Questions about the future of the SaskTel Centre building remain as the facility celebrates its 29th birthday.
CEO of the arena Will Lofdahl is considering the idea of a new facility downtown. He will be travelling to Edmonton on Monday with his management staff to tour Rogers Place and find out more about how the city is balancing the new downtown arena with the older coliseum in the north end of the city.
Members of Saskatoon's Future Advisory Committee in partnership with TCU Place will conduct a study to determine the feasibility of a downtown arena.
Lofdahl says his board is on the verge of hiring a consultant to determine the usefulness of the SaskTel Centre and how to prepare it for the future.
"Maybe the arena stays where it is right now and it gets refurbished at some time, or maybe the arena at some point in time goes somewhere else and moves next to TCU Place," he said. "What we want to do is have a plan that works for the citizens of Saskatoon in the long term.
Saskatchewan Rush owner Bruce Urban said if a downtown arena were to be approved, he’d put his money behind it.
“The greater the extent, the more finances I would put behind it,” Urban said. “If we were involved in a higher level in the arena, I would put a substantial amount of cash up front."
He calls it an investment in the future, saying it will create new jobs and spur economic growth.
The study of a downtown arena will begin in the next couple of weeks and be complete by the end of the summer.
---
Clarification: An early version of this story stated that Sasktel Centre CEO Will Lofdahl was pushing for a new downtown facility, when in fact, he says it is still being considered among other options.
