Kingsway Entertainment District back in front of city council Wednesday
The controversial Kingsway Entertainment District is back on the agenda at a special city council meeting Wednesday night.
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, city council commissioned a new study to determine whether the Kingsway is still the best location for a new arena.
City council already voted in favour of the location back in 2017, with Sudbury Mayor Brian Bigger making the tie-breaking vote.
In light of the special council meeting, KED developer Dario Zulich wrote a letter to Bigger asking for his support on the project once again.
"I believe that you and I have always been on the same page, that doing nothing is not an option, especially as we look to boost our local economy emerging from COVID," Zulich wrote.
"You have always had what is in the best interest of Greater Sudbury at heart, and we count on your leadership in your doing what’s right for our city and future."
Zulich said the event centre will include a hotel and casino, and said the project won’t proceed until partners in the KED have been properly vetted.
For the first time, Zulich put a timeline on getting shovels in the ground, outlining a six-month timeline to ensure all criteria are met, otherwise he would consider the project cancelled.
"We are completely aligned… there will NEVER be an event center built at the KED without a casino and hotel," the letter said.
Meanwhile, Downtown Sudbury released a statement ahead of council on Wednesday rejecting the findings in the newest report, prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
"It appears as if this is a report looking for content to support a predetermined conclusion," said the statement from Rob Jones, co-chair of Downtown Sudbury
"We were told this would be a fact-based report, and yet it is made up almost entirely of opinions and conversations with predictions of success on the Kingsway framed as facts, and downtown information ignored or dismissed."
The statement said that downtown parking issues were ignored as well as the Project NOW proposal that called for renovating the existing arena.
"The post-COVID reality of decreased demand for commercial space and retail square footage, due to increased e-commerce and work-from-home trends," was also ignored, the statement said.
The report will be presented at 6 p.m. during a special city council meeting. While no vote is scheduled, it is expected opponents of the project on city council will introduce a motion to stop the project.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
2 military horses that broke free and ran loose across London are in serious condition
Two military horses that bolted and ran miles through the streets of London after being spooked by construction noise and tossing their riders were in a serious condition and required operations, a British government official said Thursday.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.