Palais des Sports Léopold-Drolet

The Palais des Sports Léopold-Drolet sits in the Fleurimont sector of Sherbrooke, built into a hillside that gives the building a quiet permanence. Mid-century yellow brick and wood paneling define the exterior, while inside the single bowl of seats creates an enclosure that feels small for the number of people it holds. The arena opened in 1965, though some records point to 1966.

Renovation work finished in 2012 when the Sherbrooke Phoenix arrived from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The project added thirty-two luxury boxes and eighteen galleries, but it also reduced capacity from roughly 4,300 to 3,646.

Before the Phoenix, the Castors and the Faucons played here, and before them the Jets and the Canadiens. The Castors won the QMJHL President's Cup in the 1974–75 season, defeating the Laval National in five games. That trophy visit brought the Memorial Cup to Sherbrooke the following year. The Faucons era lasted longer but produced nothing comparable.

The arena also hosted handball matches during the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. Concerts have filled the venue in the years since: Bryan Adams in 2001, the Backstreet Boys in 2008, Johnny Hallyday among the many others. No official attendance record has been found in available sources, and no one seems to mind.

The venue was renamed in 2003 to honour Léopold Drolet, founder of the Sher-Wood hockey stick company. Public debates about sponsorship names have not changed that title yet.