Progressive Auto Sales Arena

New ownership bought the Sarnia Arena, now the Progressive Auto Sales Arena, and wanted a total transformation. Time was the constraint. I had two weeks to concept, design and present the first rebrand: luxury suites, a restaurant, concessions, a kids' zone and a full wayfinding system. The work is tied to a ten-year partnership worth $1.9M a year. Its second part is District 94, a new sports bar and lounge named for the year the arena opened. The arena and District 94 are both open.

Client: Progressive Auto Sales Arena, formerly the Sarnia Arena, through Levy and Compass Group Canada
Year: 2025 to 2026
Role: Sole creative on the arena rebrand, creative lead on District 94
Outcome: Awarded, $1.9M a year over 10 years. Built and open, District 94 included.

BuzzSocial

The flagship restaurant and social hub, and the room at the top of this page. Honeycomb LED ceiling pieces work as both lighting and the main architectural statement.

Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame bar was a rebrand, and an environmental design piece. I picked out the millwork. I put down the floor pattern we use across the space. There are marble countertops.

I worked with our internal architects, our environmental design team and our 3D renderer, going back and forth to design the space.

Hall of Fame bar: a slatted wood counter with the Hall of Fame crest, a dark marble top, white brick walls and a patterned floor — Hall of Fame bar, a raster mock-up I put together

The suites, before and after

The suites got a full refresh: wood, warm light and the hex language carried into the fixtures.

Six photos of the suites before the refresh: red walls, white cabinets and mismatched stools — Before

Render of a refreshed suite: dark wood, leather seating, a hexagon light fixture and a Sarnia Suites sign — After

The hex language

The team's mascot is a bee. That gave me a hexagon language: honeycomb patterns, hex LED fixtures and a “Buzz” naming family. It ties eight very different spaces into one place.

Youth Hive is the same system turned up for families: brighter colour, bigger scale and moments worth photographing.

Youth Hive: a lit hexagon sign on a wall of bold yellow, blue and white shapes, with an air hockey table in front — Youth Hive

Luxury Suites game day menu

The suites menu is the piece suite holders handle every game. I didn't design this one. My part was reviewing the designs and signing them off.

Of the cover options, this is the one I would use.

Game day menu cover: a black-and-white photo of the arena with Luxury Suites and Game Day Menu set over it in white and yellow — Cover

Welcome page of the game day menu — Welcome page

Shareables page of the game day menu — Shareables

Snacks and à la carte page of the game day menu — Snacks and à la carte

"Not long ago, the space was dated, worn down and no longer reflective of the experience our partners or their fans deserved. Today, District 94 represents something entirely different: a welcoming, elevated destination."
Bryan Kay, Sr. Director, Strategic Initiatives, Levy

Three names before District 94

Before District 94 there were three directions, each built from Sarnia itself. District 1455, named for the arena's address on London Road. The Foundry, from the city's industrial roots. Union, for a union town, with a hexagonal O that ties back to the honeycomb already in the building.

Each concept came with a name, a mark, a rationale and a render of the room, so the client could choose between finished ideas instead of sketches. The work moved the project to its final name and into a cross-functional build that opened in 2026.

District 94

The name comes from the arena's 1994 opening. The brand mixes dark wood, brass and a D94 monogram that works on menus, glassware and the entrance.

The largest piece is the graphic wall in the hallway that leads in: a dark map of Sarnia, a row of archive photos of the Sting, and one line beside the logo, “Proudly calling Sarnia home since 1994.”

The renders of the room are by our internal architects.

The graphic wall

The wordmark, from the final logo files

The D94 monogram: a charcoal D with a gold 94, on cream — The monogram, for light grounds

The D94 monogram: a cream D with a gold 94, on charcoal — The monogram, for dark grounds

Architects' render of the District 94 bar: a long marble bar, hexagon light fixtures, screens above and the name in an earlier condensed type — Render by our internal architects, with an earlier type treatment

A later architects' render of the bar, with wood-fronted counters and hexagon light fixtures, as it appeared at the top of the client's deck — A later render by our internal architects, from the client's deck

In the client's deck

I did some of these designs. The client then carried my identity into their own presentation and used AI image tools to picture it in the space: the sign, the entrance and the menus.

These images come from that deck. They are visualisations, not photographs, and I didn't make them.

Visualisation of the District 94 sign, backlit on a dark brick wall — The sign, a visualisation from the client's deck

Visualisation of the District 94 entrance: the backlit D94 monogram on a pale wall and the sign over glass doors — The entrance, a visualisation from the client's deck

AI mock-ups of a leather menu cover with the D94 monogram, an inside menu page and a round coaster — Menu cover, menu page and coaster: AI mock-ups from the client's deck

A page from the client's deck titled Hallway Entrance Design Direction, with a hallway render showing the graphic wall and an elevation drawing — Hallway direction: a page from the client's deck, with the graphic wall in place

District 94 suites menu

The same system runs through the District 94 suites menu and the arena graphics package.

District 94 suites menu, page 2 — Suites menu, page 2

Arena graphics package: wall graphic sheets with renders and plan drawings — Arena graphics package

"You have defined a best-in-class experience that will not only elevate our partner's fan experience, but also serve as a powerful proof source for what Levy can deliver across the industry. We have set a new standard."
Bryan Kay, Sr. Director, Strategic Initiatives, Levy

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