Quote:
Originally Posted by zoomer
Saskatoon has an arena that is massive (15,100 seats) even its current population of 250,000.
I see the Blades attendance has declined for six straight years and is under 4,000 per game, so why the need to build a new arena unless the seating will be reduced? I get the downtown is better angle, and that there are other events and teams using the arena.
Matter of opinion but I wouldn’t call Saskatoon a middle to large city in the Canadian context, but a small to medium city.
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Pretty much - it's a city with metro population of a little over 300,000. While the arena is nothing fantastic it does the trick.
There is also this widely accepted opinion that building a new arena will result in an immediate and long-term upturn in concerts. This is can be true in come cases, but often it is not. For example, Edmonton has seen a decline in the number of concerts and tickets sold the past few years despite moving into their new state-of-the-art arena a few years ago. All one has to do is look at Poll Star numbers to see the decline from a few years ago.
The lower dollar combined with the the rising bids to bring in artists to various arenas has worked against many Canadian markets - the promoters in these cities realize that they cannot make money on these bids from tickets sold so they refuse to ante up. The tour operators for these various artists also will do everything they can to accomodate the arena schedules of the larger cities because they know that is where the greatest money will be made. So if places like Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Quebec City happen to have sporting events occurring while an artist is finishing up in a nearby city, it is likely those cities will miss out on the artist and they are unlikely to accomodate them in favor of larger markets. The isolation of the Prairie cities relative to one another is another strike against them.
If Saskatoon builds a new arena anytime soon, the above factors will not go away. It didn't for the city of Edmonton, so why would it for a city 1/5th the size?
I also doubt they public has the appetite for a 100% subsidized arena in Saskatoon. Stakeholders need to have some skin in the game. I seem to recall reading a comment from the owner of the Rush saying he would invest some money in a new arena. That would be a start I guess.