Moncton girds for testy convention centre debate

Moncton council will be receiving an update at a meeting on Monday night about the controversial proposal to build a downtown sports and entertainment centre on the old Highfield Square Mall location.

A new downtown event centre could cost $100 million to construct and the city has until July to decide whether it will get behind the project and purchase the old Highfield Square Mall property.

The last time the proposed sports and entertainment complex was raised at council it sparked an intense debate among councillors.

Coun. Daniel Bourgeois said he supports the project but he has concerns about the overall budget. He also warned that councillors should not become "giddy cheerleaders" for the proposal.

In December, Bourgeois said he believed the cost of the centre would be $165 million based on cost overruns with other city projects in recent years.

Bourgeois said councillors shouldn't be trying to sell the idea to constituents. He said if the city is going to study other successful centres, he said it should also study failed centres, of which he said there are many throughout the region.

Not a new concept

But Coun. Dawn Arnold said the city is proceeding cautiously on the proposal.

"I don't consider myself a giddy cheerleader, I mean this is not a new concept, I'm not entirely sure where this controversy is coming from," she said.

Arnold said she hopes city councillors can keep the name calling to a minimum and get back to business.

'Our downtown is suffering right now, and we're going to have to do something to revitalize it.' — Coun. Dawn Arnold

She said the next major decision will come in July when the city must commit to the project and buy the old Highfield Square property.

"We're doing really well, but we can't sit on our laurels. I believe we have to move forward and in order to do that we are going to have to make a decision," she said.

"Our downtown is suffering right now, and we're going to have to do something to revitalize it."

Moncton paid $25,000 in 2012 to buy an option from Warren Gate Investment Inc. to purchase the downtown piece of real estate. The property is worth an estimated $6 million.

City staff have estimated that if the land deal is finalized by September 2013, the centre could be open by 2017.

Moncton also already asked four local architects to design concepts for the new facility. All of the renderings, which were released in 2012, featured a 10,000-seat arena and a convention centre, as well as a shopping centre, restaurants, condos and an outdoor space.

It is still not clear how the project would be funded.

P3 Canada, a federal Crown corporation, rejected Moncton’s funding request of $25 million toward the centre more than a year ago.