To be fair, SaskTel Centre serves more of a purpose than just hosting our WHL team.
To my earlier point, Saskatoon's arena is the primary indoor facility for concerts, entertainment, and indoor events for Saskatchewan. The facility is well-used and profitable. It's also approaching 40 years old, which is not ancient by any stretch, but it is coming to the age where a decision needs to be made about its future. The concourses, bathrooms, and concession facilities are inadequate. The height of the ceiling is putting it at a disadvantage for touring acts and their rigging needs. The suburban location does not produce spinoff benefits for urban vibrancy, bar and restaurant patronization, etc. If a new arena is, say, 10 years from doors opening then our current facility will be approaching 50 years old.
Saskatoon could renovate SaskTel Centre, but that would double down on its awful location in an industrial area past the airport, and wouldn't leverage tax lift from downtown development to help pay for it. Securing partner funding for an un-sexy renovation is also tougher.
The city's convention facilities are also showing their age and inadequacy for current needs.
Thus, the arena/convention centre/downtown revitalization scheme. I'm not saying it's not a total moonshot, because it is. But there's been a lot more thinking that's gone into this around Saskatoon's, and Saskatchewan's, needs for these facilities than merely jumping on a sports and conventions bandwagon.
It's also not putting all our eggs in one basket. Saskatoon has recently made other strategic investments in quality of life with the art gallery, central library, bus rapid transit system. The Meewasin river valley is up for national urban park status. Saskatoon is thinking seriously about its future, and there's ambition here, even if our reach may be exceeding our grasp in places.
Threaded Mode