New Edmonton Arena Construction will begin in March 2014

[MacDaddy77]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Pretty nice looking facility. Will be odd to see such a slick looking facility largely populated by mullet heads in sweat pants.

And that's just the dance team!!

[Joborule]

Glad to see this get started. World class venue finally coming to fruition in Alberta.

[Hugh Jahrmes]

Looks pretty sweet. Have to make a few road games and check it out

[schteve_d]

I think from the inside the conception photos look great but it is hideous from the outside. If you want a spaceship, build a spaceship.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

Look, let me preface this by saying that I'm all for government funding for a new arena but if the flames only put up 23.8 million cash for a $600 million project I'd flip my lid.


http://www.edmonton.ca/city_governme...-approved.aspx

• $279-million from Community Revitalization Levy (CRL) and other incremental revenues (increased parking revenue, reallocation of existing subsidy paid to Northlands and new taxes from business in the arena)
• $125-million from ticket surcharge on all events in the new arena
• $137.81-million from lease revenue for the Arena
• $23.68-million in cash from EAC
• $25-million from other government sources

Agreed. That is pretty disgusting when you consider we're talking about BILLIONAIRE owners.

I can't wait for the actual stats to roll in once these money pits are completed. I also can't wait to not to be able to attend a game in Calgary or Edmonton for a year or two because the pricing will be so ridiculously inflated.

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by Delgar

The theory of the CRL which pays for most of this is as follows:

"The CRL is not intended to change the total amount of taxes collected in the area – the tax rates will be the same as for the rest of the City. The taxes will, as always, be based on the assessed market value of the property.
Again, the premise of a CRL is that a revitalization project will serve as an impetus for development to occur that would not otherwise happen, or would happen over a much longer period of time."



In other words, they intend to collect $279 million based on future projections of growth in property taxes based on expected new development. So nearly 1/2 the gross budget is based on hope, and they don't even have planning approval on any of that improved property which will generate these revenues.


I'd like to think this works, but I don't actually believe it is realistic. Either way, I think in the case of Edmonton they need to bite this bullet and make it happen. Katz has shown he isn't a philanthropist when it comes to the Oilers, he's here to make many hundreds of millions. I can't say I fault him, why the hell should he pay when the people will?

This is a terrible idea. Even if this area does generate more cash (which is debatable), a ton of it will come from other areas of the city. It's just a way to give $279 million dollars to Katz without annoying taxpayers. Condos or whatever that are built up in this area are just taken away from a different area in the city, unless they think the arena/development is actually going to bring people into the city to live.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by MattyC

There's also 3 Edmonton players behind the last opposing forward. That can't be right...

Honestly, that might be the strangest hockey game I have ever seen. Edmonton has six skaters and a goalie out on the ice, and the Jets have only five, and no goaltender. It's no wonder Edmonton managed to score five goals.

[Table 5]

You gotta give it to the greasers, that's definitely a fantastic looking sports facility. I'd be extremely content if that's what was coming to Calgary. I'm looking forward to Ken King announcing the Flames plans in 3-4 months.

[Ozy_Flame]

Not sure I agree with the interior paint scheme though from some of the renderings. Does red really fit their mantra? I suppose it is characteristic of the general sentiment among fans over all these years. Now if only they could have steam stacks coming out of the top for extra frustration effect.

[Bar-Down]

One of the comments from the RogersPlace twitter feed:

Earl the Pearl ‏@WestmountWailer 11h
@RogersPlace @EdmontonOilers when do you expect to have an NHL team ready to occupy the building? #zinger #zinged #Lottery #Lowe #hilar

Its an okay building, inside looks really cool. Outside looks like a human liver or something. It'll look really weird in Edmontons crappy downtown core with its 5 rectangular high rises.

Just another 3-4 months for the Flames arena announcement guys!…..

[Muta]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

Hopefully this puts a little bit of pressure on the Calgary owners to release some details on their arena plans soon.

Pretty sure the plan was to have Edmonton present theirs first... for a reason.

