Province kick-starts stadium

Repayable $90-M loan puts shovels in ground

By: Bartley Kives Posted: 1:00 AM CDT Thursday, Apr. 1, 2010

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FILE--An artist's rendition of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers proposed stadium is shown in a handout photo. Media mogul David Asper, along with representatives of the federal, provincial and municipal governments, announced a deal Thursday to build a 30,000-seat stadium by the summer of 2011 on the University of Manitoba campus in the city's south end. It will replace the 55-year-old Canad Inns stadium west of downtown. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Winnipeg Blue Bombers — CP FILE--An artist's rendition of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers proposed stadium is shown in a handout photo. Media mogul David Asper, along with representatives of the federal, provincial and municipal governments, announced a deal Thursday to build a 30,000-seat stadium by the summer of 2011 on the University of Manitoba campus in the city's south end. It will replace the 55-year-old Canad Inns stadium west of downtown. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Winnipeg Blue Bombers

David Asper’s long-term goal of owning the Winnipeg Blue Bombers has taken a back seat to the football club’s short-term goal of finding a new home, under the terms of the latest deal to build a new stadium.

On Wednesday, Premier Greg Selinger, Mayor Sam Katz and Bomber board chairman Ken Hildahl stood inside a leaky, pigeon-guano-covered concourse in 57-year-old Canad Inns Stadium and unveiled a plan to begin building a 33,000-seat, $115-million football stadium. Construction is expected to begin at the University of Manitoba this spring.

The terms of the deal include the provincial government taking out a $90-million loan to finance the bulk of the stadium’s construction costs, with $15 million more coming from the football club and $10 million from Asper’s Creswin Properties. Construction will be completed in time for the 2012 Canadian Football League season, Selinger, Katz, Hildahl and Asper pledged.

"No more news conferences about agreements being signed," Asper said.

He must raise another $90 million and effectively repay the entire provincial loan by March 1, 2016, if he wants to assume control of the non-profit Winnipeg Football Club.

Asper said he can still accomplish that goal by developing The Elms, the 650,000-square-foot upscale mall Creswin intends to build on the Polo Park land currently occupied by Canad Inns Stadium. The city plans to sell Creswin the land at fair market value, believed to be about $30 million, once the company has secured enough tenants to proceed.

Creswin’s difficulty in securing tenants for The Elms project — originally a prerequisite for the new stadium — is what led the Selinger government to step in with a loan. Asper now hopes the retail project will open in 2013.

He said he’ll repay the provincial loan with revenue from The Elms as well as a new private loan he’ll take out based on his future equity in the property.

If this plan fails, the provincial loan will be repaid from new municipal and provincial property taxes on the Polo Park land. Currently, the Bombers do not pay property taxes on Canad Inns Stadium.

The city and province plan to use tax-increment financing legislation to make this work. Normally, this funding mechanism is used as an incentive to develop blighted areas, not successful commercial neighbourhoods such as Polo Park.

Selinger and Katz acknowledged the incongruity, but characterized the property-tax plan as simply a backup measure. "David will show in the weeks to come his readiness to move forward on this project," the premier said of Asper’s ability to repay the $90-million loan.

The mayor was slightly less optimistic. "I am confident that he is totally confident he can repay it," Katz said.

Asper said it’s unclear what will happen if Creswin pays back some of the loan, but not all of it. St. Norbert Coun. Justin Swandel, who represents the University of Manitoba, said more due diligence must take place to deal with this possibility.

The Winnipeg Football Club, meanwhile, will come up with its $15-million contribution to the project by selling naming rights and luxury seats at the new stadium and also contributing proceeds from a Grey Cup to be held within five years of the venue’s opening.

Other new aspects of the deal include a city contribution of $2.5 million toward recreation improvements at the University of Manitoba that will coincide with the construction of the new stadium. This comes on top of $5 million from the provincial government and the federal government’s $15-million contribution toward a new fitness centre and the refurbishment of University Stadium.

The new Bomber and Bisons stadium will be expandable to 40,000 seats, not 45,000. All other aspects of what’s now a $137.5-million stadium/recreation project remain in place.

City council must approve its end of the latest deal on April 28.

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca