A proposed multiplex project for Thunder Bay is by no means a done deal, says city manager Tim Commisso.
But that's not stopping city administration from seeking public input as the planning phase moves into its next stage – narrowing down site locations and business models for more detailed study. The public will get that opportunity on June 1 and 2 from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., at a pair of open houses to be staged respectively at the Da Vinci Centre and Italian Cultural Centre.
Commisso, who has vocally backed the 6,500-seat project since he took the reins at city hall, said at some point in the near future Fort William Gardens will have to be replaced, and he’d prefer to start looking at options now, rather than waiting until the last minute.
“It’s just had its 60th anniversary, so we need to look ahead. And quite frankly, if this happens over the next three to five years, perhaps even longer, I think council will be pleased,” Commisso said Tuesday morning at a news conference held in the Gardens lobby.
“There’s no real sense of urgency right now. I think it’s just good planning to look ahead and look at a facility that quite frankly brings the community together, celebrates who we are, but also can attract and set the bar on Thunder Bay being a destination city for new events, for meetings, for conferences and conventions.
“Obviously sports will be a big component of that as well.”
Professional hockey returned to the Thunder Bay spotlight last week with the speculation the American Hockey League’s Manitoba Moose might be looking for a new home in the wake of the rumoured return of NHL hockey to Winnipeg.
However Commisso said that speculation – the city was said to be a leading contender, along with St. John’s, N.L. to land the Moose – is not driving his push to get the project built.
“We’ve started this process long before there was a discussion with what might happen in Winnipeg,” he said. “We’ve had one discussion essentially with the folks in Winnipeg. It’s a catch-22, because the reality of being able to attract a team like that, and they’re one of the top teams in the American Hockey League, is they need to know there is certainty around a facility that can be a long-term thing. It’s really preliminary and I wouldn’t want people to get their expectations up.”
The Newfoundland capital has since emerged as the favourite relocation site.
What Commisso does want is public input on where the rink should be located and how residents like to see it operated.
The latter will also be a part of the discussion Monday night, when council receives its latest update on the facility.
He's already got his own ideas to keep city subsidies to an absolute minimum.
“I’ll tell you right now the key to it is to limit the amount of debt, the amount of debentures that are required for the facility. If you can do that, you have the chance with good programming, you have a chance for the facility to operate at certainly no more than what it costs the city to operate the Gardens, which is about $600,000 a year,” Commisso said.
Council, through the Renew Thunder Bay fund, is expected to set aside about $25 million as its share of the project, money that will be used to leverage cash inputs from the federal and provincial governments, should it be available.
And what if the public gives an overwhelming no to the project next week? Commisso said he expects to hear some negativity, but generally he thinks the will of the community is to proceed.
How that happens is still up in the air.
“Everybody’s entitled to an opinion. These are public meetings. These aren’t meetings where people will make decisions. Council will ultimately make decisions on how it moves forward and ultimately council will decide whether they want to make a decision or if this is going to be something that goes to a ballot questions,” Commisso said.
“People have legitimate questions and concerns, and I think that’s important that we try to address them and hear from them.”
At-large Coun. Rebecca Johnson said the open house is an opportunity to have their say what they might like to see built.
What she’d like to see coming out of the discussion is location options, which she knows will be wide a varied. Administration, in a report issued earlier in the month, listed five locations, including airport lands off Arthur Street, Port Arthur Stadium, Innova Park, Pool 6 and the Water Street bus terminal.
“I also think I’d like to hear them say what kind of a centre do they want. Do they want one or two ice pads? Do they want a centre that’s a community facility that they can have conventions at? What is it that they want,” Johnson said.
“I think it’s important to hear what the community has to say. At the same point, I’d also like to hear what they have to say about financing it. Do they want a plebiscite?”
But that's not stopping city administration from seeking public input as the planning phase moves into its next stage – narrowing down site locations and business models for more detailed study. The public will get that opportunity on June 1 and 2 from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., at a pair of open houses to be staged respectively at the Da Vinci Centre and Italian Cultural Centre.
Commisso, who has vocally backed the 6,500-seat project since he took the reins at city hall, said at some point in the near future Fort William Gardens will have to be replaced, and he’d prefer to start looking at options now, rather than waiting until the last minute.
“It’s just had its 60th anniversary, so we need to look ahead. And quite frankly, if this happens over the next three to five years, perhaps even longer, I think council will be pleased,” Commisso said Tuesday morning at a news conference held in the Gardens lobby.
“There’s no real sense of urgency right now. I think it’s just good planning to look ahead and look at a facility that quite frankly brings the community together, celebrates who we are, but also can attract and set the bar on Thunder Bay being a destination city for new events, for meetings, for conferences and conventions.
“Obviously sports will be a big component of that as well.”
Professional hockey returned to the Thunder Bay spotlight last week with the speculation the American Hockey League’s Manitoba Moose might be looking for a new home in the wake of the rumoured return of NHL hockey to Winnipeg.
However Commisso said that speculation – the city was said to be a leading contender, along with St. John’s, N.L. to land the Moose – is not driving his push to get the project built.
“We’ve started this process long before there was a discussion with what might happen in Winnipeg,” he said. “We’ve had one discussion essentially with the folks in Winnipeg. It’s a catch-22, because the reality of being able to attract a team like that, and they’re one of the top teams in the American Hockey League, is they need to know there is certainty around a facility that can be a long-term thing. It’s really preliminary and I wouldn’t want people to get their expectations up.”
The Newfoundland capital has since emerged as the favourite relocation site.
What Commisso does want is public input on where the rink should be located and how residents like to see it operated.
The latter will also be a part of the discussion Monday night, when council receives its latest update on the facility.
He's already got his own ideas to keep city subsidies to an absolute minimum.
“I’ll tell you right now the key to it is to limit the amount of debt, the amount of debentures that are required for the facility. If you can do that, you have the chance with good programming, you have a chance for the facility to operate at certainly no more than what it costs the city to operate the Gardens, which is about $600,000 a year,” Commisso said.
Council, through the Renew Thunder Bay fund, is expected to set aside about $25 million as its share of the project, money that will be used to leverage cash inputs from the federal and provincial governments, should it be available.
And what if the public gives an overwhelming no to the project next week? Commisso said he expects to hear some negativity, but generally he thinks the will of the community is to proceed.
How that happens is still up in the air.
“Everybody’s entitled to an opinion. These are public meetings. These aren’t meetings where people will make decisions. Council will ultimately make decisions on how it moves forward and ultimately council will decide whether they want to make a decision or if this is going to be something that goes to a ballot questions,” Commisso said.
“People have legitimate questions and concerns, and I think that’s important that we try to address them and hear from them.”
At-large Coun. Rebecca Johnson said the open house is an opportunity to have their say what they might like to see built.
What she’d like to see coming out of the discussion is location options, which she knows will be wide a varied. Administration, in a report issued earlier in the month, listed five locations, including airport lands off Arthur Street, Port Arthur Stadium, Innova Park, Pool 6 and the Water Street bus terminal.
“I also think I’d like to hear them say what kind of a centre do they want. Do they want one or two ice pads? Do they want a centre that’s a community facility that they can have conventions at? What is it that they want,” Johnson said.
“I think it’s important to hear what the community has to say. At the same point, I’d also like to hear what they have to say about financing it. Do they want a plebiscite?”
