Stadiums & Arenas of Canada, Part 3

[jonny24]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Good news for Lansdowne.

What does this mean for Gee Gees Field? Still going to be used for practices / other sports?

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by jonny24

What does this mean for Gee Gees Field? Still going to be used for practices / other sports?

That's right. And apparently, they rent it out to other groups frequently.

Seems one of the big motivators for this move is construction of the new Lees Campus Health Science building makes hosting fans impractical.

[Echoes]

The City of Saskatoon has launched a Downtown Event & Entertainment District project webpage and concept renderings of the site options: https://www.saskatoon.ca/business-de...nment-district

Potential Site A – Midtown Shopping Centre North Parking Lot


Potential Site B – North Downtown/City Yards

[O-tacular]

That looks cool! CSEC take note! You're about to let Saskatoon outshine us!

[Hackslack]

CSEC?

Shouldn’t it be City of Calgary take note, You're about to let the City of Saskatoon outshine us!

Or is the Saskatoon arena being funded privately?

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by Hackslack

CSEC?

Shouldn’t it be City of Calgary take note, You're about to let the City of Saskatoon outshine us!

Or is the Saskatoon arena being funded privately?

Calgary Sport and Entertainment Corporation are the asshole Flames owners who walked away from the 50/50 arena deal signed with the city. They've dragged their feet every step of the way for over a decade, demanding the same deal the Oilers got and interfering with a couple municipal elections along the way. My support for the team has diminished due to their behaviour.

[JHikka]

Knowing nothing of downtown Saskatoon i'll lean Potential Site A. Looks like it has better multi-direction access, better integration with its surroundings, and doesn't leave an open space on what should otherwise be a prominent corners.

[Echoes]

Yep, Site A is far and away the best choice and what scored highest on the evaluation. Site B is viable but IMO too far from the established downtown core to really benefit it that much.

[thurmas]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Knowing nothing of downtown Saskatoon i'll lean Potential Site A. Looks like it has better multi-direction access, better integration with its surroundings, and doesn't leave an open space on what should otherwise be a prominent corners.

I would agree site A looks more appealing and has better integration

[ericmacm]

Looks beautiful! I'm hoping that the building will eventually look like that, clearly there is lots of inspiration taken from Rogers Place. I had made a mockup of an arena on Option A a while back, I'm glad that the City of Saskatoon had the same idea.

[river]

One more image from their website, but only lower resolutions are available for now.

[EpicPonyTime]

I always kind of assumed the Hilton would be torn down if they chose Site A. I think the renders prove that it would be a good idea. Stands out a bit.

Site A is the easy choice.

[esquire]

It's a slam dunk for site A.* Site B is too far removed from the nerve centre of downtown. Site A will feed right off downtown on day 1, site B will take decades to get to that point.

* Of course, I'm still of the view that SaskTel Centre is fine for Saskatoon's needs. But if a new rink has to be built which apparently it does, site A is the way to go.

[J.OT13]

Fantastic proposal for Saskatoon. Either site removes parking and/or industrial blight from downtown. Everything prosed there could truly transform the city.

[Echoes]

Originally Posted by esquire

* Of course, I'm still of the view that SaskTel Centre is fine for Saskatoon's needs. But if a new rink has to be built which apparently it does, site A is the way to go.

While this is a perfectly reasonable position, what's compelling to me is that even if we stick with Sasktel Centre there is still a significant bill coming due for upgrades and renovations to keep it competitive and suited to modern needs. Yes, the bill will be less than building new, but if we do that then we double down on a terrible location for another 30 years. If we build downtown, we can spin it into a larger downtown revitalization project and leverage tax increment financing to help pay for it. Nobody is looking to build condos and the like around Sasktel Centre.

[esquire]

^ Do you know the rough costs of renovation vs. building new? I was not under the impression that SaskTel Centre had any serious deficiencies unlike, say, the Saddledome which is apparently not up to handling large concerts.

There have been gradual improvements to SaskTel Centre over the years including seating expansion, new suites, and most recently a new jumbotron.

[J.OT13]

Just Googled the Sasktel Centre. Wow, that is one crappy location. way worse than I thought. In some ways, I might even say worse than the Corel Centre in Ottawa.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Just Googled the Sasktel Centre. Wow, that is one crappy location. way worse than I thought. In some ways, I might even say worse than the Corel Centre in Ottawa.

The city has kind of grown out to it, but when it was built it in the 80s, it was way, way out in the sticks with nothing around it.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by esquire

The city has kind of grown out to it, but when it was built it in the 80s, it was way, way out in the sticks with nothing around it.

So they built the industrial wasteland after the arena?

(note - industrial zones are important, but building them around an arena, or building an arena in an industrial zone is a strange choice).

[Echoes]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ Do you know the rough costs of renovation vs. building new? I was not under the impression that SaskTel Centre had any serious deficiencies unlike, say, the Saddledome which is apparently not up to handling large concerts.

There have been gradual improvements to SaskTel Centre over the years including seating expansion, new suites, and most recently a new jumbotron.

This 2018 study commissioned by Sasktel Centre that set all of this in motion estimates the renovate option at $101M and build new option at $330-375M. There's also a facility condition assessment in the report.