Details of the CFL stadium proposal in Halifax
3Down Staff 3downnation September 26, 2019
The details of the CFL stadium proposal in Halifax have been made public.
Halifax council voted unanimously to move ahead with a staff report on the proposed stadium plans, which have been submitted to the municipality. Shannon Park was the chosen location to build a stadium with 12,000 permanent seats expandable to 24,000 for CFL games on a 38-hectare area.
According to the proposal, phase one of the design would cost just under $94 million. There would be an extra $10 million for the cost of the land. The mobilization date is October 19 with completion of the project set for June 1, 2022.
Halifax regional municipality chief administrative officer Jacques Dube released a statement along with the specifics of the proposed facility:
SSE forwarded the latest version of its proposal on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2019, following some initial questions and requests for clarification by municipal staff.
In the interest of transparency, the municipality sought approval from the proponent, SSE, to release the proposal publicly. SSE has consented to public disclosure of the proposal – with the exception of five appendices (A, G, H, I and O) containing information that is the property of a third party.
SSE is currently working with the third party to review and redact information, as necessary, prior to releasing these documents publicly. Once any required redaction has been completed, and approval has been granted, we will be publicly disclosing the remaining documents.
From the Halifax CAO release:
The Schooner Sports and Entertainment proposal assumes that some or all the funds for the municipality’s financial support would be generated from a tax incremental financing (TIF) model.
Five funding options are outlined in the SSE proposal regarding the manner (timing, mechanism, etc.) in which the municipality may consider using the funds generated from the TIF to contribute to the stadium.
Option #1: Maximum Financial Contribution of $2M Per Year Over the Term of the Loan with TIF Revenue Going Directly to SSE
Option #2: Upfront Cash Payment
Option #3: Smaller Upfront Cash Payment with Committed Cash Payments over the Term of the Loan
Option #4: Loan Guarantee
Option #5: Sliding Scale of Committed Cash Payments
CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie has said the possibility of an Atlantic Schooners hinges on a stadium deal. The league and SSE are one step closer to making the dream a reality.