Sudbury to select consultant to develop plan for new downtown arena

City council is being asked to award a $200,000 contract next week to a consultant tasked with fleshing out the details of the new, $200 million arena in Sudbury’s downtown.

Ron Bidulka, who developed the plan for the city’s ill-fated Kingsway Entertainment District, is now the managing partner with KKR Advisors.

Should the firm receive the single-source contract, Bidulka would have a similar role in helping the city build and open the new events centre by 2028, said a staff report for council’s July 9 meeting.

“Mr. Bidulka has successfully advised on the development, sale, acquisition, valuation, financial assessment and structuring of more than $45 billion in real property transactions and development projects,” the report said.

“Mr. Bidulka’s expertise spans a range of development projects and facilities, including land, mixed-use projects, residential projects, land value capture opportunities, office, retail, hotels, and seniors’ residences.”

Specifically, the firm’s tasks would include recommending a location for the arena to maximize its economic potential.

“This includes market soundings with local and other real estate developers and investors to discuss prospective economic development opportunities associated with the event centre,” the report said.

Other tasks include a traffic study (including parking needs), a geotechnical review of the soil, potential associated uses for surrounding properties and working with staff on “potential development revenues (from land sales and development fees) and property taxes (both new and incremental) generated from properties located in the vicinity of the event centre.”

Bidulka previously negotiated agreements – or term sheets -- with the Sudbury Wolves and the Sudbury Five, the main tenants of the arena, when the arena was scheduled to be built on The Kingsway. His duties would include doing so again.

“The term sheets outline the key terms of the lease agreement being the amount of rent the team will pay in the new building, how various revenue streams will be shared between the stakeholders, including, but not limited to, revenue from sources such as advertising, food and beverage,” the report said.

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“A detailed lease agreement follow the term sheets.”

If approved by city council, Bidulka would begin working on the project later this month, with an eye on beginning construction in 2026.

Read the full report here.