Saskatoon Construction III

[4LSaskatoon]

Hoping to Open Fall 2027

[Dalreg]

Originally Posted by Stormer

There are zero cons. All the criticism on social is based on U.S. social posts that do not apply to this project, conspiracy theories or just plain made-up facts. For zero government money, we get a benign industry with huge growth potential that will pay hundreds of millions in property tax, PST and other taxes. It does not use water for cooling and SaskPower says they have plenty of power to sell them then for a "9 figure" bill.

Would we rather they build it Manitoba?

I question your hundreds of millions in taxes mate? You have any data to back that up?

[Stormer]

Originally Posted by Dalreg

I question your hundreds of millions in taxes mate? You have any data to back that up?

typo. I meant hundreds of thousands per year. Thanks for correcting.

[Brutopian]

Business groups raise concerns over Saskatoon rapid transit plan

By Jon Perez
SaskToday
Mar 17, 2026

SASKATOON — Two Saskatoon business groups are raising red flags over the city’s Bus Rapid Transit plan, warning proposed changes could disrupt downtown access and hurt local commerce.

Two business leaders say the current approach to planning and implementing the city’s Bus Rapid Transit system, particularly its potential impact on downtown businesses, is problematic, raising concerns about the risk of disrupting traffic, hurting downtown commerce and missing key stakeholder input.

[........]

Read more:
https://www.sasktoday.ca/saskatoon-today...tm_content=409377976&utm_source=hs_email

[Brutopian]

Martensville council approves tax abatement for new SARCAN depot at March 3 meeting

By KEVIN BERGER
Clark's Crossing Gazette
Mar 17, 2026

City of Martensville councillors passed all three readings on a bylaw during their March 3 meeting to provide a five-year property tax abatement on a proposed $4.7 million SARCAN building.

[........]

Read more:
https://ccgazette.ca/2026/03/17/martensv...tm_content=409377976&utm_source=hs_email

[4LSaskatoon]

Went to the Public info session for Sutherland proposed neighborhood
*Their goal is to get to City Council Public Hearing by summer.
*New Sask Polytech has inquired about making ( the medium density Residential.. in orange) Student rental housing.
*This is one of 5 proposals

[TheCricket]

I saw a new build going up at 45th St. W & Airport Drive by the cell phone parking lot out by the airport. It looks like a Tim's. Anyone know what that is? It's a smart location with a captive audience if that's what it is!!

[electricmodes]

Originally Posted by TheCricket

I saw a new build going up at 45th St. W & Airport Drive by the cell phone parking lot out by the airport. It looks like a Tim's. Anyone know what that is? It's a smart location with a captive audience if that's what it is!!

Pretty sure it's a Tim's: https://www.ckom.com/2026/03/12/saskatoon-airport-plans-for-gas-station-industrial-district/

[skeet1991]

Originally Posted by 4LSaskatoon

Went to the Public info session for Sutherland proposed neighborhood
*Their goal is to get to City Council Public Hearing by summer.
*New Sask Polytech has inquired about making ( the medium density Residential.. in orange) Student rental housing.
*This is one of 5 proposals

Thanks for the pics and info, 4L! I'm looking forward to watching this come together. I like the linear parks in Brighton, and this seems to follow that design language.

I'm even more curious about Stadium Square and their future plans. The parcel bordered by Innovation Place, Circle Drive, and Preston Crossing intrigues me the most.

It'll be great to see some construction action at the Sutherland parcel and hopefully Stadium Square this summer/fall and into 2027, hopefully!

[jreid3]

https://www.ckom.com/2026/03/25/saskatoo...ger-for-downtown-entertainment-district/

Saskatoon council rejects proposed manager for downtown entertainment district

[Falsekoala]

Originally Posted by jreid3

https://www.ckom.com/2026/03/25/saskatoo...ger-for-downtown-entertainment-district/

Saskatoon council rejects proposed manager for downtown entertainment district

I’d personally prefer to keep as much of the arena profits in Saskatoon or Saskatchewan at least.

Don’t really have an interest with American companies taking a good chunk of profits from a local arena.

[jreid3]

Originally Posted by Falsekoala

I’d personally prefer to keep as much of the arena profits in Saskatoon or Saskatchewan at least.

Don’t really have an interest with American companies taking a good chunk of profits from a local arena.

Agreed. I would like to see Sasktel make a bigger pitch to own it.

[Dalreg]

Originally Posted by jreid3

Agreed. I would like to see Sasktel make a bigger pitch to own it.

Why would Sasktel want to own an arena?

[jreid3]

Originally Posted by Dalreg

Why would Sasktel want to own an arena?

Revenue stream, branding and continued marketing/provincial influence. Plus it would be backed by(most likely) the provincial government and possibly the feds.

