Innova Park and downtown Port Arthur remained the two popular choices for residents at the events centre presentation on Wednesday.
More than a 130 people crowded into the Italian Cultural Centre for the afternoon presentation. The presentations focused on the three proposed locations -- Innova Park, downtown Port Arthur near the Water Street bus terminal and near the Thunder Bay International Airport.
The presentation looked at what a 6,000 to 6,500-seated event centre would look like if were built at one of those three locations.
Most of the people who came to that presentation told tbnewswatch.com they were in favour of the event centre being built in downtown Port Arthur.
Jan Inkster favoured that option because it went well with the other projects being developed.
“If the event centre has a progressive appearance and if it is ecofriendly, I think it would be great in our community,” Inkster said. “Whether it is needed or not, I haven’t seen a needs assessment yet so it’s hard for me to answer that. My gut feeling is the Fort William Gardens doesn’t really answer all of our venue needs.”
She added she wouldn’t want the new facility to take away from other venues like the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium and attract its own unique events.
Barb Midgley said the event centre would give more economic value to the city because it would allow for bigger conventions, tradeshows and concerts to come.
While she hasn’t picked a single spot yet, the two she said she liked the most were the waterfront and the location near the Thunder Bay airport.
She said both offered a place for people to go and socialize after an event.
“If you are out at Innova Park you go home,” Midgley said. “If you are at the marina you go to one of the bars and same with the one at the airport. Everyone says Duluth has this Duluth has that. Half the people here don’t have a vision of seeing Thunder Bay grow and they just want to stay status quo. You have to think ahead. We can’t afford not to have it.”
Ron Forbes said he thought the presentation was done professionally and was for the proposal. He said he preferred the downtown site because it offered the most parking.
“I had no idea that there was close to 4,000 parking available in the downtown core without any remedial work,” Forbes said. “I think what I learned at the presentation was the emphasis on the downtown core and all the positives that are there from parking to the restaurants to existing hotels. They all add to the downtown facility.”
He added the community has outlived the Fort William Gardens and that the city needs to have a new event centre.
But not everyone liked that option.
Dave Kennedy preferred the city build the event centre at the Innova Park location. He said the presentation was good and helped to clear up a few things he had questions about regarding parking downtown. For him that’s the main reason why the downtown option wouldn’t work. During the summer concerts, the city has to bus people from other areas.
He said that problem will only get worse if the event centre is downtown.
“Looking at the three locations I think the downtown one is ridiculous,” Kennedy said. “I think Innova Park is the one we should be thinking about. If we get a big arena downtown and you’re talking 6,500 people, how many vehicles are we going to have?”
Another positive feature of the Innova Park location is that it is in the centre of the city, he said. Both the airport and downtown would be too one sided, he said.
Kennedy added that nothing has to be torn down at the Innova Park location.
Larry, who refused to give his last name, agreed with Kennedy that the event centre should be built at Innova Park.
“Innova Park has better access,” Larry said. “You don’t have to worry about the parking, you don’t have to worry about the private parking like downtown and you can get your big trucks in and out of there. Downtown you can’t.”
But before that happens, he said he wanted the city to finish the marina project before starting the event centre.
“I’m a senior on a fixed income, I can’t afford the taxes on my houses as it is,” Larry said. “I would like it halted temporary. We need it but not at the moment.”
Follow Jeff Labine on Twitter @Labine_reporter
