Downtown entertainment complex should consider ‘local’ says Saskatoon mayor

Saskatoon Mayor Cynthia Block says she’s heard the talk about considering a local solution for managing and operating the new arena and convention centre in the future Downtown Event and Entertainment District (DEED).

Speaking on the Evan Bray Show on Thursday, Block said she was at the North Saskatoon Business Association luncheon on Jan. 23rd at TCU Place, when members of SaskTel’s board of directors made their pitch to potentially run and operate the new facilities.

Read more:

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Listen to the full interview here:

“It’s a reminder to us how lucky we are to have that (SaskTel)  facility … the management has been incredible,” she told Bray.

In late October, Saskatoon city council deferred a decision to approve a revised framework agreement with Oakview Group 360. Council is expected to once again review the agreement in March.

Now Block says, in her opinion, more consideration should be given to a “local” solution. The original thinking was that an outside partner needed to come in “really strong,” with capital dollars and an operating plan.

“I think what we heard from local folks is that we should take another look at local, and really ask ourselves – what are the upsides of both, and what is our long term strategy,” she said.

Block wondered whether the OVG strategy was where the city, province and the country as a whole is heading, or whether there could be another Canadian- made, or Saskatoon -made solution.

“I think many of us are having a pause,” she added.

When asked whether she was re-thinking her support of the OVG framework, she didn’t answer directly.

“I think there’s a sentiment in our city and in our province and (in) our country that the buy-local piece means something different in the era that we live in right now,” she said.

Coun. Zack Jeffries said it’s important to look critically at all of the options available.

“Certainly there are some potential benefits to working with a third-party operator that has a lot of experience in this industry.

“But at the same time I think it’s important to note that our folks over at SaskTel Centre have been very effective at running that facility efficiently, at generating a profit,” he said.

So far, council has approved moving forward with a merger between both SaskTel Centre and TCU Place.

The move would happen over the next two years and be completed by 2027.

According to a recent administration report, combining the two organizations, which are owned by the City of Saskatoon, supports the DEED.

“If City Council ultimately chooses to utilize a private partner to operate the future facilities, the transition from a single governance entity to the private partner will be more simple than transitioning two separate entities to a partner. Or if the city council decides to operate the future DEED project with a controlled corporation structure, the idea was always for a single entity to oversee DEED,” it read.

The city said amalgamation now supports either operating model.

SaskTel Centre’s response

“I’m glad to see Mayor Block talking about the importance of taking a long-term view of the DEED project and seriously considering local options,” said SaskTel Centre’s Finance Chair Trevor Jacek in a statement.

He said SaskTel Centre is “excited about the prospect of a new arena and the entire DEED project. How we manage it and how much value stays here in Saskatoon are extremely important.”

Last week, the SaskTel Centre board and team spoke publicly about the current team’s capabilities and recent success, with Jacek explaining why “it is more than capable of running a modern facility.”

“We’re confident that the SaskTel Centre team can effectively operate the DEED if the City decides to not engage a third-party operator and are grateful that we were able to share that message with the Mayor as well as City Councilors, Administration and members of the business community that attended the event,” he said.

– with files from 650 CKOM’s Marija Robinson