The many Reasons & Benefits of Saving the Edmonton Coliseum!
We are calling on the help of Edmontonian’s far and wide to help Save Edmonton’s Coliseum! You can show your support by signing the petition to declare it a historical site. There is much we can do by supporting the vision of local sports, entertainment venues, local shops and businesses, and desperately needed public social service opportunities. All of which can support world class events out of the still very much structurally sound Edmonton Coliseum.
Here are just some of the reasons to show your support to Save the Coliseum!
1. All these points have been well researched and verified with our sources:
2. By saving the building and allowing for additional development Tennis Alberta would build a eight court indoor facility. We have even spoken to an individual who would like to build an indoor soccer facility in the name of her father.
3. That part of the city is in short supply of basketball courts and special area programs. It would also be a great opportunity for REACH (Edmonton’s community social support group) to play a role.
4. By revisiting the buildings use, it can be a real catalyst for neighborhood commercial development not necessarily new but supporting existing
5. The City plans to develop the site as part of a residential project and spend a fortune to service the lands as well as redo the LRT. This will save the LRT redevelopment costs and given the City’s history of redevelopment like Blatchford, Edmontonians will save a fortune.
6. In realistic terms who would want to live on the corner of 118 ave and Wayne Gretzky Drive? So the land will sit vacant. Our plan has a number of solutions to remedy that problem.
Here are some additional important points & ideas worth noting. All have been well researched and verified with our sources:
- Research proves the Edmonton Coliseum is structurally sound as is…the city all along has misled the public claiming the Coliseum can not be repurposed. This is not the case…
- A valuable asset with an estimated value of 127 to 144 million dollars.
- The city wants now to disassemble the Coliseum, and increase your property taxes by 5 percent per year to raise 35 million to take the building down. Two years ago Clarke Builders did an estimate of $50 million what is the real cost? Another 53 million to prepare the lands for sale to private developers. My plan saves Property owners that money conservatively estimated at 103 million dollars and a tax increase of five percent a year.
- Repurposing the Coliseum would provide a far more affordable, cost-effective, and fiscally responsible option to the city’s approved exhibition development plan.
- It would help satisfy community needs years ahead of the approved exhibition development plan.
- How do we save Edmontonian’s 88 million dollars worth in property tax increases to develop exhibition lands?
- Firstly, the city should have asked for more funding and directed another million dollars to the tourism relief fund in addition to the 3.7 million dollars from the support funding grant announced by Edmonton Centre MP Randy Boissonault And Edmonton’s Rhonda Norman for the Coliseum as they have for The Muttart Conservatory, Edmonton Valley Zoo, and Fort Edmonton Park, Secondly utilize part of the ten-year bilateral support from 2019 funding for affordable housing finally announced recently by the province And finally to go after and be included in the affordable housing “Accelerator Fund”, announced by Federal Minister Ahmed Hussen of 4 Billion dollars to build 100 thousand homes.
- Enhancements added to the Coliseum would feature a covered community pool with showers, lockers, and four interactive tennis, peanuckle, and badminton courts, connected by a breezeway to a resort casino, hotel, and retail spaces with spa and salon. River Cree Resorts is a good successful model.
- The Collision will be utilized for many fundraisers supporting funded programs like TAP, nonprofits, and many, many more organizations our communities can get behind to improve the overall well-being of all Edmontonian’s.
- By saving the building and allowing for additional development Tennis Alberta would build an eight-court indoor training facility.
- We have even spoken to an individual who would like to build an indoor soccer facility in the name of her father.
- That part of the city is in short supply of basketball courts and special area programs. It would also be a great opportunity for REACH (Edmonton’s community social support group) to play a role.
- Would add a resort-style hotel with an attached apartment block to provide affordable rental space with a rent-to-own option.
- Preschool with 24 hour daycare. A multipurpose educational facility, housing all levels of grades from elementary to both junior and senior high school.
The Edmonton Coliseum Presentation To PCCL
Accreditation To:
Anthony Oliver
Civics Director
Parkdale Cromdale Community League
Visit us at www.parkdalecromdale.org
We acknowledge that our community is located in Treaty 6 territory, on the traditional meeting grounds and home for the Cree, Saulteaux, Niitsitapi (Blackfoot), Métis, and Nakota Sioux Peoples
These are my notes on the presentation delivered.
All great points to be shared are a combination of those provided mainly by Mr. Stephen Mandel And Myself.
The petition would also deny the city from raising our property taxes an extra five percent a year to fund the demolition.
In doing so, our first order of business was to talk with those who are familiar with the structural integrity of the building, and searching came up with RJC Engineering. Speaking with one of their senior people, who is very familiar. His company has maintained and worked on the building from the beginning. Without going into all the supporting history, “The Edmonton Collisium continues to be a structurly sound building as is…” Directly contradicting the city, indicating the building can not be repurposed. If structurly altered, their company would need to be called in as a matter of process and developing a safe transition. As the building sits,vad of 2021. Its value to the city was pegged at over 127 million, a very valuable asset.
Our vision is to restore the ability to host events and entertainment that complement our city and established venues. The Collisium will allow for the overflow of events, sport, and entertainment which would be passed over due to already booked venues. Further, it allows smaller venues to host those requiring larger capacity.
Thought this would be of interest to The Stingers as the Expo Centre which only seats less than 4000 people. My idea would also include exhibition matches with NBA teams, like the Raptors who have been here before. Have yet to go into depth with Stephen Mandel and the Alberta Basketball Association. Unlimited possibilities.
There should be no problem incorporating a transportation hub that the city is calling for as the LRT is there with bus service access from both 118th Avenue and Gretzky Drive. There is plenty of space to accommodate both service, security, police, fire, EMS with training space specially designed to meet their needs and named after our fallen and remembered heroes. Retail space, offering shelter, rest stations, park and ride, ETS and commercial bus terminal access.
Equally important. We can address community needs with a Community Activities Centre offering meeting rooms, ticket offices for all local interested venues, a medical centre, digital imaging and a safe, well-staffed injection site. Rooms for the displaced with full facilities, pharmacy, physiotherapy, chiro, and funded provincial programs like TAP. An indigenous meeting place for all native peoples that represent PCCL community treaty lands.
Would greatly value your support in this great endeavor.