Thunder Bay event centre vs Essar Centre in Sault Ste. Marie
The Essar Centre cost more than expected, but it brings in the bucks
The man who oversaw the completion of Sault Ste. Marie's event centre said Thunder Bay needs to keep a close watch on its finances as it moves forward with its proposed waterfront facility because costs can get out of hand.
But the $25 million Essar Centre is bringing in the tourism dollars, according to Nick Apostle, the city's Commissioner of Community Services.
Those tourism dollars are what make the complex profitable for the city despite operating losses of about $400,000 a year, he said, adding that there are reliable economic models that project how much different types of events will contribute to a city's economy.
Thunder Bay city council is currently debating whether or not to move forward with a proposed $114.7 million arena and conference centre that would seat 5700 and provide up to 66,000 square feet of conference space.
Sault Ste. Marie built their facility for less than a quarter of that price in 2006. It seats 4200.
"Our initial run at this thing was like $45 million, and then you have to scale it down because you can't do everything that everybody wants," Apostle said, adding the city designed the facility so it could add features as money became available.
The city originally thought the Essar would only cost $12 or $13 million, Apostle said, but changes in the construction industry drove the price up.
"There was a lot of talk about the cost of it and what happened," he said.
The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund chipped in on the project, leaving the municipality to shoulder about $17 million of the cost, Apostle added.
Additional fundraising lowered the burden on taxpayers.
Sault Ste. Marie also had an anchor tenant in the form of the Soo Greyhounds, with whom it inked a 20-year deal, Apostle said.
Corporate naming revenue generates additional revenue of about $150,000 a year, he added.