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
Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
'A huge difference': These adults born in the '90s partnered with their parents to buy homes in Ontario
An Ontario woman said it would have been impossible to buy a house without her mother – an anecdote that animates the fact that over 17 per cent of Canadian homeowners born in the ‘90s own their property with their parents, according to a new report.
OPINION No reunion between Prince Harry and the King signifies a setback for royal unity
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
How Drake and Kendrick Lamar's rap beef escalated within weeks
A long-simmering feud between hip-hop superstars Drake and Kendrick Lamar reached a boiling point in recent days as the pair traded increasingly personal insults on a succession of diss tracks. Here’s a quick overview of what’s behind the ongoing beef.
NEW For their protection, immigrants critical of China and India call for speedy passage of Canada's foreign interference legislation
Canadian immigrants threatened by hostile regimes are urging parliamentarians to quickly pass the 'Countering Foreign Interference Act' so they can feel safe living in their adopted home.
Ontario man devastated to learn $150,000 line of credit isn't insured after wife dies
An Ontario man found out that a line of credit he thought was insured actually isn't after his wife of 50 years died.
Spanish prosecutors recommend 2nd investigation into Shakira's taxes be thrown out
Spanish state prosecutors recommended Wednesday that an investigating judge shelve a probe into another alleged case of tax fraud by pop star Shakira.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.