Posted Oct 5, 2006, 12:58 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Windsor, Ontario
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Council approves $48M arena plan
Move won’t raise taxes, Postma tells voters
The Windsor Star
Thu. Oct. 5, 2006
By Roberta Pennington
Star Staff Reporter
City Council voted late Wednesday to move ahead with a new arena and sports centre in east Windsor.
“I’m not prepared to wait for a better deal because I don’t think there’s one out there,” said Ward 2 Coun. Caroline Postma. “It’s time to move, it’s the right thing to do.”
She said voters “are not going to see a difference on their tax bill as a result of this project.” Ward 4 Coun. David Cassivi was the lone opponent.
“I can’t in good conscience agree,” he said. “I firmly believe to the bottom of my soul that this does a disservice” to Windsor taxpayers.
Alan Halberstadt declared a conflict of interest because his wife has ties to the Spitfires.
Council heard from about 30 delegations — including city employees, local hockey groups, the Windsor Spitfires and the arena developer — before Coun. Tom Wilson tabled a motion to approve the project.
Council’s endorsement of the four-pad arena project would mean administration has 90 days to draft a report reviewing PCR Contractors Inc.’s design.
PCR’s final design is not expected to be much different from the proposal that was presented to council in front of a packed chamber Monday.
“Unless there’s something major that somebody wants to change — a major part of the project — I think it’s just a matter of doing the paperwork,” said Frank Fazio, solicitor for PCR, which is made up of Paolo Collavino and Renzo Collavino.
With colourful architectural renderings displayed along chamber walls, city administrators Jan Wilson and Michael Duben reviewed the proposal and agreed it met needs and objectives identified by the city.
Primarily, it would replace aging facilities, result in a net gain of two ice pads, provide an Ontario Hockey League venue, offer an additional multipurpose recreational space and consolidate existing facilities.
The main ice bowl would seat 6,500 spectators and offer 31 suites.
The plan also calls for building three NHLsize rinks and a 22,000-square-foot recreation centre.
The centre would include a seniors’ program area, an auditorium with a kitchen, a gym and a full-size basketball court.
“(It would be) the most unique and dynamic facility of its kind at least in Canada,” said Christopher O’Reilly, an architect with Stadium Consultants International Inc. Construction of the $47,920,000 project could start in early 2007 and will take between 19 and 20 months to complete.
The price quoted by PCR is a guaranteedmaximum that will cover the cost of building the arena, but does not account for the price of the land that the city will have to acquire. Under the design-build agreement PCR is proposing, the company would be responsible for any construction cost overruns. “The $47,920,000 is fixed with respect to what we have submitted to you,” Fazio said. No site has been selected for the new arena, but it will require 30 to 40 acres, Renzo Collavino said. A delegate offered council a $10-million incentive to build near the Banwell Road area, between Tecumseh Road East and the E.C. Row Expressway.
That’s where the Sonoma Hospitality Group is considering building a 103-room Marriott Fairfield Inn & Suites to tap into the business expected to be generated by the planned multi-plex.
Peter Dobrich, a co-owner of the Windsor Spitfires, also assured council the franchise would be willing to sign a 20-year lease agreement with the city.
The Spitfires, who back the PCR plan, are also committed to paying the cost of the jumbotron in the arena.
“We’re entrenched in this community,” Dobrich said.
“One of the unique things about the project is that everything’s in one place. The opportunities are endless. We still believe in Windsor.”
The proposal also received support from representatives of the Riverside Minor Hockey Association and the Windsor Minor Hockey Association.
Without tender
But the recent news that the Town of Tecumseh will soon have its own arena and ancillary ice pad led many delegates to question the wisdom of building a similar facility in Windsor without tendering the project.
“Suddenly we have LaSalle and Tecumseh with major projects constructing the same facilities we have in mind for Windsor,” said Windsor resident Mervin Dependleton.
“You want us to make an untendered bid to go with a new east-end arena ignoring the current realities.”
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