In the three-way race for where Sudbury’s new arena will go, recent manoeuvers by developer Dario Zulich and his group have propelled them into the lead (at least in my book) to win the job.
A quick recap: There are two solid proposals floating around for a new arena and event centre, and a solid lobby for a third.
Zulich and Perry Dellelce are pushing the True North Strong Centre that would be built under a public-private partnership at a cost of somewhere north of $60 million. Their plan includes two ice pads, a 7,000-plus seat bowl and other amenities.
It also wouldn’t cost taxpayers a dime up front. For a 25-per-cent stake, the city would offer the security and borrowing power of its name, while the group would build and operate the facility for 30 years, before handing the keys over to the city.
Then, there’s the South Regent Sports and Entertainment Complex plan put forward by Dalron Construction along with McCOR Management and International Colosseum Company for a $70-million event centre in the South End, at the intersection of Regent Street and Remington Road.
The project includes 6,500 seats for games, 7,500 seats for events, an indoor soccer stadium, a second rink and space for commercial amenities.
The folks behind that plan are looking for the city to kick in seven figures a year to help cover annual operating costs.
Besides these two concrete plans, there’s a significant lobby — but no actual plan as of yet — to situate a new arena and event centre in the downtown core.
A good chunk of that lobby comes from downtown businesses who see a downtown arena as good for business, but also a key element of cementing Greater Sudbury’s core as the premier downtown in all of Northern Ontario (an argument I can get behind, incidentally).
The downtown boosters may not have an actual plan, but they do have a lot of passion.
One thing you can say about Zulich and the True North crew, though, they are really manoeuvering to make their plan the only one to pick.
First, he announced he was buying the Pearl Street water tower, which overlooks downtown, with an intention to develop the property. The tower is an unofficial heritage building, and by buying it, Zulich seems to be offering an olive branch to the proponents of a downtown arena.
He might not want to put an arena downtown, but he is willing, the purchase suggests, to put his money where his mouth is and be a big player in the downtown’s continued evolution.
Then, the guy doubled down and bought the Sudbury Wolves (pending the OHL’s approval, of course). I own the team, he seems to be saying, why not give me the arena, too? It’s a smart move, one that’s won the approval of fans, and a strategy that rockets True North to the top of the list.
Really, for me, no one plan is better than any other. I would love to see an arena downtown to help cement Greater Sudbury’s core as a bright jewel in the crown of Northern Ontario. At the same time, both the True North and the South Regent plans seem entirely workable; both are comprehensive, both designs are impressive.
And at the end of the day, major developments like this benefit the entire city by broadening the tax base, boosting tourism and retail spending, and providing new jobs.
The long and the short of it is wherever the arena goes, ultimately, we all benefit.
When it comes to the final decision, I happen to agree with city hall reporter Darren MacDonald. A few weeks ago, he wrote a column urging city council to end all of this politicking and speculation about an arena location, and just pick a preferred spot.
Council, however, seems unwilling to stick its neck out. Instead, as council loves to do, it’s going to spend a few hundred thousand of our tax dollars on a consultant. It seems an unnecessary expense.
Councillors have heard from everyone. They know the merits and the arguments for and against — just debate it already and vote on a priority.
Either way, while I think it unnecessary to add the additional cost and prolong the decision-making process by bringing in a third party, at least this council has set more priorities and achieved more goals than its predecessor, and that’s a good thing.
Because, in the final analysis, a new arena is good for Greater Sudbury, no matter where the Wolves home ice ends up.
Mark Gentili is the managing editor of Sudbury.com and Northern Life.
