Winnipeg | Naawi-Oodena | Kapyong Barracks Redevelopment

[CoryB]

Considering The Ex, the Ice and now Naawi-Oodena have all kicked tires on proposals that are all very similar there would seem to be some sort of market for it. I know The Ex already hosts a bunch of small to mid sized events in their Exhibition Hall and nearby ASD has its own share of events. Also looking at TNSE it isn't necessarily about programming the facility every night of the year.

As an example if you combine NLL and Sea Bears you likely have programmed more nights a calendar year that all of Princess Auto Stadium. Between just NLL and Sea Bears you could be looking at attendance of 126,000 a year or about half what the Bombers draw a year in a facility that would be a lot cheaper to build and likely cheaper for annual maintenance.

As for the TNSE exclusivity agreement, my understanding was that it was a funding agreement with the city, province and perhaps federal government, that they would put money into a covered sports venue. The lack of being fully enclosed is how Princess Auto Stadium got around the agreement.

Now being within Winnipeg on indigenous land means the facility would need a service agreement with the city. Normally that would be cash from the facility in lieu of property taxes for things like water, sewer, emergencies services, etc. It is possible the city may get creative here and essentially provide those services "for free" which may successfully skirt the TNSE agreement. It may even go further and cover the service agreement for the larger Naawi-Oodena development at a favorable rate, not unlike the arena district agreement TNSE has.