In Today’s Sun… yes, Bruce Garrioch
”The way Andlauer looks at this, a downtown arena can't be the sole attraction. Postmedia has reported the groups that sat down with the National Capital Commission during the sale at Lebreton Flats were all looking for more than the seven acres currently available.
That's because in its current state, there would be room for a rink, a hotel and not much else. If the Senators are going go this route, they want it to be a destination where people can also gather on non-game nights to have a meal, maybe do some shopping or catch a movie.
Though Sutcliffe has mentioned several options for a new home for the Senators, sources say the leading contender is Bayview
Yards, which is located just west of Lebreton and north of Scott Street.
The site is approximately 13.5 acres, which is close to double the size of Lebreton. It's well-served by light-rail transit from the east and west, plus it's a transfer station from the south.
Andlauer pointed to the arena district in Edmonton that was built around the 20,000-seat Rogers Place Arena, which opened in Sept. 2016. The Oilers paid approximately $153 million of the more than $600-million arena project in Edmonton while the city fronted the rest of the money.
However, the city is receiving its money back through a rent deal with Oilers owner Darryl Katz, plus a ticket surcharge. Also, $100 million was provided for the project through different levels of government and it would make sense for the Senators to at least explore this route.
The city of Calgary and provincial officials in Alberta recently followed in the footsteps of the Edmonton deal.
The cost of the $1.2-billion project in Cowtown, which includes an arena and a district around it to replace the old Scotiabank Saddledome, calls for $537 million in funding from the city and $300 million from the province, while the Flames owners will chip in $356 million.
The area around the arena in Calgary will include a community rink, along with areas for people to gather indoors and outdoors.”
Andlauer is absolutely correct to point out these two situations, and should expect cooperation with all levels of Government he deals with, in regards with a relocation to the downtown area.
