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Thunder Bay banking on government arena money this spring

Confirmation on federal and provincial funding for a new Thunder Bay arena and convention hall likely won’t be announced until the end of April.
Arena_Conceptual
A new convention centre proposed by the City of Thunder Bay is not eligible for Federal Gas Tax funding, according to the federal government. (RENDERING SUPPLIED)

Confirmation on federal and provincial funding for a new Thunder Bay arena and convention hall likely won’t be announced until the end of April.

Thunder Bay Mayor Keith Hobbs and city staff expressed optimism in a March 18 press conference that Ottawa and Queen’s Park will deliver on their request for a combined $59 million to provide a new home for a professional hockey team and to build Northern Ontario’s only dedicated convention centre.

In recent weeks, city politicians have been intensively lobbying key federal and provincial cabinet ministers for their support as the clock ticks on attracting an American Hockey League franchise.

Hobbs said in his frequent discussions with federal Infrastructure Minister Denis Lebel, the minister gave no indication the funding won’t come to fruition.
“We’re not hearing bad things. I’m taking that as a positive for now.”

City staff are delivering a report to council on March 23 to ask for their approval to move to a fifth phase of development, namely the construction of the facility, provided senior government funding is secured. A decision doesn’t need to be made until March 26.

Speculation in the community had been building since the city had originally hoped to have government funding in place by March 31.

Construction must start this spring on the proposed $114-million Event and Convention Centre if the facility will be ready to host the team by September 2017.

In recent weeks, media reports and rumours have fuelled community speculation that the project would be downscaled if funding didn’t come through. Hobbs said that’s not the case, and the full project, with a 5,700-seat arena and 66,000-square-foot convention space, will be tabled as is.

If the feds and province don’t commit, “we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” said Hobbs.

Securing the provincial portion of $36 million shouldn’t be a problem since Thunder Bay is represented by two cabinet ministers in the Wynne government with Bill Mauro and Michael Gravelle.

Federally, it would have been dicey to convince Ottawa to pony up $23 million with the city served by Green Party MP Bruce Hyer and NDP member John Rafferty.
But Hobbs said Kenora MP Greg Rickford, the Conservative natural resources minister, has stepped up to take the political lead.

As the largest city project ever undertaken, the municipality’s share is $42 million, including $23 million stashed away in the Renew Thunder Bay fund with the remaining $16.9 million coming from a tax-supported debenture over a 25-year period.

“We’re trying to minimize the amount of debt and it spreads out the payment component,” said city manager Tim Commisso.

An estimated $9.5 million would come in private investment in the form of corporate sponsorship and arena naming rights. Thunder Bay Hydro would contribute $4.3 million to relocate a substation.

The city has a letter of intent with a development consortium that includes True North Sports and Entertainment, the owners of the Winnipeg Jets.
The parent club wants its minor league affiliate – currently located in St. John’s, NL – closer to the Manitoba capitol to better keep an eye on its prospects.
Some wondered if the city had lost its chance when True North elected to relocate its minor league team to Winnipeg to share space with the big league club at the MTS Centre.

But Councillor Joe Virdiramo, a project lead, assured all that the team is only being temporarily parked in Winnipeg until the new arena is built in Thunder Bay.
Hobbs added that True North executive chairman of the board Mark Chipman remains a “shrewd businessman” in keeping his plans close to his chest, but has given the city no indication that Thunder Bay is off his radar.

“We don’t see any change in his attitude.”

As with its controversial waterfront revival, the Event Centre proposal has been “the talk of the town” said Hobbs who framed the project as part of a larger city-building exercise that’s as important as road and sewer infrastructure.

Hobbs acknowledged many project naysayers have come from his generation of baby boomers who enjoyed many memories from attending events at Fort William Gardens when that arena was built in the 1950s.

“I see this as a legacy project for your children and grandchildren,” said Hobbs. “We’re going to plow ahead and build this city.”

With new restaurants and condos already being built in the city’s north end around the site of the Event Centre, Hobbs said the economic spinoffs outweigh the project costs.

“This is going to be that crowning piece in the north core.”

And with interest rates at an all-time low, Hobbs said now is the time to proceed. “If we wait another 10 years…what have we saved?”

Many project opponents have balked at the project scale and the onerous price tag, but city officials said both levels of government have made it clear, they won’t fund the construction of new hockey rinks alone.

“It allows us the best chance to attract the funding,” said city manager Tim Commisso.

The facility is forecasted to host 200 events annually and attract 32,000 new visitors to town.

Hobbs said he’s received encouragement from other northwestern Ontario mayors to build the facility and keep more consumer dollars in the region.

“We want to put Duluth out of business,” said Hobbs.