From $60M to $215M: A brief history of Sudbury’s efforts to build a new arena
As city council in Sudbury prepares to debate – again! -- the future of Sudbury Arena, here’s a quick look back at how residents got here.
It’s no secret that the 73-year-old Elgin Street barn is in bad shape. A discussion of staff reports and consultant recommendations goes back decades, but the current rink can’t hold modern concerts, isn’t accessible for everyone and shows its age with frequent equipment and other breakdowns.
But building anything new is expensive and controversial in any community and any major proposal attracts detractors.
The current debate arguably began in 2013, not long after the province approved Sudbury as a location for a casino.
Rumours hit town that Caesar’s Entertainment wanted to build the casino, and may be willing to include an arena as part of a major development downtown. Estimates at that time were around $60 million.
Writing for another news outlet in March 2013, I said at the very least, the city could reduce costs of a new build by working with the private sector: “While a new rink need not be quite as no-frills as the Sault’s $25-million Essar Arena, the Sault example proves you don’t have to spend $100 million to get a quality OHL arena.”
I was so naïve.
After Mayor Brian Bigger took office following the 2014 municipal election, council launched its so-called Big Projects initiative, where community groups were invited to make their pitch for transformational projects.
They included the Place des Arts, the only project that has been completed successfully. Other proposals included a convention centre, library and art gallery all downtown (dubbed ‘The Junction’), and a new arena, either downtown, in the South End or on the Kingsway.
After a series of studies and reports, city staff eventually recommended the downtown arena plan, which required the city to buy land in the Shaughnessy Street area downtown. The project by that time was going to cost about $100 million.
Bitter legal battle
While the downtown plan had the mayor’s support, it was defeated in a 2017 vote in favour of what would become the Kingsway Entertainment District. That plan would have seen a new arena, casino and hotel on property owned by Sudbury Wolves owner Dario Zulich.
But a bitter years-long legal battle ensued, led by people opposed to casinos and those opposed to building the arena anywhere but downtown.
While losing the court battles, opponents won the war by delaying the start of construction until global inflation and the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
When costs of the KED hit $215 million before the 2022 municipal election, support for the project largely disappeared.
Mayor Paul Lefebvre took office in 2022, still promising to address the issue. He got support from council to buy the downtown properties that were part of the original downtown arena plan.
A city staff report concluded that a major renovation would cost an amount close to the cost of a new build, but wouldn’t last as long. The report recommended building a new rink downtown on the Shaughnessy Street area properties the city purchased.
And Tuesday night, residents will learn whether a project that was too expensive for the Kingsway will be rejected again or whether the city’s decades-long arena debate is finally at an end.
The meeting will be carried live here beginning at 6 p.m.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Liberal MP says she's leaving politics over disrespectful dialogue, threats, misogyny
Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she won't run again in the next federal election, saying she has experienced misogyny, disrespectful dialogue in politics and threats to her life.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Ont. woman who faked pregnancy to defraud doulas arrested again on similar charges
Victims of a Brantford, Ont., woman who was sentenced to house arrest earlier this year for defrauding and deceiving doulas say they’re not surprised she’s been apprehended again on similar charges.
Eating disorders among youth skyrocketed during pandemic and so did associated costs, report finds
The number of young people experiencing eating disorders surged during the height of the pandemic as the social and economic costs skyrocketed too, a new pan-Canadian report has found.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.