Remember when part of the sell of a new arena would be that Edmonton would be able to host the draft or all-star game?
10 years in and nada
Haven't hosted a draft in 30 years. Haven't hosted an all-star game in 35+
But hey, at least we got to see Tampa win the Stanley Cup in an empty building during covid.
Remember all the false promises the Oilers made about the arena?
-Would feature skywalk seating where fans could buy tickets in the catwalks and view the game just the press could. This was axed.
Arena would have much superior ice infrastructure and Hvac (which has broke down multiple times in new arena)
Whole concourse and building was supposed to be tiled instead of just concrete.
-New technology in the build would allow fans in their seats to be able to track bathroom waiting lines, concessions lines and or order right from their seats
-Arena would have 180M in the latest tech-jumbo-projection quality that was going to bring the best pre game and effects seen anywhere in the league. (lol they have tech, they barely use it, the production still pales compared to several rinks)
There would be massive food options aside from concessions. Every type of food imaginable. They've really underdone that.
Ford Hall was also reduced in size from original plans.
Won't be lineups or crowding in concourse areas. lol Won't be long lines for bathrooms, lol
Other concerns are that the New arena is possibly a shelf life lemon. Within years of build some of the exterior cladding was coming off presenting a danger especially in wind. Roof panels that came off. Hvac that had to be improved, fixed several times and found to be not sufficient. Interior floods caused by inadequate plumbing, drainage. Water line breaks. Cheap drywall everywhere. Its a cheap build arena with flashy exterior design and cladding. So much of the money as stated was thrown away on poorly used tech.
