It's a $400-million urban development long bomb that could change the face of the Winnipeg and represent one of the biggest projects along the Red River since the construction of the floodway.
Residents, businesses divided over stadium
New stadium: What do you think?
Media mogul and football fan David Asper ended two weeks of speculation Friday by releasing his vision of how he can build the Winnipeg Blue Bombers a $150 million stadium and revitalize an overlooked part of the inner-city at the same time.
The project SEnD which could include a footbridge to St. Boniface, commercial space, a hotel and a "Disneyesque" water park SEnD realizes a dream of Asper's late father Israel, who died in 2003.
"This is a culmination of decades worth of dreaming," said the Canwest executive vice-president, explaining the proposed project will see the Asper-owned Creswin Properties take a lead role in redeveloping 20 hectares of South Point Douglas.
That means a private company would spearhead an urban renewal project of a site twice the size of The Forks. But to go ahead, it needs the approval of all three levels of government.
"This is just a drawing," Asper said of an overhead view of what the final project could look like. "There is no agreement, although I would like to see it signed within days." A memorandum of understanding could be signed as early as Wednesday.
However, not everyone is happy with the megaproject. Some residents fear they'll lose their character homes and some business owners fear they'll have to relocate to make room for the partly-covered, 40,000-seat stadium. Other business owners say the area needs to change, as it's been neglected for three decades and shows no signs of growth.
Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz said it's too early to even comment on the cost of infrastructure improvements required by the development, most notably of Higgins Avenue to the north and elevating it to the height of the CPR Keewatin line.
"We're not at that stage of the game," said Katz, claiming all three levels of government must agree to work with Asper before the specifics of the South Point Douglas deal are decided. "When you're doing a development, some of the infrastructure is the responsibility of the developer."
Asper said he released details of his plan to end media speculation. "The whole idea is to talk to people to try to reach a disposition. It just became time the public and the fans became aware."
Asper also said his plan to build a stadium at the current site of Canad Inns Stadium is not completely dead, but the Polo Park option does not look like it will see the light of day.
That's because the province and Ottawa can not justify putting public money into Polo Park when there is no public benefit other than to football fans, Premier Gary Doer said Friday.
"It would be a give, not an investment," Doer said. "The existing Polo Park plan has not worked for a number of months."
What makes South Point Douglas viable is Asper wants less money from the public purse. If a deal is reached, the province would contribute $25 million and Ottawa $15 million.
Asper would pick up the rest of the cost to build the stadium, which would be built at the south end of a redeveloped Disraeli Freeway. Under the Polo Park plan, Ottawa and the province were each asked to contribute $40 million.
Doer said the province would earn back its contribution from payroll, education and sales taxes.
The South Point Douglas plan would benefit the public as it opens up a huge area for further development along the Red River, and in time Winnipeg's riverwalk system will extend from behind the legislature up to near the tip of Point Douglas.
"We always had a vision of getting to Point Douglas," Doer said. "We are in the process of taking the waterfront back and making it accessible to the public.
"It's not just about football fans. People ask, 'What does it mean to me?' It means you are going to have even greater access to your river."
In return for building in South Point Douglas, Creswin would be allowed to purchase the old stadium site at fair market value, and transform that into a lifestyle shopping centre. Revenue from the retail centre would then subsidize other developments in South Point Douglas, such as a hotel and indoor water park.
To ease traffic concerns, a tram system is planned to move football fans from parking lots to the stadium. Higgins Avenue will also be altered and a second underpass built under the CP rail line from North Point Douglas.
On Friday morning, Katz held a brief information session about the South Point Douglas redevelopment for city councillors, who by and large liked what they heard.
Point Douglas Coun. Mike Pagtakhan said he approves of the plan provided it preserves the historical character of one of Winnipeg's oldest neighbourhoods, while St. Norbert Coun. Justin Swandel likes the idea of adding value to an impoverished area rather than rebuilding a stadium at Polo Park, home to the city's most valuable commercial land.
"We want the development of the area to be the priority and fit the stadium into the overall perspective of that area," said Swandel, city council's property chairman
St. Boniface Coun. Dan Vandal also liked the idea but said too many questions remain. "The soft underbelly of this plan is there's absolutely no detail and there are no numbers," he said. "It's almost laughable we could get to this point without any numbers."
But Enterprises Riel, St. Boniface's development corporation, believes the South Point Douglas plan should not proceed any further until the Winnipeg Football Club reopens reopen the competition for stadium proposals.
In 2007, Enterprises teamed up with the Canad Inns hotel chain in a bid to build a domed stadium for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on the the former Canada Packers site.
"We have 172 acres of vacant land. There would be no need to expropriate anything," said executive director Norm Gousseau, who found Asper's plan to connect a South Point Douglas football stadium to Old St. Boniface particularly galling.
"What, St. Boniface is only good enough for a parking lot? I'm not sure about that," he said. "There has to be a better process."
bruce.owen@freepress.mb.ca bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca
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