A planned new C$94 million arena and events centre for the Canadian city of North Battleford will be a city-owned, regionally supported venue.
The City of North Battleford said that with the conclusion of work by the Regional Arena & Events Centre Steering Committee, North Battleford City Council voted to proceed with pursuing the project as a municipally owned entity.
The new venue is replacing the aging Access Communications Centre.
A municipally owned parcel of land next to the InnovationPlex Recreation & Cultural Centre has been identified as the preferred site for a new arena and events centre.
The proposed twin-pad facility would span more than 121,000 square feet and provide an inclusive, accessible space for sport, culture, emergency preparedness, and community connection.
The city-owned, regionally supported venue is also expected to drive economic growth, creating more than 200 jobs during construction and generating an estimated C$58 million in local spending.
The Steering Committee found that while regional stakeholders across the Battlefords expressed strong support for a new facility through the process, generally there was not broad interest in a shared ownership and governance model.
And with the City facing a decision about the future of the existing Access Communications Centre (ACC), Council authorized City Administration to proceed with planning for a city-owned arena and events centre.
Mayor Kelli Hawtin said, “It’s been a number of months that we’ve been working with a steering committee evaluating a regionally-owned facility.
“We have a lot of regional support, but not necessarily support for a joint ownership model. So, tonight administration brought this to council to understand if council would proceed with moving forward with a city-owned and regionally supported facility.
“Council authorized that this evening, which is going to put us right to work. We’ll be working on applying for federal and provincial grants.”
The new arena and events centre, with an estimated cost of C$94 million, would require external funding sources due to the project size and scope.
This would include funding support from federal and provincial governments and a community-driven fundraising initiative.
In addition, communities throughout the Battlefords region have submitted letters to indicate their support for this project to assist the City in its pursuit of funding opportunities.
The City of North Battleford will apply to the Government of Canada for federal infrastructure funding while continuing to advocate for a matching investment from the Province.
Earlier this year, City Council approved a municipal contribution of $15 million toward the project while the Town of Battleford, RM of Battle River, and the RM of North Battleford have each passed resolutions to provide capital contributions toward the project.
Combined with support from a local fundraising campaign, these commitments will form the required local contribution.
The REC Group is working with DCG Philanthropic to secure corporate and individual donations in support of the new arena and events centre.
The fundraising committee will now start raising money for the project. The goal of the fundraising committee is to raise C$20 million for the project.
Hawtin said, “DCG Philanthropic has been working with the fundraising committee volunteers. They’ve done what’s called a quiet phase. They’ve got a bit of understanding of the interest in terms of interested parties that would like to contribute to a facility like this.
“They were waiting on the details. Where will this be located? What size of facility will this be? We’ve got a more clear answer for them now, and they’re ready to go.”
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