Editorial from today's T&T:
http://22864.vws.magma.ca/index.php?&article_id=11254
Build an events centre for the future
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Times & Transcript
Moncton City Council has made a solid decision to buy an impressive piece of land at the site of the former Highfield Square shopping mall. Even if an events centre never gets off the ground the site is a prime piece of real estate and it makes sense for the municipal government to have control over development on this property. Obviously the quality of development there will have a profound impact on the immediate and long-term future of the entire downtown.
And the future is what we must focus on now.
Council has in its wisdom in fact decided an events centre is the best option to positively affect the future course of the downtown, the entire city proper, Metro Moncton and southeastern New Brunswick. In fact, to a significant extent the fortunes of the entire province are in play given that the right kind of events centre will spur related development and in turn pour millions into provincial tax coffers annually. That in turn should capture the attention of a federal government that wants we Maritimers to curb our long-standing reliance on federal transfer payments.
Thus, much is at stake; we must go 'all in' with a project of sufficient scale to attract other players not just in the entertainment business but retail, housing and all the other sectors that can take advantage of the right kind of project.
We urge Moncton City Council to keep the true path as it prepares to release a request for proposals to a pair of globally significant development consortia which nonetheless have ties to Moncton and have both already accomplished much here.
There are those in the municipal government, elected and otherwise, who propose a faint-hearted facsimile of the late Ian Fowler's original vision of a facility of at least 10,000 seats that can be expanded if there is evidence to suggest it should be done. We believe that will happen; we believe a great centre will attract a great crowd for sports and entertainment of all kinds. We also believe a fainter effort, a marginal improvement over the old Coliseum, will have fallen behind the competition before it is even built.
We Say: Half-hearted attempt at vital project not worthy of our city