New arena would aim to fill future needs

A Toronto consultant who is studying whether the city needs a new sport and entertainment facility to replace the Memorial Centre told councillors the very first question he seeks to answer is this one: “Has the PMC had its day in the sun?”

Jon Hack, director of the consulting firm Sierra Planning and Management, spoke to councillors on Monday on the work being done to determine the feasibility of replacing the Memorial Centre.

The firm was hired by the city is early December to do the study, at a cost of $157,800. They are expected done by May 18.

If it’s determined that Peterborough could use a new Ontario Hockey League and entertainment facility sooner than later, Sierra will be asked to begin scoping out potential sites in the central area. Hack said his firm will offer an opinion to council at a meeting on March 26 on whether the city needs a new facility.

If so, he said the firm must also weigh in on what type of facility the city needs: will it be a single-pad arena or a twin-pad, for example?

“Is it a building of 3,000 seats, or a building of 13,000 seats?” he asked. “And is it a building nestled downtown?”

Hack also said the consultant must look at how “invested” the city is in sports and entertainment – not only now, but into the future.

“Our lens is not 2018 – it should be 2028, or 2038,” he said.

If you start planning now, Hack said, it could be as long as five years of planning and construction before the building is up and running.

A new building would not be a simple arena, Hack added: he asked councillors to think of it as a large, multi-use entertainment centre where convocations, staged events, circuses or massive expos could take place.

Coun. Diane Therrien asked Hack whether the facility could even include a new Art Gallery of Peterborough, since the AGP is cramped for space.

Hack said yes it could – he said he met with officials at the AGP earlier in the day on Monday.

He also said the consultant has to consider some potential re-uses for the Memorial Centre, if it’s decided that the facility must be replaced – and whether the building could be converted into some other use (ie: not a hockey arena).

They must also consider some prospective locations for a new arena and entertainment centre if one is needed, he said – and he intends to answer all these questions for councillors by March 26.

The final report to council from Sierra, meanwhile, is due May 18.

The 61-year-old Memorial Centre was last renovated in 2003; at that time, there were additions such as private box suites, a restaurant and new seats.

But major upgrades are already being done between now and 2019, including new roof sections and a replacement of the floor pad surface.

The 2003 renovation, which cost about $13.3 million, won’t be paid off for another six years.

Yet if the Memorial Centre needs to be replaced, city staff have told councillors they should start planning and saving money now.