[skeet1991]

Originally Posted by jreid3

Revenue stream, branding and continued marketing/provincial influence. Plus it would be backed by(most likely) the provincial government and possibly the feds.

I think it's a lot more likely that a consortium of SK-based companies could support a portion of the 1 billion + it would take to get DEED off the ground.

But I can't image a crown telecom service spending a billion to build an arena and conference centre. Sasktel invested a total of under half a billion in 2025-2026 fiscal year across their entire network to expand and implement new services, so I don't think it's very realistic that they would throw double that down on an entertainment district for one city.

Could you be confusing ownership with naming rights?

I think the managing groups of Sasktel Centre & TCU, once merged in 2027, would make an excellent choice for running the district. Sasktel could maintain naming rights, like they currently have. Or, better yet, local bigwigs like Evraz, Sasktel, Cameco, Nutrien, BHP, etc could enter a big-bucks bidding war over naming rights for the entire district.

[jreid3]

Originally Posted by skeet1991

I think it's a lot more likely that a consortium of SK-based companies could support a portion of the 1 billion + it would take to get DEED off the ground.

But I can't image a crown telecom service spending a billion to build an arena and conference centre. Sasktel invested a total of under half a billion in 2025-2026 fiscal year across their entire network to expand and implement new services, so I don't think it's very realistic that they would throw double that down on an entertainment district for one city.

Could you be confusing ownership with naming rights?

I think the managing groups of Sasktel Centre & TCU, once merged in 2027, would make an excellent choice for running the district. Sasktel could maintain naming rights, like they currently have. Or, better yet, local bigwigs like Evraz, Sasktel, Cameco, Nutrien, BHP, etc could enter a big-bucks bidding war over naming rights for the entire district.

Yes, naming rights. Thanks for the clarification.

[Stormer]

Originally Posted by jreid3

Yes, naming rights. Thanks for the clarification.

Banks and Telecoms by far lead the way in sport facility naming rights in Canada.

[skeet1991]

What do we think are some realistic pathways to funding for DEED?

The city is currently refreshing its funding strategy, which relies on a third of funding to come from federal gov and another third from provincial. The feds aren't really in the business of funding arenas, though. Especially not in this current financial climate.

The city has a diverse and realistic way to fund our third without raising property tax-- through different schemes like tax incremental financing (essentially borrowing the potential tax revenue increase from surrounding undeveloped lots in advance), adding an entertainment tax to hotel stays and restaurant meals downtown, etc.

How else could the city fund the other 2/3 of this project? Or can it?

Here's an update from the city:
https://www.saskatoon.ca/sites/default/f...ding%20Key%20Insights%20March%202026.pdf

[Crisis]

Originally Posted by skeet1991

What do we think are some realistic pathways to funding for DEED?...

... How else could the city fund the other 2/3 of this project? Or can it?

Here's an update from the city:

I don't think there is a realistic pathway to fund the DEED. Here is how Calgary is funding theirs (according to Google AI).

The new Calgary arena (Scotia Place) project, totaling approximately $1.22 billion, is funded through a partnership between the City of Calgary, the Province of Alberta, and Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation (CSEC). The city is contributing $537 million, the province $55 million (plus funding for surrounding infrastructure), and CSEC is contributing $356 million

That scenario has the City of Calgary putting up nearly half the money and CSEC contributing 30% of the cost. CSEC is a private firm that owns the Flames and most of Calgary's other professional sports franchises. Saskatoon doesn't have an entity comparable to CSEC bringing a wheelbarrow of money to the table.

As much as I'd love to see the DEED get done, I don't think we're close to devising a realistic plan to pay for it.

[BillDing]

I agree that 2/3 wouldn’t be doable. Is there maybe an option where the overall project gets implemented in phases? Maybe the arena gets prioritized and the convention centre portion gets pushed by 5-10 years. Or the project gets scaled back like the central library did. If scaled back by 1/3, I could see it being doable, but that is a big cut to the budget. I personally would rather have a scaled back version of something than nothing at all though.

I wonder if the current arena could be sold off to be repurposed as a manufacturing facility or storage warehouse of some sort, rather than the City paying to have it demolished. The massive parking lots around could also be subdivided and sold as industrial land. Maybe this and naming rights knock off 10%ish of the remaining $330M? Still a lot more ground to cover….

I think that property taxes are the only way to cover the difference. I believe they ballparked renovations of Sasktel Centre at about $300M anyways with most coming from property taxes, so all things being equal, putting money to something new makes the most sense.

Property taxes from the existing arena land and new developments around the DEED, and the fact that revenue doesn’t need to be paid to OVG (if Sasktel & TCU team up to manage it) would also help a bit.