Editorial from today's T&T
http://22864.vws.magma.ca/index.php?&article_id=10176
The incredible shrinking events centre
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Times & Transcript
We Say: Once-great vision crumbling into a dull, bureaucratic mediocrity
Now contemplating a downtown events centre with as few as 7,500 seats, it is clear Moncton City Council has either lost its way or is listening to bad advice.
Bear in mind the original concept was for 12,000 to 15,000 seats. The reason for having a facility larger and better than any other in the region is so we can compete with similar initiatives in other cities, particularly Halifax which already has a 10,000-seat centre.
Hockey games are only part of the picture. The real idea is to fill the facility as much as possible all year long, and to do that you have to attract the promoters of events that aim to draw big crowds from a large catchment area and thus, make more money than they would in smaller facilities.
It is patently ridiculous to build based on the local population. In 2005 the Magnetic Hill Music Festival drew 85,000 people with the Rolling Stones while the population of Metro Moncton is 125,000 (edit - actually a little over 140,000).
This council, no doubt misguided by senior staff, now seems to think the centre is based on the absurd notion that only Metro residents would be interested in attending events.
We fear this municipal government is just too timid to think about being the biggest and the best and wonder if we are witnessing a general degradation of the late Ian Fowler's overall vision. Bear in mind the upcoming Carrie Underwood show is going to Saint John, not Moncton. Here, an aging, unsightly Coliseum was evidently judged 'not good enough' by Ms. Underwood's staff, even though the Coliseum has more seats.
Council has now reached the point where they are being urged to think so small, they might as well not bother at all.
We believe the original concept would have served as the perfect monument to the work and memory of Mr. Fowler. What is proposed now is in fact what he spent his career fighting against.
It can only stand as a monument to short-sighted parsimony.
Personal note - WHAT THEY SAID IN SPADES!!!
The incredible shrinking events centre would not be happening if Ian Fowler were still alive. Ian had the "vision thing". He knew what was possible, even if the intellectual pygmies around him thought it improbable:
- The Rolling Stones in Moncton - HA!, where would they play (well said Ian, we have this big empty field on the edge of town)
- A world track and field championship here in NB, impossible, we don't have the facilities (well said Ian, lets build a stadium).
- Regular season CFL games in Moncton, that's impossible (well said Ian, we have that new fancy stadium we just built for the track championships, it can seat 20,000 people, they can play there. Let me call Commissioner Cohon and see what he says).
- The World Cup of Soccer, in Moncton! give me a break! (Ian just smiles....)
You get the idea. NOTHING stopped Ian Fowler. Ian's successors in city hall however just don't seem to have the guts, the vision or the confidence to get the job done. I really miss Ian. The city is so much the lesser for his absence. Thankfully Mayor LeBlanc understands the importance of this project. Let's all hope that the minions at city hall aren't able to undermine him. The naysayers cannot be allowed to win on this issue. The events centre cannot be less than 9,000 seats and ideally should be 10,000 seats. This is too important for the future of the city for anything else to happen.
Ian must be spinning in his grave......... 
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