SASKATOON -- City Hall won’t be able to determine a best location for a potential downtown arena in Saskatoon until later this year.
As negotiations have progressed, it has become evident that more time will be needed to sort out the necessary details, the city said in a news release.
“As one of the most significant projects the city is likely to undertake in the next decade, we are investing significant efforts to ensure pre-planning and site analysis is thoroughly completed,” Dan Willems, director of technical services, said in the release.
"This file is extremely active and we are currently working with landowners and key stakeholders.”
In a report coming to City Council on Monday, administration will provide an update on the site selection process for a potential Downtown Event and Entertainment District, which includes:
- Researching best practices and reviewing the experience of other cities in developing comparable downtown event entertainment districts;
- Engaging the services of two external advisory firms with experience in the development of arena/convention centre/entertainment districts to gain insight into aspects such as site design, patron access, site access (loading/unloading, etc.) and other technical considerations that will influence the feasibility of potential sites; and,
- Negotiating with owners of potential private sites, in addition to assessing all potential sites on city-owned property.
Once negotiations with private site owners have progressed further, administration will report back to council on the preferred site options and recommended public engagement strategy, the release said.
The public will be able to provide input on all sites that were considered reasonable options before council is asked to formally approve a preferred location, according to Willems.
