Council approves share of new stadium cost

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/04/2010 (5960 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

City council has approved its end of a $137.5-million plan to build a new CFL stadium and conduct recreation improvement at the University of Manitoba.

Council voted 13-1 to approve a complex deal that will see the city sell the existing Canad Inns Stadium site to David Asper’s Creswin Properties at fair market value, a figure that will be determined by city and Creswin property appraisers.

Creswin will then attempt to build a 700,000-square-foot retail development called The Elms on the old stadium site and use revenue from that project as well as equity to obtain a loan that will in turn pay off $75 million of a separate $90-million stadium-building loan the province will provide the Winnipeg Football Club.

If Creswin can’t build The Elms, the city will sell the existing stadium site to someone else. The city and province will then use new property taxes from the Polo Park site to pay back the stadium-building loan.

The city and province don’t collect a penny in tax revenue from Canad Inns Stadium right now, under the terms of a decade-old financial bailout of the Winnipeg Football Club.

After an hour-long council discussion, only Transcona Coun. Russ Wyatt voted against the plan.

Wyatt wanted to hold a referendum on the stadium, but no other councillor would second his motion.

Wyatt said he would prefer to see domed stadium rise downtown as part of an effort to expand the Winnipeg Convention Centre.

Couns. Bill Clement (Charleswood) and Mike O’Shaughnessy (Old Kildonan) are absent today.