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Originally Posted by esquire
^ Why on earth would Saskatoon build a new arena when the existing one is still perfectly fine for its needs? If anything, Saskplace is overbuilt for its tenants. Besides, it would cost an absolute fortune to build a venue that would actually constitute an upgrade from what exists presently.
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This question is my time to shine! Prepare for a very long response.
There's a few issues behind the drive to build a new arena. Likely the biggest one is location. SaskPlace is on the outskirts of the city and that's been a controversial location since before it was built. The infrastructure to access it easily simply is not there and it results in traffic jams getting to and from the arena, and with the poor state of public transit in Saskatoon there's no other way to get there other than to sit in the car and endure it. There's also nothing to do out there. It was built out there with the hopes that an arena district would pop up but there is a total of zero bars in the immediate vicinity. It was the edge of town in the 80s... and it's still the edge of town thirty years later. Part of that, I'd argue, is the fact that Saskatoon has never had a team capable of filling the arena even halfway consistently; the Rush are the only team to ever do it, so why would anyone build out there if there's no fans to draw in?
Another issue is that SaskPlace actually was not built to attract an NHL team as previously stated, but expanded over time from seating 9,000 to its current 15,000 (the plans to build a new arena originated with attracting the NHL, but once the Blues relocation fell through plans changed). The problem with this is that the concources are tiny and cannot handle sold out crowds. There's not enough concessions, bathrooms, or space to walk around; if you try to get a beer during intermission, you'll miss a large chunk of the game not even moving. You can't even get 9,000 people moving around easily in the arena now because they took space from the concources to build the luxury boxes. Genuinely, it's unsafe. In the off chance the building had to be evacuated, you likely couldn't do it quickly enough. They have made some upgrades to the arena (they built another concourse for the upper deck, which REALLY makes a difference), but it isn't enough.
Lastly, and this one isn't mentioned as much by the public, but SaskPlace is outdated. The management has pointed out that the arena is being passed over for concerts because it cannot accomodate the needs of newer, large scale acts. For example, the roof can't support anything and needs to be replaced. The soundsystem also needs an overhaul. On top of this, it lacks the revenue-generating features found in other arenas. It was one of the last large arenas built before luxury boxes became a major feature of arenas. Once the Saddledome is replaced, SaskPlace will be the oldest arena of its size in North America if I'm not mistaken.
SaskPlace worked well for the Blades and the occasional concert. The Blades aren't very loved in Saskatoon and draw flies to the game (and honestly, it's sad watching a game in a 15,000 seating arena with 3,000 people). Now that the Rush are in town, it is the first time in history the arena is being filled consistently and so its flaws are made that much more apparent. The idea now is that Saskatoon can finally get it right and build an arena downtown that is accessible by public transit and can funnel thousands of people into the bars. The only issue with this is that our public transit would need a multi-hundred million dollar overhaul for that to be feasible (and even then it likely wouldn't work; public transit is not part of the culture here and there's no parking downtown) and the myth that arenas act as economic drivers has been disproven many a time. I've heard it be argued that we need to keep pace with Edmonton and Winnipeg because they have downtown arenas with their own arena districts, but that's a ridiculous argument.
In my opinion, SaskPlace doesn't need replacement. It fits Saskatoon's needs very well. Instead of spending $500 million or more downtown, they should simply have a major renovation of the current arena. Expand the concources, replace the roof, finally get rid of the light blue plastic seats (my pet peeve), and maybe come up with a plan for that part of the city. We aren't going to get an NHL team and it's time we accept that. A renovated arena will do just fine in attracting concerts so long as it can handle their needs, and I don't buy the Rush as the gamechanging tenant management is building them as. Talk to me about that after a decade of sellouts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by blueandgoldguy
Those are some fantastic crowds in Saskatoon. They have really embraced the NLL there. I guess it makes sense as the GMA there is over 300,000 and they haven't had a pro team up until now. If a pro level national soccer league is to get off the ground in Canada, Saskatoon would be a good market to invest in. I think they can handle 4 teams - Blades, Hilltops, Rush and soccer team - considering none of those require a high ticket price to make it a successful venture.
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I think Saskatoon should be considered a prime location for an AHL team. The Blades are legitimately one of the worst, if not
the worst, hockey franchises in Canada. We really don't have much in terms of success out here outside of the Hilltops (and by tonight, the Rush) but I think an AHL team would do very well here in a city that won't let go of the NHL dream.
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too true.
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