Saskatoon council selects Midtown as site for future arena

Saskatoon’s city council selected the Midtown Shopping Centre North Parking Lot as the site of the future arena, during a special meeting on Wednesday.

“As Council’s strategic lead for downtown development, this location allows for efficient use of existing land and infrastructure, and maximizes opportunities to attract new residential and commercial investments in the heart of our city,” Advisory Group co-chair Councillor Cynthia Block said in a city news release.

Mayor Charlie Clark said the move is the right direction for downtown.

“As we continue to grow and become a more global city, we want the residents in our city and our province to be able to experience world-class events in the heart of a thriving downtown. It will be a gathering place that can bring our diverse community together and drive economic investment, all part of creating a strong future for the children growing up today,” he said.

The arena will take years to develop, according to the news release.

As part of the decision-making progress, the city gathered feedback as they considered the two downtown sites identified, including the Midtown and the city yards.

Staff will now be able to work on conceptual designs and other planning for the project, including funding.

“At this point next year, our goal is to have a proposed funding strategy in front of City Council and be in a position to approach other orders of government to get their commitment to support the project,” director of technical services Dan Willems said.

PARKING CHALLENGES

One problem identified with the Midtown site is parking, something the city says it will plan for.

“We believe this challenge can be overcome through information sharing on the current inventory of existing on-and off-street paid parking, private stalls that could be converted, and new parking facilities planned to be constructed within walking distance,” Willems said.

Willems also said parking concerns may diminish as the city’s transportation expands.

“The future bus rapid transit routes will connect the district to the entire city and will be able to move many people in and out of the area avoiding the worry over parking Downtown,” he said.

As part of the project, council has directed that there be Indigenous placemaking.