(Submitted photo/City of Prince Albert)

By Susan McNeil

Borrowing approved

City of P.A. to borrow $18M to allow for pool/arena donor schedules

Feb 13, 2024 | 6:00 AM

In a vote split that was hardly a surprise to anyone following the construction of Prince Albert’s new aquatics centre and hockey arenas over the last few years, city council voted in favour of an $18 million bridge loan to accommodate businesses donating to the project.

Councillors Terra Lennox-Zepp, Tony Head and Charlene Miller were all opposed while the remainder of council was in support of the new borrowing.

“When a group is going to give money, it is over five years,” said Coun. Dennis Ogrodnick. “If we were to get all that money this year, we wouldn’t have to borrow this $18 million.”

The $18 million loan is not a cost increase and will not be funded by taxpayers, said Mayor Greg Dionne. Its sole purpose is to allow donors to spread their gifts over five years instead of forwarding the entire amount in 2024. The loan has a five-year amortization period.

Coun. Lennox-Zepp said she would like to see the project paused.

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She said the city will pay $1.8 million interest in 2024 alone for the existing loans to help pay the municipal portion of the $118 million total costs.

“It would be financially irresponsible of us as a city to incur a further $18 million loan on this project,” she said. “I am concerned that we as a city council have also paid $700,000 to a company to do philanthropic work to find sponsorship. It is obvious that we would put a hold on this project until we are in a position that we are able to pay for it.”

The idea of pausing the project, which is on budget and on schedule to be completed in about 10 months, did not sit well with most other councillors, who quickly shot the notion down.

“We’ve got buildings being built – in progress – but let’s halt it and let the work sit still. Well, that’s ridiculous. That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard,” said Coun. Blake Edwards.

The original cost of the twin pad hockey arena and the aquatics centre was $60 million, with about 2/3 of that coming from federal and provincial grant money.

However, pandemic-related inflation rates of 30 to 50 per cent jumped that to well over $100 million, with council opting to continue the project by borrowing more in 2022. Edwards pointed to the tripling of the cost to build the Victoria Hospital addition as proof of the impact of inflation.

Construction on the pool and arenas started in June of 2022.

Fundraising for some of the project was always part of the plan. Dionne said they have been given $6 million already and local businesses have already promised the remainder. Allowing them to give the money over five years has positive tax benefits for the donors. This is the work the philanthropic company has been hired to do.

Once the large-scale fundraising has been completed, campaigns for smaller donations from the community will begin and that will be soon, said Dionne.

He added that naming rights and sponsorship opportunities are still up for grabs and will be doled out in scale.

Some of the economic benefits have already been calculated. Edwards said that families that have been driving to Melfort to use their wave pool will now stay in Prince Albert and Ogrodnick pointed out that the Prince Albert Raiders, the local WHL team, adds between $9 and $11 million to the economy every year.

The second phase of the project is the building of a 4,500-seat event centre that will also host the Raiders.

Dionne said that four visiting WHL teams have already booked rooms in the new hotel in The Yard District, near the pool and arena construction site. Previously, they always opted to stay in Saskatoon to play games there and then drove to Prince Albert for their follow-up games but did not stay overnight.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com