Stadiums & Arenas of Canada, Part 3

[Coldrsx]

They looked at a variety of public and private options to no avail; the site is ripe for a large housing project given LRT is beside it.

[Jaws]

Originally Posted by drew

^ is there no use for that building anymore? The demolition costs equal about 20 more years of operating costs...

Nope. In 7 years no one has come up with a viable proposal to repurpose the building. Time for it to come down.

[MalcolmTucker]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

They looked at a variety of public and private options to no avail; the site is ripe for a large housing project given LRT is beside it.

Edmonton has too many ripe for development areas. Focus should be on finishing one with a public land base or substantial public interest before going onto the next.

And they received many private/quasi-public-private proposals, but I would posit the process was flawed with looking for a perfect project (they screened in then narrowed on the hockey tournament facility option, then rejected it do to cost) instead of a good enough project.

A shame really, as the entire thing turned into a shining example of "The Most Edmonton Thing You Can Do", which isn't taking risks as the marketing campaign says, but muddle through then give up.

[Jaws]

...

[Airboy]

Originally Posted by MalcolmTucker

demolishing it to the point of a near bare building with a huge internal column free space --- can think for a handful of uses that would be useful, that one would never build. Like a huge soundstage! Reserving it for a future farmers market. I think Council explored grand concepts with external partners instead of putting a bit of their own ingenuity into the space, and taking a bit of a risk.

If Calgary gets around to moving out of the Saddledome, I will be advocating for a similar move here. May as well try to use it if possible. a 100,000 square foot space with high ceilings and a roof that can hold substantial loads is something that doesn't come around every day.

Doesn't the Saddledome roof need some structural upgrades. I read a report somewhere that indicated there would need to be substantial upgrades to have the facility last longer.

[MalcolmTucker]

Originally Posted by Jaws

What's the fate of the Saddledome after Calgary muddles through the process of replacing it?

Parking lot as part of a land swap. But throwing out a building that could be useful to the Stampede Board, we will see.

[MalcolmTucker]

Originally Posted by Airboy

Doesn't the Saddledome roof need some structural upgrades. I read a report somewhere that indicated there would need to be substantial upgrades to have the facility last longer.

Yeah, it needs maintenance. Depends what you think of as substantial. The city has spent over $30 million replacing a roof twice on a nearby rec centre in the last 25 years. Might be able to get away with longer monitoring instead of renewal if weren't expecting it to carry as heavy and as variable of loads.

I suspect a 100,000 square foot trade show floor would have significant value for the Stampede Board and their adjacent convention complex.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by MalcolmTucker

demolishing it to the point of a near bare building with a huge internal column free space --- can think for a handful of uses that would be useful, that one would never build. Like a huge soundstage! Reserving it for a future farmers market. I think Council explored grand concepts with external partners instead of putting a bit of their own ingenuity into the space, and taking a bit of a risk.

If Calgary gets around to moving out of the Saddledome, I will be advocating for a similar move here. May as well try to use it if possible. a 100,000 square foot space with high ceilings and a roof that can hold substantial loads is something that doesn't come around every day.

Kind of sad to see Northlands go considering it still has life in it, but other than the events that happened inside (Gretzky years), it's a pretty basic building. The Saddledome on the other hand is an icon of Calgary. I sincerely hope they repurpose it somehow.

[MattBerryOfficial]

Photo I took at the Big Air World Cup at Commonwealth last week.

[Coldrsx]

Better.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-...HrG6N3Bg%3D%3D

[J.OT13]

Somewhat related; has Stadium Station in Edmonton reopened?

[Coldrsx]

It's been 'open' for months now, but still has construction activities on the one side and you cannot double-load, but for all intents and purposes it is 'open'.






photos all from:
https://edmonton.skyrisecities.com/f....30460/page-12

[J.OT13]

Holly moly, they Spanish solutioned it!?

Looks like a nice upgrade overall.

[Coldrsx]

It's FAR better from an ingress/egress and safety standpoint.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

It's FAR better from an ingress/egress and safety standpoint.

So in a nutshell, what has changed?

[Coldrsx]

You used to have to walk down a ramp or stairs to enter and then immediately go back up internal stairs (or elevator) to reach the platform. This internal space was plagued by safety issues, misuse, drug use, etc.etc.

You now enter at grade and walk straight up to the platform or from each end where you walk across the tracks and walk onto the centre platform without any stairs, lifts or the like. It is much brighter, open, but still sheltered.

[esquire]

^ Thanks. I thought the old configuration was good, it would get congested when there was a big crowd at Commonwealth but I think congestion was inevitable in that scenario.

I guess ETS did what it had to do, but it always seems less desirable to me to have people crossing LRT tracks at grade.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ Thanks. I thought the old configuration was good, it would get congested when there was a big crowd at Commonwealth but I think congestion was inevitable in that scenario.

