The recommended site for the new arena/events centre will be unveiled Monday morning, and Sudbury.com will bring you the location as soon as we have it confirmed.
City staff will be giving members of the media background information on the decision, ahead of the agendas going online for the June 27 meeting, when councillors will make a decision. However, multiple sources have told Sudbury.com the site selection committee has picked a downtown site for the $80-million to $100-million facility expected to seat about 5,800 people.
While the multiple sources of the information are first rate, Sudbury.com wants to stress the location remains unconfirmed at this time.
That would spell the end of Sudbury Wolves owner Dario Zulich's plans to build an events centre on land he and partners own on The Kingsway. And it could also cloud the future of the Gateway casino, which announced last week it would like to build a new $60-million casino along with the Zulich proposal.
“Gateway is very excited to take this important step forward in bringing a major investment and up to 250 new jobs to Greater Sudbury,” Keith Andrews, senior vice-president and managing director of Ontario for Gateway, said in a news release.
“The True North Strong proposal envisions creating a vibrant regional entertainment district. A Gateway property in the district is a perfect complement to this dynamic development.”
But it will be music to the ears of the vigorous downtown lobby, which has been campaigning under the slogan 'we all win,' to keep the rink there, likely in the Minto Street area.
The site selection committee is head by respected consultant Ron Bidulka of PricewaterhouseCoopers, as well as members of city staff. Ease of access, parking and cost are the three main criteria the committee was directed to use in determining the best site.
Bidulka, who said he was “site agnostic,” has said some communities have built downtown — Guelph built the Sleeman Centre in its downtown rather than on a developer-provided parcel of land in a suburban location. Others have put their new arenas/event centres where land is cheapest, such as Medicine Hat, which built the Canalta Centre in the suburbs, as did Barrie when they built the Molson Centre.
In Sudbury, the issue has divided the community, as well as some members of city council. The arena/events centre would replace Sudbury Arena, currently located at the corner of Elgin and Minto Streets.
