Only a few plays left in old stadium

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This article was published 30/03/2010 (5701 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Canad Inns Stadium is coming "very close to the end of its useful life" and requires $52 million over the next several years just to maintain it in its current state, Premier Greg Selinger said Monday.

In his first comments since the Free Press reported Saturday he is behind a revised plan to build a new stadium at the University of Manitoba — minus a sizable investment from businessman David Asper — the premier compared the dilemma project proponents face to that of a person dumping their old beater.

"At a certain point, you have to decide whether you’re going to put more money into the old car or get a new one," Selinger told reporters. "And I think the feeling is that when it comes to the stadium, it’s maybe time to move on to a new one."

The premier, speaking during a tour of flood preparations south of the city on Monday, refused to comment about the nature of any new stadium discussions or when an announcement might be forthcoming.

"People are working together to find a solution," Selinger said. "There’s a recognition that the existing facility will need up to $52 million of upgrades and repairs just to keep it in operation for a decade.

"So the question is, if we have to put more money into a stadium, does it make sense to pour it into the old one, or get on with the new one? And I think that the general feeling is that it makes sense to try to invest in a new one that will last for another 50 years and be a modern facility that people will be proud of."

On Saturday, the Free Press, quoting unnamed sources, said what’s now envisaged is a $100-million stadium — a scaled-down version of the original $135-million deal proposed last year involving Asper’s Creswin Properties. The new facility would still be built at the U of M, but without a substantial investment from Asper, who had based his initial bid on revenues from an upscale shopping-mall development at Polo Park. The recession has delayed development of that enterprise.

Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz declined to comment on the issue Monday.

Opposition Leader Hugh McFadyen said he’s open-minded about a new U of M stadium proposal, but he wants to make sure the process is transparent and taxpayers are protected. He said his party also wants the private sector to be involved in the facility’s financing. "It’s a little early to comment on something that seems a little bit hypothetical at the moment. We’ll have more to say, clearly, when an announcement is made," McFadyen said. "The old stadium is not satisfactory. It’s going to have to be addressed going forward, but we want to make sure that it’s done in a way that to the taxpayers it’s transparent."

Liberal Leader Jon Gerrard said it "makes sense to proceed" with a new stadium — even without a substantial investment from Asper. He said it "would have been nice" to have the facility come together as originally planned. "(But) I think we need the stadium and I think we need to get the job done."

Under the original proposal, Asper would have provided $100 million, while Ottawa and the province committed a combined $35 million. The city had agreed to sell Creswin the existing Canad Inns Stadium site at full market value to allow it to build a new shopping development, the profits from which would have funded Asper’s share of the new stadium. It’s unknown how much each level of government is now willing to contribute to a new stadium.

Asper last week said he had no knowledge of any change in the stadium plan.

— With file from Bartley Kives

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca