A new future for Northlands
This is a modified version of the statement I gave to the media earlier today, Wednesday, September 24th.
Today, administration released its report analyzing Northlands’ redevelopment plan. It is a long and thorough assessment of the current and future state not only of the facilities at Northlands but of key aspects of Northlands’ re-envisioning. Next Wednesday’s public hearing will give City Council the chance to discuss Northlands proposals in more detail and hear from the public about what they imagine the future of Northlands to be.
Before then, however, I wanted to share my high level reaction to the key findings in the report.
Northlands has proposed an ambitious plan and there are several elements that are worthy of further exploration. These are the kinds of decisions that will define the future of northeast Edmonton – and the health of the City’s finances – so Council’s job must be to make decisions that are in the best interest of our city – and not just a single organization.
At the heart of this plan is repurposing the Coliseum into a multiplex arena. From my conversations in the community, from hockey parents to hoteliers, there seems to be broad support to bring this transformation to life. We all recognize the important legacy of the Coliseum and the special place it holds in our city’s story. A multiplex may very well be the best future for the Coliseum, one that honours our past but gives tomorrow’s athletes a place to grow and build a lifelong connection to sport and wellness. I recognize that further analysis would be required prior to final decision by Council, including capital and operating implications. But there are potential partners, too – and there is no reason not to think big about what kind of boost a reimagined Coliseum could provide for the future of amateur sports in our city.
Turning to the festival site, from administration’s analysis, it’s clear that there isn’t an overwhelming demand for a site like this and some of our largest festival partners have said they are not interested in relocating at this time. So the question then becomes: what is the best possible use for this remarkable piece of land, one that is surrounded by wonderful public spaces, great transit connections and close to major amenities? More work certainly needs to be done, likely through a new area redevelopment plan, to set a more sustainable and inspiring future for this area. But opportunities to do this kind of work don’t come along very often, and it’s critical that we aren’t rushed, that we make the right decision for our city.
Throughout this process, I have been clear in my call for a unified approach to event and convention attraction in Edmonton. This report provides a wakeup call that the time for this coordination is now. I believe we have been underperforming when it comes to attracting conferences and conventions to Edmonton. The low utilization rates highlighted in this report bear this assumption out and are no doubt contributing to the financial stress Northlands is under. I have consistently pushed for action on bringing the Expo Centre and the Shaw Conference Centre closer together, because there are opportunities to increase our efficiencies and unify our efforts to ensure our long-term economic prosperity.
Who manages these facilities is not a question for today, but it must be addressed and I will be pushing toward a resolution on this at Council next Wednesday.
Of course, the question that continues to loom over Council’s discussion is the debt owed to the City by Northlands. I believe Edmontonians would not support simply forgiving a debt this large, nor do I think it is fair to expect residents to pick up the tab without a solid plan in place. Based on administration’s analysis of Vision 2020, there are no easy answers and no silver bullet. There may be some interim solutions that can be explored until some of the larger questions around Northlands are answered, and I am open to hearing arguments for this next week.
But we must be realistic, and we must act in the best interests of the city’s economy.
4 thoughts on “A new future for Northlands”
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Very well said! I strongly support innovation and re-purposing the various components involved, but not on the taxpayers dime, and not when so many other things have been are shelved due to lack of funding. The multiplex concept is great. The festival site, not so much. I am not convinced on an Expo Centre expansion. Is it essential to making the complex viable? More importantly; I do not support forgiving the loan or continuing to subsidize an organization which has been losing money for years. In my opinion, the City should take over Expo Centre and bring event and conferences under one umbrella. On the residential component, I am all for the City working with the private sector to come up with a long-term re-investment plan. I am concerned however that the City will take on re-development planning using it’s existing human resources, which untimely hurt the private sector.
Hi Don – Thanks for sharing your comments.
I agree that we must be realistic and act not only in the best interests of the city’s economy but in also the best interests of the residents who live in the neighbourhoods that surround Northlands.
As a homeowner in the area (we live three blocks away from Northlands), my biggest worry is that the 160 acres of land currently occupied by Northlands will become derelict if Northlands folds or the City takes over operations. A large unused space like this has the potential to have a negative impact on the surrounding neighbourhoods.
I am skeptical of some elements of the Northlands Vision 2020 plan, especially the proposal for the festival site but I support the idea of redeveloping the arena into a multi-rink or field sports complex.
Of course, it is frustrating to know that neither the previous City Council or Northlands had the foresight to create a plan before Mr. Katz moved the Oilers from Rexall into to their new downtown arena.
Dave
Northlands has had many years to figure out how to turn a profit. The Expocentre is greatly under utilized. Skating rinks, though, belong in communities so kids can get there on their own.
Also, why is admission for horse racing free? Even a $3 dollar charge plus a nominal parking fee would be perfectly reasonable. At Derby Day, Northlands missed out on the opportunity to make much more money. Line ups for food and drinks so long that many gave up. On days with poor weather Northlands closes the betting wickets and food concessions close to the track so people have to go too far to bet or get food- they cut themselves off from their only sources of revenue!
They have been cancelling Wednesday racing saying there aren’t enough horses. Nonsense! I AM a racehorse owner and would have been in the market to replace another that I retired, but with Northlands saying they won’t host racing next year, it makes no fiscal sense to buy horses that will end up as lawn ornaments. I rely on my horses making money to keep me in the game. I understand that the horse racing site is very valuable land and that horse racing probably should be moved to the outskirts of town but another year or 2 of notice is required to sort out those logistics.
I was born 71 years ago in North-East Edmonton. I still remember remember as a 10 year old kid rushing to the Edmonton Exhibition rail line where the Royal American Shows were coming in for the 7-Day Summer event. We had the Edmonton Gardens and the Sales Pavilion across from the Gardens. The Race track was also there. As far as i know these facilities at that time were all making money. Where did we go wrong since the early days of the Edmonton Exhibition Association? I think the Northlands leadership has lost it’s way.
What is our real goal concerning the present Northlands situation? Another question is- should we keep the present K-Days in the same place or move this event somewhere else? Look at what Vancouver or Toronto or Seattle, WA has in place. I’d love to see an Observation Deck Tower somewhere in Edmonton that would give us a signature piece such as the other big cities have i.e. maybe renovating our present CN Tower OR constructing a new tower on the Northlands sight.
So, I think that an early decision has to be made about our annual summer fair- Where to put it and whether it should be the same Carnival company holding it re: so called (K-Days). This is definitely the anchor on the Northlands site.
What do you do with the Northlands Coliseum? Personally, I would vote to take it down. Amateur hockey arenas should be built in the individual communities like the Clairview Recreation center that is already here in North-East Edmonton.
I hope that some of these ideas will help get a workable plan for the new Northlands sight.