GC388JG History Wrapped Around a Giant Phone Booth (Unknown Cache) in Manitoba, Canada created by ernie&bert&elmo&grover

This cache has been archived.

onecrazycanadian: Hi erniebertelmogrover,

I'm archiving this listing since it's been at least 2 weeks since we last contacted you and there has been no response. If you correct the problem indicated at some time in the near future we will take another look at it and may consider unarchiving the cache.

Thanks
onecrazycanadian
Volunteer Reviewer

GC388JG ▼

A cache by ernie&bert&elmo&grover Message this owner

Hidden : 12/7/2011

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

WELCOME TO BELL MTS PLACE!

Bell MTS Place, formerly MTS Centre, is the home of the NHL's Winnipeg Jets, and is the 11th busiest entertainment venue in North America, with over 385,427 non-hockey-related tickets sold in 2008 (19th busiest arena in the world). Since it opened it has hosted nearly 1,400 events and has welcomed 9.8 million people through its doors (stats as of November 2014).

Bell MTS Place was ranked 26th overall in the Top 100 stadium experiences of 2014. Stadium Journey Magazine visited and reviewed more than 2,000 sports venues and Winnipeg’s downtown arena was rated 4.7 out of five based on food and beverage, atmosphere, neighbourhood, fans, access, return on investment and extra features. The top-ranked venue was Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, Maryland.

Bell MTS Place is located on the site of the former T. Eaton Co. Department Store.

T. Eaton Co. Limited was once Canada's largest department store, and a retail and social institution. The Winnipeg store (originally conceived as a mail order warehouse) was the company's second location. It was built in 1899 and stood for 103 years. A changing economic and retail environment in the late 20th century, and mismanagement culminated in the chain's bankruptcy in 1999. The building stood vacant for some time as local residents and the Save the Eaton's Coalition emotionally explored many various alternative uses for the building. Ultimately an arena was deemed to be the most viable and beneficial. The store was demolished in 2002 to make way for the new entertainment complex, and hope for a revitalized downtown ensued.

Bell MTS Place was officially opened on November 16, 2004. In an effort to recognize the site's history, red bricks from the original Eaton's building are incorporated into the design of the arena façade, an original store window and Tyndall stone surround is mounted in the arena concourse to house a collection of Eaton's memorabilia, as well as other historical tributes that are highlighted by this cache.
UPDATE 1: As a result of the $6 million renovation and concourse/lounge expansions that took place in early 2014, the Eatons window has been removed and donated to the museum. (However, this will NOT impact your ability to locate this cache).
UPDATE 2: As part of the 10th Anniversary celebrations in November 2014, the Winnipeg Free Press concourse (ie: Hargrave skywalk) has been replaced by MTS Centre commemorative panels. The puzzle has been updated as a result.

Bell MTS Place is owned and operated by True North Sports & Entertainment Limited. The total capital cost to build it was $133.5 million, with the private sector providing $93 million. It was originally known as the True North Centre during its planning and construction stages before the naming rights were purchased by Manitoba Telecom Services (MTS), a local phone company. Thus leading to the building's nickname of "The Phone Booth".

Bell MTS Place is the home of The Winnipeg Jets, who play in the National Hockey League and The Manitoba Moose, who play in the American Hockey League.

Bell MTS Place was renamed from MTS Centre in 2017 after the acquisition of MTS by Bell Canada.

This is a short multi-stage cache with a field puzzle component. At each of the three stages (all inside the building) you will gather some basic information, which you will need to decipher the final coordinates. Use the KEYS below to help solve the missing coordinates. The stages are all within very close proximity of each other, as is the final. You do not need to purchase a ticket to an event at the arena in order to solve the puzzle.

The cache is not at the posted coordinates but can be found here:

N 49° 53.nnn

W 97° 08.www

DIRECTIONS
To determine nnn and www, start at the posted coordinates.

Enter the large building on the southwest corner of the intersection (Bell MTS Place). Go up the escalator to the second floor (towards Gate 5) and continue west. At the northwest corner of the building, you will find Stages 1 and 2. Answer the following questions:

KEY1 = The year the Timothy Eaton statue was dedicated = ______
(Bonus question: Why is Timothy Eaton's shoe shiny? Answer: Many people believe rubbing Mr. Eaton's shoe brings good luck. So you will often see passersby giving it a quick rub as they walk on by. Strange but true!)

KEY2 = How many T. Eaton Co. employees lost their lives in BOTH great wars? (ie: How many names are on the two memorial plaques?) = ______ (WWI + WWII)

Now, continue west through the doors into the Skywalk system and immediately turn south towards CityPlace. (Do not head towards the Rogers building (Newport Centre) / Manitoba Hydro Place / Portage Place). You will now be at the building's 10th Anniversary commemorative wall in the skywalk (formerly the Winnipeg Free Press Concourse). As of November 16 2014, to highlight the arena's 10th year of operations, the famous newspaper photos and headlines were removed. You will notice the wall is now adorned with key events and performances from the arena's short history.
This area is Stage 3. Answer the following question:

KEY3 = According to the commemorative plaques, what is the year of the Pearl Jam concert on display along the wall? = ______

SOLVING
To solve for nnn and www, perform the following calculations with the information you have gathered:

nnn = KEY3 - KEY1 + KEY2 - 189

www = KEY3 - KEY1 + KEY2 + 232

Now continue along the Hargrave skywalk and exit Bell MTS Place at the southwest corner of the building. Walk about 300m to find your prize!

NOTES
Bell MTS Place security monitors the facility 24 hours a day, seven days per week. The three stages are within the public indoor walkway system (hours are from 7am to 12:30am daily, but some buildings have different hours). You will not be bothered at any of the stages unless your behaviour becomes disturbing or overly suspicious. Reading and writing down information are acceptable actions.
You do not need to trespass on private property to solve this puzzle. The final is not located inside Bell MTS Place; it is at a public place a short 300m away, but also in a very high muggle area.

UPDATE: Please be advised that recent changes within Bell MTS Place means that access to Stages 1 and 2 during an event now require a paid ticket. To avoid this, you can check which days are event days here.

To compensate for the signal bounce common to downtown caching and to minimize suspicion, please refer to the hints when you arrive near the final location. Also, please don't sign the logsheet right at ground zero; instead take the cache for a short walk and sign it where you'll be a little less conspicuous.

Replace the container exactly as found so that it doesn't succumb to gravity. Again, please please walk away from GZ when signing the log, so as not to attract suspicion. It's best not to search during weekday business hours.

If required, you can check your answers for this puzzle here: GeoCheck your solution.

Attributes listing for paperless caching: High muggle area so please be extremely stealthy, winter-friendly, wheel-chair accessible, parking available, not available at all times of the day, field puzzle, public transportation available, food, phone, drinking water, restaurants and washrooms are nearby, tourist friendly, takes less than 30 minutes, site of historical significance, available during Jets games, hockey fan and concert-goer friendly, no dogs allowed, no ticks or poison plants to worry about, stroller accessible, may be of interest to older kids, and did I mention stealth is required at the final stage!

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Fabbcl irefrf gur ERQ Oneba! Vafvqr, hc gbc, sebag, evtug FVQR Va beqre gb zvavzvmr fhfcvpvba, cyrnfr gnxr bar Cyrnfr ercynpr nf sbhaq Qb abg fvta ybtfurrg arne TM; gnxr vg sbe n yvggyr jnyx Orfg abg gb frnepu qhevat jrrxqnl ohfvarff ubhef

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)

This cache has been archived.

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History Wrapped Around a Giant Phone Booth Mystery Cache

This cache has been archived.

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Geocache Description:

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