[Edmcowboy11]

The reason Katz bought the Oilers in the first place is that he is a Superfan, who could afford it and knew if done right he'd make lots of money from it.
I don't think he would want to build a stadium where he will almost surely lose money.

 

[archited]

If a retractable roof could be done more affordably, that would be intriguing to me but then there is also the considerable cost of a new stadium, so perhaps it would be best then to just put this roof on the existing stadium. This along with the improvements Sohi is proposing could still come considerably under the cost of a new stadium.

David, because it was never planned for in the first place, the cost of putting a roof over Commonwealth Stadium would actually far exceed the cost of building a new stadium. There is plenty of room downtown for a new stadium and if it were sunken into the ground (as many new stadia are today) it could have street-facing retail and as I mentioned before it could support high-rise structures in the corners of the chosen site so that it would be an integrated complex even "tighter" than what was developed for the ICE District build-out. And with all of the potential venues that could be accommodated under one roof -- well let's say this -- cost is one thing but revenue is another -- the revenue potential of a new stadium in close proximity to the ICE District would easily meet the billions of dollars mark in very short order. If the Province were enticed to provide $300+ Million for basic site infrastructure (land assembly, demolition of existing buildings, and utility reconfiguration and upgrades) as a match to what is promised to Calgary then the cost becomes manageable with a similar financial arrangement (CRL) between City and Developer. ICE District draws a ton of people downtown (mostly in the winter and from October through June); imagine if a stadium added to that from May through November (new sports franchises). There is much, much more to say but God knows too many words leads to ennui.

 

[husky]

I wonder if Katz's involvement will be more on the management side. Have OEG manage Commonwealth similar to how they manage Rogers. Be responsible for the programming etc etc, they done a really good job with keeping Rogers and the surrounding area programmed with different events and shows so maybe they could do something similar with Commonwealth

 

[macblender]

David, because it was never planned for in the first place, the cost of putting a roof over Commonwealth Stadium would actually far exceed the cost of building a new stadium. There is plenty of room downtown for a new stadium and if it were sunken into the ground (as many new stadia are today) it could have street-facing retail and as I mentioned before it could support high-rise structures in the corners of the chosen site so that it would be an integrated complex even "tighter" than what was developed for the ICE District build-out. And with all of the potential venues that could be accommodated under one roof -- well let's say this -- cost is one thing but revenue is another -- the revenue potential of a new stadium in close proximity to the ICE District would easily meet the billions of dollars mark in very short order. If the Province were enticed to provide $300+ Million for basic site infrastructure (land assembly, demolition of existing buildings, and utility reconfiguration and upgrades) as a match to what is promised to Calgary then the cost becomes manageable with a similar financial arrangement (CRL) between City and Developer. ICE District draws a ton of people downtown (mostly in the winter and from October through June); imagine if a stadium added to that from May through November (new sports franchises). There is much, much more to say but God knows too many words leads to ennui.

There or North of Phase 2.

(Honestly too bad City Center Mall couldnt go as that would be a beautiful location for it)

 

[IanO]

 

[David A]

Wow, discussion about this all the way back to 1963! We are indeed sometimes a city of talk rather than action, but I suspect that is often the case.

However, I hope this doesn't turn into a raze the poorer area initiative as that area will soon be needed for more housing affordable or otherwise.

 

[Coprolite]

Wow, discussion about this all the way back to 1963! We are indeed sometimes a city of talk rather than action, but I suspect that is often the case.

However, I hope this doesn't turn into a raze the poorer area initiative as that area will soon be needed for more housing affordable or otherwise.

I'm eyeing the Boyle Street footprint in particular (which I know is just an example and not an actual plan). It might look like it's all parking lots, but It takes out the Koermann Block, one of two remaining Chinese restaurant in Chinatown East, and four different community agencies important to the neighbourhood, and a number of rooming houses and apartment buildings which are basically the last pocket of affordability this close to here, and that presumes it's just drawn badly and isn't intended to take out the 97 Street streetscape.

I'm kind of thinking back to how Chinatown ended up getting pushed out that way in the first place because it was decided to take the old SimCity bulldozer tool to old Chinatown and plunk down Canada Place, the Citadel, the new courthouse and other prestige projects, and how eliminating this "blight" was supposed to revitalize the area in red and instead created more of a walling off effect of big buildings which uninviting street presence.