from the editorial page of today's T&T
Downtown events centre: more than just a rink
Published Tuesday December 13th, 2011
by alan cochrane
Times & transcript staff
OK, so the Grinchy bean counters in Ottawa have decided Moncton can't have money from their big jar of jellybeans for a downtown events centre. Yes it is a kick in the gut just before Christmas but as the mayor and our MP say, Moncton can't give up on the idea.
The city had been working on this project since June of 2010 with PPP Canada to complete their application process, meeting all of the information requirements, eligibility criteria and deadlines. The city says it has spent about $100,000 on the application for funding and devoted more than 3,000 hours of senior staff and council time to make it happen. But, as we reported last week, the application was rejected with the explanation that there were just too many hands in the jellybean jar - to the tune of $24 billion in applications for a pot of $1.2 billion.
Mayor George LeBlanc says the rejection comes just as the city was about to finalize the actual site for the multi-events centre and more details on what it would look like. Those are two big questions that - once answered - could help generate more interest and excitement about the project. He's determined to move forward and the idea still has the support of Premier David Alward and MP Robert Goguen. That's encouraging in these days of high deficits and cost-cutting by governments.
Moncton has been struggling to get a downtown events or convention centre off the ground for years, but at the same time seen a lot of movement on other projects like the casino and the four-ice centre. Moncton is already known as a centre for shopping, entertainment, special events, conventions and trade shows. A new multi-events centre in the downtown would put the city in a new league, but there are many questions to be answered.
The biggest question is the location. Several sites have been looked at, with most speculation being the area around the Highfield Square shopping centre or another spot along East Main Street closer to the traffic circle. Whatever the location, it will have to be a piece of land big enough to accommodate the centre and parking areas, with close links to highways to allow for traffic flow in and out of the facility before and after events.
The second big question is basically what the facility would look like and what it would include. Many people in Moncton have used the word "rink," which conjures up an idea of simply a big ice surface with seats. But this facility should be much more.
It seems to me that a downtown multi-events centre should be a place that is busy all the time, not just on days when there are hockey games or other big events. That means the "rink" would be simply the centre of a much larger facility that would include retailers, services, galleries and unique attractions surrounding it. It should be a place where people could go for lunch, get their hair cut, maybe go to the gym for a workout or do some shopping. It should also have some kind of unique attraction that would draw people from other areas. We already know that people come to Moncton from all over New Brunswick, P.E.I. and Nova Scotia to go shopping and visit attractions like the museum, the zoo, Magic Mountain and the skateboard park. The downtown events centre should have something unique as well so it draws people and generates income for itself.
Property developers and business owners have been watching the situation closely, hoping for a way to benefit from the centre. But they will only wait for so long.
Critics of the project say it would be too big, too expensive and too dependant on local folks to support. Indeed, it's hard to imagine how many big events could be staged that would attract a crowd of 10,000 people willing to shell out big bucks for tickets.
Look at the online schedule for the Coliseum for the next couple of months and you'll find the Canadian Figure Skating Championships, comedian Jerry Seinfeld, an NHL Oldtimers game, the Fish Canada Workboat Canada trade show, the Atlantic Motorcycle and ATV show and the big Gala Expo for prom dresses.
At the same time, Moncton is already missing out on some events because the Coliseum is too small and outdated to host them. When they added the agrena buildings to the Coliseum in the 1970s, there were concerns that they would never be used. Those buildings are now hosting trade shows and special events all through the year and promoters love them. The big roll-up doors and wide-open rooms of the agrena complex make it possible to display big trucks, boats, motor homes and heavy equipment during trade shows. The agrenas have also been dressed up for many other occasions.
At the same time,
Moncton has benefitted from the construction of the Magnetic Hill Concert Site, the 2010 Stadium and the Casino, which have resulted in big concerts, CFL games, international sporting events and appearances by entertainers Monctonians never thought they'd see in their home town.
These events drive the economy. According to Ben Champoux, director of community business development for the City of Moncton,
tourism is worth over $385 million a year to the city. Conventions are a big part of that but so are the attractions of the zoo, the theatres, the museum, sporting events and entertainment. Of that $385 million, accommodations account for $56 million. Restaurants and bar sales account for $73 million. Spending on sports, recreation and culture accounts for $25 million. Clothing sales are worth $67 million and fuel sales are worth $65 million.
"When you add it all up, that's big, that's significant," says Mr. Champoux.
We can't predict the future, but if Mayor LeBlanc and others who believe in the dream of a downtown multi-events centre want to make it a reality, they will need to generate more interest and excitement. We need to see the drawings, the plans, the 3-D models to get a better idea of what it could be like. It must also be economically viable and something that will become a centrepiece of the community that is busy all the time - something much more than just a rink.
* Alan Cochrane is an editor-at-large with the Times & Transcript. His column appears each Tuesday. He can be reached by e-mail at
[email protected].
personal note:
- It is of paramount importance that, at this critical point in time, the city move forward with optioning their preferred site for the events centre and releasing the detailed renderings of the project. These moves would galvanize interest amongst the citizenry and would also provide impetus for other developers to look at potential projects in areas adjacent to the proposed events centre. This alone would provide a big boost to the downtown.
The events centre is absolutely critical for the future of the core. There is a lot of potential in downtown Moncton but this potential is mostly unrealized. The downtown core was on deaths door in the early 1990's and although projects like the Capitol Theatre, the Marriott Hotel, the new city hall complex and the new courthouse have helped, the recovery of the downtown area is certainly far from complete. The events centre is the single most important project in revitalizing the downtown. Mayor LeBlanc realizes this, Premier Alward realizes this and so does MP Robert Goguen.
- The province is still on board and federal funding will come in some form; if not for the arena then perhaps for other components of the facility. If for example there is a convention component to the proposal, then federal funding should be available for this. The feds are partially funding convention centres in Halifax and Charlottetown and also provided funding for the new convention centre in Fredericton. Given this, it would be difficult to deny similar funding for Moncton. Also, the feds have been big on funding public transit projects around the country. The new Codiac Transpo garage and HQ on Millenium Blvd was built because of federal funding. If a downtown transit terminal were included in the events centre, the feds might partially fund this as well. Who knows what cultural funding might also be available from the feds.
- Yes, this project will get built. Now is certainly not the time to let momentum flag. Now is the time to start building public support for this project so that construction can start at the earliest possible date. As John Paul Jones famously said "damn the torpedos, full speed ahead!!!" 
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