An extra $700,000 in funding was allocated to complete the design of the large arena. (website/City of Prince Albert)

By Susan McNeil

Large arena design concept

Council freezes out motion to stop large arena design funding

Sep 5, 2023 | 8:30 PM

The design cost for the new event centre/large hockey arena – planned to be built next to the current construction that includes the new pool – will cost another $700,000 to complete the design phase.

City council approved the extra funding in a 7-3 vote at Tuesday’s regular meeting with opposition coming from Councillors Charlene Miller, Terra Lennox-Zepp and Tony Head.

“We have not yet had any meaningful public consultation to indicate if the public wants to pay these dollars to pursue this item,” said Lennox-Zepp, after making a pre-emptory motion to deny the extra money.

“We do that first before we spend an outrageous sum of money for a design that I believe the majority of the public do not want.”

Lennox-Zepp once again referred to the Community Services Master Plan that lays out a plan for new infrastructure, including public consultation.

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She said the plan actually says that youth centres should be built before new recreational facilities.

Other councillors disagreed, with Dennis Ogrodnick saying he ran on the issue of building a new arena that would house the Prince Albert Raiders hockey club and also have the seating capacity for other large events such as concerts.

Lennox-Zepp’s motion was defeated and replaced by another motion to pay for the extra money from the Civic Facilities Reserve.

The design costs are based on what was supposed to be a $55 million facility but those will be significantly higher, according to council’s briefing note from staff.

Increased costs are coming from adding one-half of the parking lot to the design, COVID-19 economic fallout and high inflation rates.

In 2022 alone, construction inflation was 19 per cent higher than 2021, which was over 20 per cent higher than 2020.

Adding the $700,000 will bring the large arena to the ‘shovel ready’ phase, which means it can be submitted for tender.

It will also give council more definitive costs.

Councillor Ogrodnick said the point of having the design concept ready is so that if a provincial or federal grant becomes available – or private funding – that the project is ready to go.

Money from the development levies in The Yard will be allocated to the facilities reserve to pay for the extra costs.

Other councillors said they think the public supports the project.

“Our city has to move forward with positive things like this. It can’t always be about crime, homelessness, poverty. Our city is more than that,” said Coun. Blake Edwards.

Mayor Greg Dionne also said that the master plan is not the be all and end all.

“A master plan in the future will be called a guide because that’s what it is,” he said.

The master plan referred to by Lennox-Zepp is five years old, Dionne said, and the city has changed a lot in that time.

Construction of the first phase of two small arenas and an aquatic centre is supposed to be done in about seven months.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com