New Saskatoon arena district only palatable if done in phases

Proponents of a new downtown arena in Saskatoon face the same monumental challenge that has emerged in other cities that embark on a similar journey.

Splitting the atom can seem like an easier task than convincing skeptical residents — and voters — that a new facility is needed and worth the public investment.

Even in Edmonton, where the Ice District has proved far more successful than expected in attracting investment and development, it took an anguished 10 years. Now, it's keeping Edmonton's downtown alive at very minimal cost to taxpayers.

Despite that success just a fivehour drive away from Saskatoon, the sales job for the plan for a downtown arena district remains a major hurdle.

It becomes even tougher given the affordability crisis, this year's six per cent property tax increase, the ongoing effect of provincial tax hikes and issues like homelessness and addiction.

And city hall has hurt its efforts with its bizarre charade to make it look like residents had any say in the arena location and generally poor communication and engagement.

Six years after council backed exploring a new downtown arena instead of upgrading remote Sasktel Centre — renovations now estimated to cost hundreds of millions of dollars — little progress has been made.

But in his final “state of the city” address last week, outgoing Mayor Charlie Clark offered a hint at how the district, which is also expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars, might proceed.

“I think it's probably going to have to happen in phases, realistically,” Clark told the audience of business people.

He should have said that the project would only proceed in phases. Indeed — or IN-DEED to invoke the uninspiring acronym for Downtown Event and Entertainment District — that should have always been the message.

This ambitious plan includes a new downtown arena and a revamped convention centre apparently at the existing site of 56-year-old TCU Place, not to mention rejigging a key part of downtown. That's not happening all at once.

A consultant's study from last year suggested the cost of the district could rise as high as $950 million depending on when it's built. In July, council is expected to unveil an updated price tag, as well as strategies to pay for it that are supposed to have minimal impact on property taxes.

“I'm confident that it's not meant to be the gold-plated plan,” Clark said. “It's the plan of what we need to have a successful district and to replace the existing facilities — and it's going to be expensive.”

Clark added that many examples exist of facilities that were funded without major tax hikes, but also stressed the desirability of private investment, as well as the need for funding from the federal and provincial governments.

The Saskatchewan Party government, perhaps sensing its appeal in urban areas is diminishing, has offered up to $200 million for a new campus for Saskatchewan Polytechnic in Saskatoon. But that will fail to resonate with voters the way helping to fund a new arena might.

Regardless, Clark admitted: “It's going to be heavy lifting for the next council.”

Given the timing of the release of the funding report, it seems likely to keep the issue on the front burner for the November election.

And a few months does not give proponents a lot of time to try to communicate a complex message about planning for the future and economic impact. Meanwhile, opponents who might run for office can simply say city hall can't afford it right now.

That's a simple message and a deceptive one without an alternative plan, giving perpetually rising costs. In the 1970s, voters rejected funding a facility called the Spectradome on the Exhibition grounds, and then a decade later approved funding of what is now Sasktel Centre at three times the cost.

Clark asked folks to think about 20 years in the future, noting the city just surpassed 300,000 people, and whether current facilities will prove sufficient.

Pondering the future sounds great, but residents need convincing now on the proposed district's merits.