I guess ETS did what it had to do, but it always seems less desirable to me to have people crossing LRT tracks at grade.

Calgary has taken a similar approach with it's Victoria park-Stampede station. It went from a multi-level ordeal to at grade with pedestrian (and road?) crossing.
How's that one going?

[Oilkountry]

Let's Talk about the Sens New Arena

The NHL has made it very clear the terms of this deal will include the purchase of Canadian tire Centre, Commitment to keeping the team in Ottawa and of course a New arena. With as many as 7 serious players bidding on the team, Interest in the sale stems from this redevelopment opportunity in LeBreton that the sens own the rights to.

Pens sold last year for 900M my guess is the Sens fetch a higher pricetag North of a billion with 2 development opportunities attached, Kanata included.

Also with Ryan Reynolds being another key player as the NHL has told any potential owners they must include him (seriously, linked it). That fixes a lot of issues in Ottawa being arena location and local hatred for the ownership.

That leads me to 2 questions

-When do we expect shovels in the ground if the sale was finalized lets say February 2023? I do believe bidding opened this week!

-Also capacity, I would only imagine they go significantly smaller than CTC but how much smaller? Seattle has found a ton of success at 17,100. Winnipeg (comparable market) is struggling to fill at 15,400 but at times wished they had 18,000. So somewhere in between? My best guess is 17,500 with an abundance of loge and various premium seating like rogers place. One could argue they do better at 17,000 or less. Coyotes are looking at 16,000, seems to be the trend, building smaller creates ticket demand.

Either way pretty exciting time to be a sens fan. And for us to have something to post about, Remember the good old days of 2013-2016 when Canada was in a building/renovation frenzy?

Another potential wrinkle in the sale of the Senators could come from the most prominent bidder not considered to be a major player on the financial front. As shared by Garrioch on his Question Period segment on TSN, the NHL has reportedly told bidders that they must involve Ryan Reynolds, signalling that the league is aiming to capitalize off the Vancouver native’s Hollywood cache.

https://ca.style.yahoo.com/ottawa-se...182248904.html

also a good read about the ownership groups

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article...ential-buyers/

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Oilkountry

Let's Talk about the Sens New Arena

The NHL has made it very clear the terms of this deal will include the purchase of Canadian tire Centre, Commitment to keeping the team in Ottawa and of course a New arena. With as many as 7 serious players bidding on the team, Interest in the sale stems from this redevelopment opportunity in LeBreton that the sens own the rights to.

Pens sold last year for 900M my guess is the Sens fetch a higher pricetag North of a billion with 2 development opportunities attached, Kanata included.

Also with Ryan Reynolds being another key player as the NHL has told any potential owners they must include him (seriously, linked it). That fixes a lot of issues in Ottawa being arena location and local hatred for the ownership.

That leads me to 2 questions

-When do we expect shovels in the ground if the sale was finalized lets say February 2023? I do believe bidding opened this week!

-Also capacity, I would only imagine they go significantly smaller than CTC but how much smaller? Seattle has found a ton of success at 17,100. Winnipeg (comparable market) is struggling to fill at 15,400 but at times wished they had 18,000. So somewhere in between? My best guess is 17,500 with an abundance of loge and various premium seating like rogers place. One could argue they do better at 17,000 or less. Coyotes are looking at 16,000, seems to be the trend, building smaller creates ticket demand.

Either way pretty exciting time to be a sens fan. And for us to have something to post about, Remember the good old days of 2013-2016 when Canada was in a building/renovation frenzy?



https://ca.style.yahoo.com/ottawa-se...182248904.html

also a good read about the ownership groups

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article...ential-buyers/

When do we expect shovels in the ground? Well, negotiations with the NCC are expected to be complete by Fall 2023. Another year for the Sens to plan the arena and one more for City approvals. Maybe shovels in the ground 2025-2026? I'm sure the new owners will want to get this done ASAP.

In terms of capacity, here's a quote from the origination back in September:

What’s interesting is LeBlanc said he believes a capacity of 16,000 to 16,500 would be the ideal scenario for a new rink and also fewer suites. The Canadian Tire Centre had 180 suites when it was first built and that number has been lowered to 123.

People want social spaces.

“That 16,000 to 16,500 is probably a great bowl capacity for the Senators,” LeBlanc said. “That’s a question we need to go to the fan base about. We’re going to start public consultations here soon. Maybe it’s 50 season-seat members at a time and they tell us what we’re looking for.”

https://ottawacitizen.com/sports/hoc...ld-at-lebreton

Note that he mentions the "bowl". Here's speculation from an Ottawa forumer on that:

Originally Posted by phil235

He was also speaking of "bowl" capacity, which I would read to exclude things like boxes, fan decks, bars and (hopefully) standing room. Those areas could easily add 1000 or 1500 to the total capacity.

So we can guesstimate 17k-19k.