After a lengthy debate Tuesday, city councillors voted 10-3 to give the owners of the Sudbury Wolves responsibility for running Sudbury Arena, a move expected to save hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The move comes two weeks before the highly-anticipated release of a report recommending the best location for a new $80 million to $100 million arena/events centre. Wolves owner Dario Zulich has been pushing hard for his location on The Kingsway, while supporters of keeping it downtown have been equally busy.
Ward 1 Coun. Mark Signoretti, who has been open about his support for keeping the rink downtown, opposed the move. The timing is bad, Signoretti said, since the big announcement is coming June 27.
“I don't think it's appropriate,” he said.
Ward 3 Coun. Gerry Montpellier was more blunt, saying the arena should remain firmly in public hands, and questioning Zulich's experience.
“No experience of running a popcorn stand,” Montpellier said, questioning why they would “hand over keys to non-experienced companies.”
He compared it to the notorious bus ticket scandal, in which a private firm responsible for selling transit tickets failed to remit more than $500,000.
“We all know where that went,” Montpellier said. “I feel it's a carbon copy of what happened there.”
But Ward 2 Coun. Michael Vagnini said as long as SW Sports and Entertainment, the Wolves' parent company, fulfills its commitment to maintain the staffing, he could see no reason why the city wouldn't want to save money.
The proposal from the Wolves would see the club take on the full responsibility for all revenues and expenses at Sudbury Arena in exchange for a guaranteed amount from the city and the potential for sharing new revenues.
“They believe it is an opportunity to enhance customer experience, maximizing new events and reducing operational costs,” a staff report on the plan said.
The proposal also suggests the financial viability of the new local National Basketball League of Canada franchise is predicated on being able to further operate the facility.”
The plan would save the city $270,741. For the years 2014 through 2016, the arena has cost an average of $541,482.
Ward 7 Coun. Mike Jakubo said this is the first time he's seen someone step forward to try and grow events at the arena. One of the recommendations by their consultant was to have a third party run the centre.
“That's the way things will be when the new one is built,” Jakubo said. “Let's get a taste of how things would be run by a third party.
“When you look at the facts, you look at the dollars ... for a limited time, while we still have Sudbury Community Arena. That's why I can support this.”
Ward 11 Coun. Lynne Reynolds, who supports The Kingsway site, agreed.
“This is a win/win situation for our city,” Reynolds said. “There's no great level of professionalism required to pop popcorn or make hotdogs.”
In the end, councillors wanted to ensure they would have access to the arena for events such as Remembrance Day, and to ensure the employment of arena personnel. Staff is aiming to have a formal agreement ready by August for final approval.
In a release late Tuesday, the Wolves welcomed the decision.
“Having the confidence of council and management to improve the operations of the Sudbury Arena while saving tax payers is gratifying,” Scott Lund, CEO SWSE, is quoted as saying. “We have a lot of work to do and big decisions to make but we are looking forward to next steps.”
