On Monday morning, May 26th, 2025, we hosted our second face-to-face meeting with Councillor Karen Principe at Blenz Coffee. The sit-down allowed us to dive deeper into several key topics surrounding community well-being, city governance, and—of course—our continued mission to Save The Edmonton Coliseum.

While we found considerable common ground in our conversation, the complexity of issues at hand signaled the need for a follow-up round table in the near future. Points requiring further discussion include:

• Rising property taxes and the impact on families and local businesses

• Controversial implementation of bike lanes that restrict safe traffic flow

• Strategic support for the Coliseum redevelopment project

• Councillor Principe’s upcoming re-election and potential realignment from “BETTER Edmonton”

• Insights from Round Table #7 with Councillor Tim Cartmell

• A proposed meeting with MP Kerry Diotte to explore federal support

A significant financial highlight discussed was the reduction of property tax from 8.9% to 5.2%. We explored Councillor Michael Janz’s assertion that it could’ve gone even lower if the Province had taken full responsibility for collecting its Educational Tax Levy. A deeper breakdown and understanding from Karen on this matter is welcomed.

We also outlined a visionary, community-first repurposing of the Edmonton Coliseum:

Multi-Use Redevelopment Concepts:

• Education Hub: Converting 60 sky boxes per level into classrooms for K–12 use, accommodating up to 1,500 students per floor. These classrooms can also support summer school and adult education initiatives.

• Revenue Sharing: When not in use, the sky boxes can be leased for events, with 20% of revenue directly funding educational operations in the Coliseum.

• Community Medical Centre & Shelter: One level would be dedicated to semi-private care facilities, housing up to 240 patients. This includes a focus on design elements adopted from the Misericordia and Sherwood Park Community Hospital models, supported by government partnerships and split-the-pot lotteries.

• Business & Hospitality Opportunities:

  • Leasing space on the top floor to four restaurant/pub tenants at half market rates, with 20% of lease revenue directed back to the City.

  • Retail spaces and travel/tourism services on the main concourse.

  • Five resort-style hotels with adjoining rapid housing, supported by civic, provincial, and federal organizations—who will be exempt from lease payments to allow for essential service provision.

We advised Karen to remain strategically independent in her political path, especially as internal fractures begin to emerge within the BETTER Edmonton movement, notably following our Round Table session with Councillor Cartmell.

On the subject of political alignment, we discussed reaching out to:

• Tony Caterina, historically supportive of preserving the Coliseum

• Andrew Knack, who has previously shown interest in our vision

• Mohammed, and other potential candidates for mayor and council

• Ashley Salvador, who has yet to meet or share her updated position on the project

We reiterated Mayor Amarjeet Sohi’s correct stance against Coliseum demolition due to excessive cost—something that history continues to validate. Among the eight councillors, five voted to keep the Coliseum: Mayor Sohi, Karen Principe, Jennifer Rice, and Keren Tang. These are the community-minded leaders we continue to work with closely.

The Coliseum project is rapidly evolving into a national opportunity—a unique model for cost-saving, public-serving redevelopment that meets the city’s educational, medical, and economic needs without new construction burdens.

We’re also working to schedule a dedicated meeting with MP Kerry Diotte, who has a long-standing reputation for supporting grassroots and community-focused initiatives.

Last but not least, we expressed concern over bike lane policy and called for a return to common-sense traffic design, prioritizing safety for all: mandatory helmet laws, educational efforts for young cyclists, and rules of the road training.

As always, we continue building coalitions with elected officials, civic leaders, and private stakeholders. Round Table #6 is on the horizon—more updates soon.

Stay tuned. Stay engaged. Save the Coliseum.

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Greg N Reimer
CEO, President & Head of Business Development
The Goldfire Group