Mayoral candidates differ on downtown arena plan
With the City of Saskatoon preparing to study the future of SaskTel Centre and TCU Place, Phil Tank asked the four mayoral candidates for their take on the issue.
The study will look at possible downtown sites for a new arena to replace SaskTel Centre, as well as the idea of building a combined facility downtown that would include an arena and convention centre, and the idea of refurbishing SaskTel Centre at its current northern location.
TCU Place is a convention centre with a 2,000-seat theatre built in 1967; SaskTel Centre is a 15,000-seat hockey arena and entertainment facility that opened in 1988.
DON ATCHISON
The incumbent four-term mayor said warnings from three decades ago about the loss of millions of dollars in economic spinoffs if the arena was built outside the downtown have proved true. He said the absence of a mention of a new arena is a major omission from the city’s growth plan.
“I thought it should have been part of it right from the beginning,” Atchison said. It is important to get all the facts before making a decision and he does not have a preferred course of action, he added.
“I know one thing for sure is that if we don’t start talking about this right now, it will never happen.”
CHARLIE CLARK
The veteran councillor said he thinks it’s important to study the future of the facilities and he likes that different options will be considered.
“Each option needs to be backed up with a business case that’s realistic for our market,” Clark said, adding it’s also important that any new facility downtown remains animated when events are not underway. A multi-use facility downtown could aid in revitalizing the core, he said.
Clark said he has backed off somewhat from his initial skepticism about talk of a new arena. “It’s obvious people want to talk about it and that makes it an election issue.”
HENRY DAYDAY
The former four-term mayor, who served on the arena committee that guided the building of SaskTel Centre as an alderman in the 1980s, supports the arena’s current location. He pointed out the arena was built at its suburban site after two referendums.
“I like it because already it’s done very well,” Dayday said. “I think it’s been very successful to date.”
Dayday said he is concerned about displacing downtown parking with a possible new facility and insufficient parking for an arena. He said he thinks it’s too early to talk about replacing SaskTel Centre and he would like to see the price tag of any study before approving it. Dayday said he is also worried about taking on more debt from another big project.
KELLEY MOORE
The political newcomer said the economic spinoff from any new facility needs to be considered. Moore noted that in most major Canadian cities, arenas have been moved downtown. She said it’s important to look at what the study produces before making any decisions.
Moore noted the two boards that run the city-owned facilities are leading the study, not the municipal government.
“When you’re planning for the future, you need to know what the options are,” she said. “We need to be thinking 10, 20, 30 years down the road.”
Moore said there are more important issues to be discussed during the election than the arena, like financial accountability, safety and civic services.