Moncton wants ‘iconic’ events centre
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Times & Transcript
By: Brent Mazerolle
http://22864.vws.magma.ca/index.php?&article_id=12596
There was a lot of talk about seats as Moncton city council went through a draft request for proposals on Tuesday to build a multi-purpose events centre in downtown Moncton. But there wasn’t much talk about the other things included in the RFP document.
Yet the goal of making the facility more than a “new Moncton Coliseum dropped downtown” is still front and centre as the request for proposals goes out to two proponents who have proven their ability to take on such projects.
The number 1 objective, according to the RFP, is that the proposed“downtown centre shall replace the Moncton Coliseum-Agrena complex as a sports and entertainment venue.”It also says, “large scale trade shows will remain at the Moncton Coliseum.”
At this point, the city’s assumption is that they will keep the ice in the Coliseum.
“However, that may change as a result of an independent study currently underway on repurposing the Coliseum,” the RFP documents read.
Ranked behind only the idea of replacing the Coliseum is the requirement that “the downtown centre will achieve high architectural quality. The intention of the downtown centre is to be a signature, landmark building, not only in Moncton, but in Atlantic Canada,” the document reads.
“In addition, any new building(s) must contribute to the attractiveness of the urban downtown core. The downtown centre must be an iconic building which will anchor the next generation of development in the downtown.”
Later in the request for proposals, the proponents are told the bids will be scored on the architectural qualities of the designs – features such as an “iconic design,”“types of finishes,” and “public art.”
Because the whole goal of the centre, besides its utility, is to be a catalyst for other private development in the downtown,“the site layout should consider the city’s objectives for future development on the balance of the lands …”
It’s estimated the centre itself will only require four acres of the 11 acres of Highfield Square property the city bought this week. The city’s plan is to sell the remaining land to private developers who can build compatible projects.
With that in mind, “the layout should, to the extent possible, creates a parcel(s) that are of a size and shape that are conducive for future development. Similarly, the design of the downtown centre should enhance the potential and marketability of these lands for residential or mixed use development.”
The RFP also says, “the downtown centre must establish building massing and uses to support a vibrant streetscape.”
When it comes to the arena portion itself, the document calls for a single NHL-sized ice pad.
However, city manager Jacques Dubé, while addressing council on Tuesday, added the ice surface must be “expandable to international hockey standards” so international tournaments could be hosted.
Besides the minimum of 7,500 fixed seats and 1,500-2,000 non-fixed seats much discussed by council, proponents are being told to include 20 luxury boxes with party suites in their design.
The city also wants a restaurant open on game days, concessions and meeting space adjacent or connected to the arena, and a figure of 20,000 square feet has been stated as the desired size.
This meeting space requirement contradicts what was previously reported. However, the RFP does not include provisions for moving the Moncton Public Library or the city’s farmers market to the site, two ideas that have been tossed around in the past.
Finally, the RFP calls for outdoor civic space. The proposal also calls for an on-time delivery and to have the facility opened to the public no later than August 2017. The deadline to submit RFP’s is Aug. 15, 2014. The city had previously issued a request for qualifications in order to narrow the field of potential companies that were interested and qualified to handle such a project.
From that process, a shortlist of two large consortia, led by Ellis Don and Bird Construction respectively, were selected.
I'm not sure about the requirement to be able to expand the ice surface to international standards. That sounds awfully (and unnecessarily) expensive to me. Also, I would much prefer a minimum of 9,000 seats; but aside from this, the RFP sounds pretty good to me……
Lets remove that part about being able to expand the ice surface to international standards and apply the savings towards an extra 1,500 seats. What does everyone think?? 
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