The Conclusion

In this past month I have had time to read what we all had to say, plus really focus on what other had to say on the World Wide Web. I have come to realize more then I hadn't known. As in this will be my last post, I have decided to write about what I have come to and believe should be the way this arena should be approached.

I do believe a new arena would be a great way to bring life to our Edmonton downtown area, and bring a new modern design to be downtown core. But the one thing that still bugs me is the bill that will be sitting at the table, with Kats, northlands and the city sitting at the table trying to figure out this mega bill and who and how much will be split up with everyone.

With traffic being a problem as it is, I have seen some ideas of the Nait LRT line from downtown, and I have seen drawings that this line will pass the site were the new arena will be placed, this will help most of the traffic if this is done, but we are just adding more money to this bill for this arena. If they can find someone in the federal government or province government to help pay, then that would help a bit more. But it’s still coming from are pockets in the end, but not as much at least.

So I have I am still standing were I did from the beginning of this post a month ago. This arena needs to get Rollin really soon if we wish to see it finished on 2014.

Adding New Life to the city

This is a short article discussing how a new arena would add new "life" to the city. There are a few comments made by current Edmonton Oilers Fernando Pisani and Jason Strudwick who are born and raised in the city. Although this article was written shortly after Daryl Katz's announcement of trying to develop a new arena, it gives thought to the city growing socially. These are the most optimistic thoughts that many Edmontonians share regarding a new arena district.

http://www.timminspress.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1726201

Northlands Possible Involvement

This article discusses the possibility of public funding being a part of the financial solution that needs to be reached in order for a new arena to be constructed. Northlands is the organization that currently runs the day to day operations of Rexall Place which is the current home of the Edmonton Oilers. Many people think that if there is public money to be used that it has to come through Northlands being involved in the new arena being built.

http://communities.canada.com/edmontonjournal/blogs/hockey/archive/2009/09/22/northlands-sees-public-money-for-new-downtown-arena-huntley.aspx

In the Right Place?

There was a very timely article in the Edmonton Journal yesterday. The author asked if we're not perhaps putting the cart before the horse with all this talk about financing, before even asking if the new arena project is in the right area?

The story is here.

The author thinks the proposal is too far away from downtown to have a real impact on development, and touches on the traffic issues brought up on this blog elsewhere. It's a valid criticism. I liked his thoughts on what the indoor attractions and pedways would do to street level foot traffic as well.

I think there's a bit of two competing ideals at work here though. The writer is looking at the development from a strictly "city" approach, about what would be best for the downtown core and for the city. I think Mr. Katz is trying to work with that, while at the same time looking at the bottom-line and an eye toward future profit. In this case, he purchased the land which is available. Business reasons may not make it the best site, but it was the land which was for sale. Other sites may be better, but if their costs are significantly higher it may not be the best approach (especially if taxpayers have to fund some of this!).

Thoughts on a new arena

There definitely should be a new downtown arena for the City of Edmonton. The arena would be the center piece of a thriving downtown entertainment district and add some much needed energy to the soul of the city. There are many different ways to finance a project like this, including public funding but the city can re-coup lots of money through property taxes made on the development surrounding the arena. I feel if we want to become a world class city, we need to start with a world class downtown core.

Financing

As a dedicated Oilers fan, I would love to see them playing in a brand new barn. But the way the Oilers and Mr. Katz are going about getting this done does give me a certain pause.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHDJrVggOtU&

In this video, reference is made to arena/stadium projects in 4 American cities which have all revitalized the downtown core. On the face of it, that sounds great. But once you scratch past the surface, I think there are a lot of differences.

Let's look at the first case. In Los Angeles, the Staples Center was build by the company AEG. According to ballparks.com, this company itself invested around 85% into the project, with the city on the hook for a much smaller percentage.

In Columbus, the builders actually rejected an offer to raise the sales tax 0.5% by government, so they could fund it privately.

So we can see that while in both cases these facilities might have revitalized downtown cores, they were done in a way that's opposite how the Oilers would like to fund ours.

As for the other 2 cases - In Indianapolis, their stadium, which has been open since 2008, is apparently already needing a bailout to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. In this case, this stadium was called "the most heavily subsidized professional sports stadium in the nation." Not the model we would like the follow.

(http://www.heartland.org/publications/budget%20tax/article/24305/New_Indianapolis_Stadium_May_Already_Need_Bailout.html)

The last city cited was San Diego, home to Petco Park. Apparently, after funding the new facility, the city has been hooked into paying for not just the loan repayments, but also the cost of operations. They expect to lose upwards of 7 figures a year.

(http://sandiegonewsroom.com/news/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=39281:too-big-to-fail-the-politics-behind-petco-park-and-why-san-diego-should-by-wary-of-its-new-stadium-ambitions&catid=110:city-of-san-diego&Itemid=34)

So in these 4 examples, we see that the two funded with public money have not turned out the way we'd want here in the city. And the two success stories were done with private investment.

I'm not sure that this all means. But I think we need many more details from those involved on what will happen. Not just vague comparisons to other cities, which have their own unique issues and problems.

For more detail on this, check out a posting by Jonathan Willis at another site. He was the one who pointed this info out first, and does so in much more detail than I have here. It's an interesting read.

(http://oilersnation.com/2010/2/25/daryl-katz-thinks-you-wont-bother-checking-what-he-says)

Excellent so far!

Well done. This is an interesting and timely topic.

my thoughts

I would like to start by saying I am all in agreement with this new arena being built, this project will help the city grow. But one thing is bugging me, if we as tax payers have to pay for such a large bill, what will we get out of this? For one I would like to see cheaper ticket prices, the majority of people in Edmonton can’t always afford to go see hockey games, even with these tuff economic times the price per tickets has not really decreased. I would also like to see this arena used for not just hockey, lacrosse, and concerts, but many other things.

News on the Project

Well, there's been some big news in recent days. The Katz group finally released some info on their plans for the new arena. And there's a lot of controvery on who should be picking up the bill.

The plan itself involves a complete overhaul of a section of the downtown core, with the building of a new arena, practice facility, office towers, student housing, casino, and shops. The total bill for the whole area would run over a billion dollars.

Katz sees the city itself investing into the arena, and he claims be funding a portion of the surrounding development. Some critics say that Katz should fund the arena himself, and that his numbers don't add up. Meanwhile, others are praising him for his bold new vision of the downtown.

First Post

This is the first test post to see if the blog is working properly. Welcome to the JRSB 101 blog devoted to the ongoing discussion of whether or not a new arena and surrounding district should be built in Edmonton. There's certainly a lot of debate and information flying around about this in the local newspapers, so we thought it a timely topic for the blog project.