1,250. We can now host over 3000. If we have something special and unique come to our city, I think we can fill the building."

The TG Smith Centre has been around a long time and for Dyck, who grew up playing in that rink, he says while upgrading is necessary, it will be a touch bittersweet.

"No question about it, but those memories will stay with us. That's the great thing about it. You think about when in Winnipeg they tore down the old arena, we all had great memories of watching the Jets either in the WHA or the early days of the NHL but those pages get turned pretty quickly. The memories remain but new ones are formed. It's time for the building to come down. Personally, I did grow up playing minor hockey in that building, I watched the Huskies in 1979 as a young child and it was incredible, it was something that sparked my passion for the game. The success we had with our team in 2013 and how the community rallied behind the team, the passion in our building and again in 2018. We'll have tremendous memories that we take with us but I think everyone's anxious to get up to speed with how things are now in the 2020s."

With a larger building, Dyck still expects his players to be accessible to either fans or more importantly, minor hockey players who look up to the Junior A players.

"We will be very intentional with keeping things personal, maintaining that connection with fans and youth hockey players. Some of the things will have to be more thought out because the building we have now, it's quite small, everywhere you turn you run into someone you know but when you're adding 1800-1900 seats, it will change some things but we feel the opportunity far outweighs the challenges."

Dyck says while he's looking forward to having the banners hung from the rafters or the jumbo screen being used to its maximum potential, he says climate control is what he might be looking forward to the most. "Our building is just so cold," Dyck says with a laugh. "It's cold on games days and at practice and as a coach, we're standing around a lot at practice, so selfishly, I'd like it a little warmer. I'm also really looking forward to the community pride. It's going to be such a big part of our city, something people want to showcase and be proud of. People want to be a part of it."

"I'm looking forward to not wearing longjohns under my suit," Dyck added with a chuckle. Fans who bring parka's, scarves, and thick blankets can relate.