New plan for old stadium site?

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This article was published 26/11/2010 (5616 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The plan to complete a new football stadium at the University of Manitoba might involve a mixed-use development in Polo Park instead of the luxury mall envisioned by David Asper’s Creswin Properties.

In the latest morsel of information to dribble out about a final stadium deal, Mayor Sam Katz and Premier Greg Selinger said they’re considering the idea of housing, retail stores and other commercial ventures rising on the existing Canad Inns Stadium site — if, in fact, Creswin winds up out of the project.

Since July, when the first questions arose about the actual cost of a 33,000-seat Canadian Football League facility planned for the U of M’s Fort Garry campus, the city, province, Creswin, Winnipeg Football Club and the university have been trying to rework their plan to complete a project initially pegged at $115 million, but now believed to be somewhere in the vicinity of $160 million to $200 million.

Creswin, which has been developing the new stadium, initially hoped to purchase the existing stadium site and build a high-end retail development called The Elms — and then use profits from the mall to pay back a $90-million commercial loan.

Over the past few weeks, the other stadium stakeholders have hinted Creswin is on the way out. Their backup plan still involves selling Canad Inns Stadium and then using city and provincial property taxes emanating from a new development at the Polo Park site to pay back a provincial stadium construction loan.

The ideal replacement for Canad Inns Stadium would be a mixed-use development, Katz said Thursday.

“We’re looking at everything. There’s no doubt from the (property) department’s point of view, they definitely feel if it’s not an Elms sort of development, (it should be) a mixed-use development with residential, commercial and retail,” Katz said. “I’m a big fan of mixed-use. It makes so much sense.”

Premier Greg Selinger confirmed a mixed-use development is being eyed for the existing stadium site, but neither he nor Katz would say whether the residential component would involve rental apartments or condominiums.

“The mayor and all of us are looking at what kind of development can occur at Polo Park, because it’s a class-A site in this city,” Selinger said.

Sources close to the stadium discussions peg the potential sale price for Canad Inns Stadium and the surrounding parking lots at $25 million to $30 million or more on the open market.

The city wants to use the proceeds of the sale to improve roads in the busy Polo Park neighbourhood, but the province wants the city to spend at least part of that cash on the new football stadium, say sources close to discussions.

Katz has negotiated in public with Selinger before. Early this year, the two leaders appeared to spar about Winnipeg’s new police helicopter and police-cadet program.

Both the mayor and premier say they would like to settle the stadium deal as soon as possible. An announcement about a deal that would see the Winnipeg Football Club absorb more responsibility for the stadium cost is expected next week.

Katz said all the stakeholders are looking over the club’s business plan for the new stadium. The building under construction at the northwest corner of Chancellor Matheson Road and University Crescent would provide the Winnipeg Blue Bombers with more revenue from concessions, luxury boxes and naming rights.

Katz said it is important to ensure construction costs for the completed building are fixed.

“No one wants to go forward on any type of project unless it starts off with a guaranteed maximum price,” he said.

One aspect of the deal has not changed: Ottawa, the province and the city still plan to make $22.5 million of recreation improvements to the University of Manitoba as part of the stadium plan.

The federal government plans to spend $15 million on a refurbished University Stadium and a new U of M leisure centre, while the province and city have pledged $5 million and $2.5 million, respectively, toward this component of the project.

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca

bruce.owen@freepress.mb.ca