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Originally Posted by Nathan
I can't see either... They are touting residential and commercial, but if I were looking for a place to live, I'm not going to choose somewhere right beside a mainline and adjacent to some sort of actual rail activities ( not sure what CP is still going to be using the other 15.5 acres for).
And if we are getting a 280m facility, there definitely won't be funds for a Brandt centre expansion or replacement for at least 25 years (so say goodbye to Regina's chances of hosting any big arena tours anytime soon).
Also, if the build the stadium at Evraz, they might want to consider building an underpass under the rail line crossing elphinstone, because if a train comes at the wrong time, traffic (both foot and vehicular) is going to be a cluster-f*ck. I also think they need to build some sort of pathway/green space along the north side of the rail line from downtown to the stadium to give some pedestrians a safe way to walk there (for people who stay in downtown hotels for the games or people who park there).
Also, I think if we are going outdoor (cheaper than indoor) we should go a bit bigger than 33k. I'm thinking in the 35k range with the ability to expand to 55k for the Grey Cup. If we're are going to sped this kind of money, we may as well make sure that it lasts and remains useful/the right size to serve the needs.
Anyway, those are my opinions on it (not all were applicable to your post).
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Small capacity will keep ticket prices up.
I knew from the start it would be open-air the City has no means to build a dome facility this is the best option for us in comparison to my UofR idea.
That mainline was going to be there with a Stadium so the talk of livability does not make much sense. in Toronto, and Calgary, and Vancouver Condos straddle their mainlines, in Vancouver and Toronto those lines see constant use with commuter rail service throughout the day.
The CP lands and Warehouse district can become our Cities Beltline with Dewdney acting as the main hub/strip. If the City takes as much detail with the CP yards as with downtown (and not hold a fire sale to get cash) it can easily be one of the best core districts in Canada.
Brandt Centre expansion will be up to Evraz and their people.
IF they see value in building a new arena they will. This idea of mega-tours is one of the past. The trend in entertainment only has very few artists doing large Arena tours. Live Nation has plans to build venues in major cities and run them themselves with medium sized venues being perferd as it extracts more revenue with limited seating.
Plus the Outdoor facility can still host one-off large concerts, this is typically what happens in the USA and in warmer climates the NFL and college football fields get used for large shows.
I favor open-air because its considerably cheaper to run. You don't get high operating costs with a open air facility. Regina could not afford to have a dome which sucks 15-25M per year out of the coffers on-top of debt payments. Just to keep the lights on would be a considerable expense. At least with a open-air facility the costs represent what its used for. Games and events. And it hammers in the main purpose of a Stadium. To house the Riders.. .since the CFL and Riders cry poor they can go lick mud if they want a Taj Mahal to play in. A world class outdoor football stadium is more than good enough for a football team to play in.
With this proposal you get even more land on the CP site to leverage to private hands. A TIF (Tax-increment-financing) situation could arise where taxes/levees from the CP site can go towards managing the debt of the Stadium which is a + in my opinion. You get more land to do this versus having the Stadium taking up the majority of the CP site.
The Stadium is the non-issue now. the CP site IMO may pose some issues. TO make it as attractive to developers the City will have to clean up the site which might be a environmental dump from years of being a heavy industry site. The soil may have to shipped out and cleaned and a bunch of tests done with servicing obviously put in place in regards to roads, sewer, power.
Great news. This is the responsible path that gets all needs met. The City owns the land already on the Evraz Patch.. it just makes sense.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dougler306
Your probablly right nathan about the brandt center not expanding for many years, but there was an article in the leader post(cant find it now) a while back talking about how evraz was in a wait and see mode before going ahead with expansion becuase they wanted to see what the city was going to do( domed or open-air) becuase they didnt want to have to compete with another indoor facility that can host trade shows or other major indoor events. Since it wont be competing for those event's, it can start its expansion? assuming they have the funds
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This gives more incentive to Evraz with these facilities all whiten there boundaries they can be strategic into making Evraz into a type of Corporate-sports-entertainment-fair hub line what is present in Houston. Where the Stadium, Arena and Convention center all share the same fair grounds.