In Sudbury, the planned Kingsway Entertainment District continues to have candidates talking ahead of October's municipal election.

One of the people running for mayor in Greater Sudbury, Patricia Mills, released a new poll that she says suggests how people might feel about the project.

The new poll she commissioned, asked people if they supported the new arena and casino project.

She says the results show support has declined

"I commissioned it because people at the doors were telling me they don't want to pay for it." said Mills.

The Oracle poll found support for a new multi-purpose entertainment centre is at 58%, a drop from 72% in June 2017.

Mills says it's because people in Sudbury are unhappy with the city's plan to pay for the project.

"We're going to build it, but we're going to have a better financial model. We're going to incorporate more participation from the participants, people are going to know exactly what we're getting ourselves into." said Mills.

The mayoral candidate won't commit to where she thinks the new arena should be built, saying she supports the most affordable option.

Fellow candidate, Dan Melanson, agrees that the city wants a new arena and he thinks it will be built on the planned Kingsway Entertainment District site.

"For now I think Kingsway is probably where it's going to be. It's pretty far down the tracks and I don't think you can turn that bus around right now." said Melanson.

Patricia Mills Platform

 

Council has already approved the Kingsway project, but depending on who is elected, it's still possible things could change.

"There is a chance that at any time council can reconsider their decisions, but I'm not sure why a council would reconsider that decision when six out of ten want the event centre built." said incumbent mayor Brian Bigger, running for re-election.

Mills, Melanson, and Bigger all say the future of the event centre needs to be resolved soon.

They say the project is just one of the priorities Sudbury wants addressed.