Council aiming to choose arena site by the fall

City taking a deeper look at Market Plaza as potential arena site

City council ought to choose a site for a new arena and entertainment centre by next fall, recommends a new city staff report — and if that’s the plan, staff thinks council should pay a Toronto consultant $126,500 to further evaluate the shortlisted sites as well as study yet another property, the Market Plaza.

A new city staff report recommends that council aim to pick a site by late 2019 — or maybe narrow it down to two sites — for a new arena to replace the aging Peterborough Memorial Centre.

Councillors are expected to discuss the matter of whether to commit to picking a site this year, with help from a new Sierra study, on Monday evening during budget talks.

A new arena is expected to cost $85.9 million, if it includes two ice pads and 5,800 seats. The city’s consultant, Sierra Planning and Management of Toronto, estimated that cost.

In September, Sierra told council it believes the best location for a new facility would be Morrow Park, which is already municipally owned and large enough to take an arena with two ice pads.

But Sierra also presented council with a shortlist of five other sites, including:

• No Frills on George St. N.

• City public works yard on Townsend St.

• James Stevenson Park (the ball diamond) on Burnham St.

• General Electric (in part) on Park St. N.

• Canadian Canoe Museum on Monaghan Rd. (which is soon to build a new museum next to the Lift Lock).

Councillors didn’t debate or select one particular site, in September — their consultant told them it was best to let the shortlist “sit” and consider it over time.

Mayor Diane Therrien — still a councillor when the shortlist was presented to council in September — said at the time she would have liked the consultant’s report to also consider the Market Plaza as a site, the plaza across George St. from the Holiday Inn, which has a dollar store and bowling alley.

Market Plaza was on the long list and Therrien thought it deserved greater consideration.

Former mayor Daryl Bennett said at the time said it would cost the city $50 million to buy the plaza, but council didn’t have its consultant follow up.

Sierra could look more closely at the Market Plaza as a site in a further report, the new staff report points out to council.

It would also evaluate each property more carefully, with details such as the cost to acquire and develop each site and how much space each site could offer for parking, for instance.

Cost to the city for this would be $126,500, the staff report states.

The next step, city staff says, would be to pay Sierra for yet another study — this time a detailed plan for ensuring construction happens.

The plan would include a “refined” business case for the new facility, for example, the details about land acquisition, architectural design and financing or funding strategy.

If councillors want this “implementation plan” after they’ve selected a site, the report says it will likely cost a further $353,500.

Councillors are sitting for 2019 budget talks every evening next week. Discussion of the arena is expected Monday evening.