Core Entertainment Updates

[ChildishGavino]

Hopefully leveler heads prevail in this whole affair, it seems to me that the mountain plan only has as much backing as it does because CF is able to provide not only some of the capital, but more importantly, an actual place to build.

Mr. Andlauer probably remembers the stadium affair, and wants to deal with the city as little as he can.

Bold theory? Yeah I'd say so.

Mr. Andlauer seems to care about 1 thing: getting a better rink, and the mountain plan seems to be the quickest way to do it.

[mattgrande]

Originally Posted by Gurnett71

While construction would cost millions up front — the total cost for a new arena and convention centre could be $125 million, with up to $40 million of that coming from the private sector — going with new facility rather than maintaining the current, aging building could be worth as much as $26.2 million in savings to the city over 30 years.

Wow, so in order to save "as much as $26.2 million," all we have to do is spend $85 million??? What a fantastic deal!

[king10]

Originally Posted by mattgrande

Wow, so in order to save "as much as $26.2 million," all we have to do is spend $85 million??? What a fantastic deal!

You're not including the at least $50M of deferred maintenance that needs to go into FOC as well as the annual operating maintenance. That would be eliminated as part of an $85M city contribution to a new build, as the operator(not the city would be responsible for maintenance).

Also not included is what proceeds the City would fetch if it sold the land FOC is currently sitting on as part of its funding source towards a new arena.

I believe that $26.2M savings number already includes the cost of the new build.

For example

New build
City Contribution = $85M up front
Land Sale proceeds of current arena= ($10M)
Net cost to City= $75M
Maintenance cost covered by the operator of the arena

Existing Arena
City Contribution = $50M for deferred maintenance with 5 years
City Contribution = $2M a year for annual maintenance over the next 25 years(based on current maintenance)
Total City Contribution = $100M

Difference between two scenarios = $25M

I think thats how they got their numbers. It really is a tough decision as you lose that psychological impact of having a "big league" arena if you go to 10,000 seats. But the prime tenant wants something smaller and is willing to put up a good chunk of the cost. I see this being quite a big debate as it is an important decision the City will be making.

[Djeffery]

I don't know if the check the city writes each year to subsidize FOC is factored into that as well. London gets a check every year (and the scale slides more in the city's favour as the years go by) from Budweiser Gardens, operated by the same people that run FOC. Of course, a good chunk of that comes from over 300,000 tickets a year for the Knights. Not sure whether Hamilton will grab on to the Bulldogs in the same way or not, since there isn't the same history there. But having an endless supply of tickets available to a game doesn't help create any buzz or "need" to plan to see a game. Knights fans have to plan, and once they have a ticket they tend to go or at least give the tickets to someone else who will go. What's the urgency to buy Bulldogs tickets? If you just plan to go and buy a ticket at the game, you are easily susceptible to a reason to not go. Snowing or raining, NHL game on TV you really want to see, party, whatever. This is why Ottawa Senators cut back the seating available, since they were never selling out. Make it harder to get a ticket, and people will work or plan to get one.

I think Hamilton will do fine for concerts as well. Maybe distance helps us in London a bit, but we get many of the same shows in 9000+ seats as Scotiabank gets, and the larger draws that we won't get, might not go to FOC anyway due to structural limitations that shows these days require. With a new arena at even 10k, Hamilton might get winter time second "GTHA" shows where Scotiabank's busy schedule might not allow 2 shows. Of course, let's hope this creates a net gain of shows in Southern Ontario and doesn't just make London/Toronto shows Hamilton/Toronto lol.

[thistleclub]

As the operating agreement and lease arrangements are likely years from being finalized, it’s safe to say that there are certain assumptions baked into the projections.

In PED18168(b) - Appendix A, E&Y note:

Based on the NPV total financial impacts of $90.8 and $166.4 million, respectively, for the Status Quo and Entertainment Venue Renewal options, we can compare costs from one option to another.

Based on these figures, we identify the net, incremental cost for the City to deliver the Entertainment Venue Renewal option as $75.6 million.

If Hamilton were to advance the Status Quo option, it would cost an additional $75.6 million to deliver the Entertainment Venue Renewal option.

Based upon on our analysis and assumptions identified in this report, the Entertainment Venue Renewal option is estimated to yield a net gain of $13.1 - $26.2 million over the cost difference for the City to deliver the Status Quo option, assuming completion of Phase II/II land sales.

Acknowledging this net, incremental cost, further analysis of the estimated direct municipal cost offsets under the Entertainment Venue Renewal option outlined in Sections 7.3 have been outlined below:

Long-Term Financial Impact Analysis for City: Entertainment Venue Renewal Option ($2019 value)
Incremental Cost for Entertainment Venue Renewal Option ($75.6 million)
Plus: Private-Sector Contribution $26.1 - $39.2 million 2019 Value
Plus: New Convention Centre Cost Sharing $18.4 million 2019 Value
Plus: Current Convention Centre Residual Land $28.9 million 2019 Value
Plus: New Sports & Entertainment Venue Residual Land $15.3 million 2019 Value

Net Relative Financial Impact for City $13.1 - $26.2 million

So the E&Y cost savings projection includes the sale of the Convention Centre as well as FOC.