[saXon]

Originally Posted by Bouw N Arrow

That's actually a pretty slick design.

If you like the 'head of a 3 iron golf club' look, then yeah it's a pretty nifty design. Fits the Oilers org perfectly.

Now if only they'd add a 'Draft Hall of Fame' wing where they can share in their past and future glories of drafting top 10 year after year.

[Cleveland Steam Whistle]

Building looks good. First off, who cares if it mildly resembles a 3 iron head from the air, why is that bad?

2nd, why is what an arena looks like from the air even an issue. Doubt planners were worried about what passing air plane travellers might see from 20,000 feet. Building looks pretty slick from the ground, that's all that matters.

[Robbob]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Honestly, that might be the strangest hockey game I have ever seen. Edmonton has six skaters and a goalie out on the ice, and the Jets have only five, and no goaltender. It's no wonder Edmonton managed to score five goals.

It looks like the oilers may have unintentionally leaked the 2016 competitive equalization program to ensure edmonton stops drafting first overall.

[strombad]

Originally Posted by saXon

If you like the 'head of a 3 iron golf club' look, then yeah it's a pretty nifty design. Fits the Oilers org perfectly.

Now if only they'd add a 'Draft Hall of Fame' wing where they can share in their past and future glories of drafting top 10 year after year.

It's an undeniably nice design, but I'm genuinely pleased you came up with a way to relate how bad Edmonton is with the shape of their arena.

Let the golf jokes last forever more.

[Badgers Nose]

Originally Posted by Delgar

The theory of the CRL which pays for most of this is as follows:

"The CRL is not intended to change the total amount of taxes collected in the area – the tax rates will be the same as for the rest of the City. The taxes will, as always, be based on the assessed market value of the property.
Again, the premise of a CRL is that a revitalization project will serve as an impetus for development to occur that would not otherwise happen, or would happen over a much longer period of time."



In other words, they intend to collect $279 million based on future projections of growth in property taxes based on expected new development. So nearly 1/2 the gross budget is based on hope, and they don't even have planning approval on any of that improved property which will generate these revenues.


I'd like to think this works, but I don't actually believe it is realistic. Either way, I think in the case of Edmonton they need to bite this bullet and make it happen. Katz has shown he isn't a philanthropist when it comes to the Oilers, he's here to make many hundreds of millions. I can't say I fault him, why the hell should he pay when the people will?

D/T Edmonton has its spots, but as a whole it is pretty dead for such a big city. I hope this arena district fixes that. I just attended my first game at Rexall a couple of weeks ago and that joint is worse than the Dome. And I really hate the Dome.

Example, if you want to meet for dinner before an Oilers game and walk over that's pretty much impossible unless you want to take a guest to a dive. Here there are lots of choices.

[Oil Stain]

I'm not a huge fan of the looks of the building. Buildings that are built to appear ultra modern usually look ultra outdated in 20 years IMO. I'd probably have preferred something with a more classic look.

With that said, building appearance is pretty much the last thing I am concerned about with a sports building. Hopefully they do the most important things right and the new building has great sight lines as well as ample concourse space and ease at getting refreshments/bathroom breaks.

I recently visited the Vancouver rink for the first time and I was pretty surprised at how cramped their concourses were for a newer building. Hopefully the Katz machine doesn't make the same mistake.

[Joborule]

Rogers arena is close to 20 years old now. It's not that new, and in the next decade they will likely be looking at extensive renovation, or building a new arena.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by Joborule

Rogers arena is close to 20 years old now. It's not that new, and in the next decade they will likely be looking at extensive renovation, or building a new arena.

It was also built on a tiny footprint. I think it is one of the smallest buildings in terms of square footage in the NHL. Right around the same range as Winnipeg, San Jose, Edmonton, Detroit and Calgary in the 450,000 range.

[The Yen Man]

I wonder if this will help downtown Edmonton. Their downtown is even deader than Calgary's after work hours, and some parts are just downright scary to be in.