So the ‘Ol Smitty bucks are real? lol. She’s not ashamed to admit to it? Shocking!

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www.alberta.ca

Revitalizing downtown Edmonton

Alberta’s government is partnering with the City of Edmonton and OEG Sports & Entertainment (OEGSE) to support downtown revitalization and economic prosperity.
www.alberta.ca www.alberta.ca
 
Just to note that the CRL Extension is not a done deal. Executive Committee will need to vote next week to recommend it to Council, who will need to vote on it. Then if recommended, it goes to provincial cabinet for approval. If approved by cabinet, City Council (newly elected) will debate in the fall which named catalyst projects are prioritized, like they have been during for the current CRL.

If you're in favour of the extension, I recommend emailing Council with your thoughts. Current Executive Committee members include Mayor Sohi, Paquette, Cartmell, Principe and Tang. Other Councilors may also be there.
 
One question on the event park: How does this fit in with our other spaces?
  • Winspear Auditoriums (2k capacity on big one)
  • Convention Centre (1.8k, 2.1k, 4.2k, 3.9k arrangements of Halls)
  • Citadel (681)
  • Allard Hall (Macewan) Theatres (450)
  • Expo Centre (2.5k, 3k, 4k, 4.6k arena, 2.5k, 3.5k 3k)
  • Jubilee Auditorium (2.5k)
Is there demand for another large venue? Or will this be diversified enough from what all the others can offer? Or is it just moving events around and making other city run facilities less profitable?
 
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thommyjo said:
One question on the event park: How does this fit in with our other spaces?
  • Winspear Auditoriums (2k capacity on big one)
  • Convention Centre (1.8k, 2.1k, 4.2k, 3.9k arrangements of Halls)
  • Citadel (681)
  • Allard Hall (Macewan) Theatres (450)
  • Expo Centre (2.5k, 3k, 4k, 4.6k arena, 2.5k, 3.5k 3k)
  • Jubilee Auditorium (2.5k)
Is there demand for another large venue? Or will this be diversified enough from what all the others can offer? Or is it just moving events around and making other city run facilities less profitable?
Click to expand...

Yes. Are any of these spaces somewhere that you would want to be a little rowdy in? I'd expect uptake from the rock/pop/country etc. spheres to be really high.
 
thommyjo said:
One question on the event park: How does this fit in with our other spaces?
  • Winspear Auditoriums (2k capacity on big one)
  • Convention Centre (1.8k, 2.1k, 4.2k, 3.9k arrangements of Halls)
  • Citadel (681)
  • Allard Hall (Macewan) Theatres (450)
  • Expo Centre (2.5k, 3k, 4k, 4.6k arena, 2.5k, 3.5k 3k)
  • Jubilee Auditorium (2.5k)
Is there demand for another large venue? Or will this be diversified enough from what all the others can offer? Or is it just moving events around and making other city run facilities less profitable?
Click to expand...
I believe the Convention Centre has moved away from the concert business, and if Expo hasn't as well, they've definitely pulled back. Most concerts in that capacity range are now being held at Rogers in limited venue size set-ups (i.e., lower bowl, half-arena, etc.).
 
johnnyboy said:
I believe the Convention Centre has moved away from the concert business, and if Expo hasn't as well, they've definitely pulled back. Most concerts in that capacity range are now being held at Rogers in limited venue size set-ups (i.e., lower bowl, half-arena, etc.).
Click to expand...
Expo still holds some concerts in the arena, and honestly it's a great little venue. But even that is a higher capacity, 3,000 - 7,000 max (4,200 in the most common concert capacity) than Event Park is proposed for. So this definitely fills a nice niche for a smaller concert venue that isn't as formal as the Jubilee would be, and is actually designed for acoustics (unlike the convention center, which has awful sound).
 
For those of you who are wondering about the demand, remember the Fan Park concerts by Shania Twain, The Beaches and other acts during the Stanley Cup Finals.
 
Most of the performance spaces we have are set up for specific purposes (Theatre, symphony, sports etc.) so the overlap between a new venue and the ones we have already shouldn't be too big.
 
A PWHL team probably wouldn't end up in DT. The Drake (with needed renovations) would be the logical landing spot for the team.

I'd be thrilled to be proven wrong, because I'd ultimately like to have 300+ events per year in Ice District.
 
Couldn't a PWHL team just do what the Oil Kings do and close off the upper bowl if the capacity didn't call for it?
 
^ ^^ ^^^ No, @Greenspace let his women's PWHL hockey league bias slip when he thought that they might not draw more than a minor hockey league crowd. The PWHL league, if attained by Katz & Co. would definitely be added to the ICE arena not the fanpark and I think that OEG is definitely looking at it seriously (it would be good for ICE, good for Edmonton, good for women's professional sports, and good for a fan-based audience). If added to the Arena calendar however, it would reduce the number of open slots for other events and that is where the Fan Park shines. Often times these smaller events are more profitable than the larger events when repeated at scale. I don't think as per @thommyjo's surmise that we are overbuilding event spaces as long as they are differentiated one from the other. For example, I don't see events such as curling bonspiels, beach volleyball, community league hockey, outdoor concerts, minor fairs, "a taste of Edmonton" etc. as impinging on other facilities in the City. Katz has had his crew practicing Fan Park-sized events for a couple of years now so I have to guess that he knows what he is doing from experience alone. This new Fan Park concept is a huge boon for Edmonton and, in particular, for the downtown scene. It will definitely impact Stationlands, ICE II, and downtown development in a positive way, no question.
 
husky said:
Couldn't a PWHL team just do what the Oil Kings do and close off the upper bowl if the capacity didn't call for it?
Click to expand...
Scheduling is my concern here. Rogers would definitely present scheduling issues with the Oil and little Oil.

I'll also add that an undersized venue is almost always better than an oversized venue.
 
A PWHL team should work just fine with the NHL and WHL teams. If one team is playing during a particular evening, another team can play during the daytime or the next day. Same deal if there's a concert.
 
MacLac said:
This is a substantially "better" rendering for the new "event center." - gosh - it sounds like we're in YYC talking about their building...lol. Looks like it'll match with Rogers quite nicely - the pedway is a nice touch as well.
Click to expand...
With the pedway to the Rogers Place side, I wonder if they could also stretch on a second pedway over 101 St to the Stationlands area? With the new pedway connections going in over there we'd get a nice loop going.
 
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