City reaches 8-month lease agreement on Mile One, still exploring future options

City officials in St. John's have reached a bridge deal with the owners of two professional sports teams, while they ponder a long-term plan for Mile One Centre.

The St. John's Edge and Newfoundland Growlers will take over the stadium for this season on a rental agreement, paying a base fee of $4,500 per game night while sharing food and beverage revenues with the city.

The teams will jointly handle marketing, sales and advertising.

While there's been discussion about selling the rink to the franchise owners, Irwin Simon and Dean MacDonald, Coun. Sandy Hickman said this deal doesn't hand over the keys and give full autonomy to the duo.

"This is a rental agreement for two sports teams within Mile One. That's all it is, simply put."

Midway through the season, Hickman said all parties involved will get together and figure out the next steps. The city has sought outside advice from consulting firm KPMG on what to do with the arena, after MacDonald and Simon made a pitch to buy it outright.

Mile One Arena costs the city about $2 million annually as expenditures exceed revenues.

City records lump Mile One's costs in with the St. John's Convention Centre across the street. Combined, the two buildings have cost the city $128,560,758 — including more than $27 million to build the arena between 1998 and 2001.

Fair deal for both sides, Hickman says

Part of the city's external review of the situation is how much they could sell Mile One Centre for.

They are also examining the possibility of a long-term lease, where the city would hand over full responsibility to Simon and MacDonald.

As of now, the city remains on the hook for maintenance costs, and will take home a portion of revenues from things like food and beverage. 

Hickman said the amount of money directed into the city's coffers by this lease agreement depends largely on the success of the teams, as a large part of the revenue will come from the money spent at Mile One by the fans.

"We'll certainly do OK on it. We 're not going to make a fortune on it, because our role is to get the teams in the building," he said. "We're not giving the building away by any means, but we're not trying to make it difficult for the teams to make their operations work."

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