[Moncton] Centre Avenir Centre | 26.65m |~6 Fl | Completed

[Good2go]

Originally Posted by Buck17

Ya i seen that today guess the guy i was talking to was full of crap!

Or their lawyers are very good

[David_99]

Originally Posted by Buck17

Ya i seen that today guess the guy i was talking to was full of crap!

Hmm, did that guy happen to look like this?

[Walk then Run]

That's awesome...Highfie showing a little Movember LOL

[mmmatt]

Originally Posted by David_99

Hmm, did that guy happen to look like this?

^

[riverviewer]

The bay is coming down this morning

[Sunnybrae]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

In some ways this is very sad. I know that better and more exciting things are on the way for this property, but I have fond memories from the early 1990's of taking my young sons to the restaurant on the second floor of the Eaton's department store, snagging a table by the window and watching the trains passing by on the CN mainline while eating lunch. They were fascinated by trains, and watching all this activity would keep them amused all during the meal and this used to be a pleasant family outing that we would do at least once a month. Now this is all just a memory.......

I thought the same thing MonctonRad. An entire generation of people in this city worked and shopped at Highfield Square. My Grandmother, mother and father all worked there at one point. You could say that it was the focal point of my family and maybe even of the city in a social way. Some of my fondest childhood memories was entering the mall when it was decorated for Christmas, especially in the seventies. It was a sight to behold. It's where a lot of my generation first met Santa!

[MonctonRad]

CBC photo

Apparently the responses to the RFP for the new Events Centre have been recieved by the city and are being analyzed by city staffers. I suppose we won't hear too much about this process until the analysis is presented to city council probably sometime in December........

[benvui]

Maybe this is why they had a delay, apparently they discovered some asbestos. The article says they are planning on having the buildings down by Christmas with the land ready for re-occupation by spring.

[MonctonRad]

A couple of photos of the end times of Highfield Square. taken by me today:





And no, I was not trespassing. In the first photo I was immediately behind 1222 Main Street and was next to but not on Highfield Square property.......

[MonctonRad]

Not previously mentioned, but the selection committee's preferred proponent for the events centre project will be announced at a special city council meeting on December 23rd.

It will be very interesting to see what the preferred proponent comes up with (total number of seats, architectural design, concourses, concessions, ancillary components etc.)

[David_99]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

It will be very interesting to see what the preferred proponent comes up with (total number of seats, architectural design, concourses, concessions, ancillary components etc.)

Any realistic predictions on seat numbers? It was minimum of 7500 with bonus points given to the design team for any extra seats in the plans, correct?

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by David_99

Any realistic predictions on seat numbers? It was minimum of 7500 with bonus points given to the design team for any extra seats in the plans, correct?

Correct. I can't imagine that we'll get to 10,000. Realistically I'm hoping for 8,500-9,000.

[josh_cat_eyes]

It's good however that the mayor agrees that more seats is better. So he'll hopefully push for whichever proposal is bigger.

[JHikka]

If you're only building an arena with 7,500 you're building it too small if you're expecting it to have a lifespan of 30/40 years. In 15 years we'll be hearing about how a 7,500 seat rink is too small...Going for 9,000/10,000 would be ideal at this stage of Moncton's growth.

[josh_cat_eyes]

In 5-10 years it will be to small. Hell I think they should build a 11,000 seat arena then there would never be questions about if it was too small.

[pierremoncton]

Quick calculations:

Coliseum built in 1973. Seated capacity: 6,554

1971 census population
Moncton: 54,864
CA: 70,274

2011 census population
Moncton: 69,074 (+25.9%)
CMA: 138,644 (+97.3%)

If 6,554 was appropriate for the population in 1971, then:

Based on city-proper growth: 8,251 seats
Based on CMA growth: 12,931 seats

I'd say CMA growth is more relevant than city growth given that the facility would still be the only one of its kind in the area.

So based on statistics alone, take your pick:

1. the coliseum was excessive back in 1973, or
2. 7,500 is insufficient today

[MonctonRad]

Comment on Councillor Dawn Arnold's Facebook page from this evening:

Our City Manager then gave a verbal update on the DT Centre. While he said that they are on track to have a decision on the successful proponent, the decision will be withheld until financing is in place.

So, if I'm interpreting this correctly, the senior management committee overseeing the selection process will be ready to release their recommendation regarding the preferred proponent by December 23rd, but will not actually announce who the proponent is unless financing is finalized.

I suppose I can understand this, but this long drawn out process is becoming agonizing. If the financing falls through (or is delayed), we might not find out who the successful proponent is for months (or possibly if ever)...

[MonctonRad]

Short quote from the T&T today, clarifying Councillor Arnold's comments above:

Meanwhile, city manager Jacques Dubé told council the staff evaluation of the competing proposals for the events centre were still expected to be completed by next Tuesday, Dec. 9, but staff would delay briefing council for a couple weeks until a clearer picture of the financing of the project was in place.

So, staff evaluation will be complete by Dec. 9th, with a couple of weeks delay subsequently to allow for clarification of project financing. As such, it appears that the formal presentation to council will still be on December 23rd, so no further delays........

[David_99]

@poitrasCBC via Jacques Poitras' Twitter

3m - If Downtown Centre fits criteria, we'll do it, Gallant says, but we won't continue a project just because PCs created expectations. #NB

4m - Gallant says Downtown Centre will be evaluated with same criteria as any other project, "whether there's pressure or not" in Moncton. #NB

5m - "Clearly, from the outset, you have the sense that it wasn't done for the right reasons," Gallant says of funding for Moncton centre. #NB

[MonctonRad]

Also from Jacques Poitras Twitter feed:

Gallant tepid on Moncton Downtown Centre. "Let's call a spade a spade," he says. Notes Alward gov't $ came 1 day before campaign launch. #NB"

Brian Gallant makes me very nervous. He seems to me to be the reincarnation of Shawn Graham. The province doesn't need and can't afford four years of this type of mind numbing, arrogant and anti-business policy making. We've had enough mental midgets as Premiers in this province recently. Hopefully a couple of back benchers will jump ship so that we can prevent this train wreck from happening.......



See, Brian and Shawn even have the same type of smile, the same dull vacuous stare and the same oblivious Alfred E Newman "what me worry" countenance......

At least Shawn Graham spends most of his time in China these days so his ability to damage the NB economy has been greatly diminished. I presume he's there because he couldn't get a job in NB any more. God help the Chinese though. I hope they're taking his "business advice" with a huge grain of salt............