The Edmonton Arena

[Ally]

Arena expected to pump Property Values

A new arena in downtown Edmonton could add tens of millions to downtown property values, says University of Alberta economist Brad Humphreys, an expert in the economics of arena construction.

Many economists, Humphrey among them, have for years made the argument that arenas contribute little or nothing to local economies. But in a new working paper on the Columbus, Ohio, arena district--which is often held up as a model for Edmonton`s proposed downtown arena district-- Humphreys and his fellow researcher Xia Feng found that pro sports facilities can result in important benefits to the local economy. The key is to ensure they are properly built and integrated into both an entertainment district and the overall community.

"A new state-of-the art facility integrated in a comprehensive urban redevelopment program and located in the heart of a large city might be expected to generate increases in residential property values near hundreds of millions of dollars within a mile of that facility, if the location, planning, construction, and development is carried out carefully," the study states.

The economic benefit doesn`t come from any increased wages or spending as a result of a thriving arena district, but arises out of the arena`s intangibles. That includes the pride and good feeling associated with the district, which makes it desirable for people to live in or close to it, thus raising property values.

Humphreys and Feng`s study puts a new twist on the question of whether or not professional sports provides an economic boost to a city.

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Recipe for the Big Leagues

COLUMBUS, OHIO - On the downtown edge of an unheralded American city, a beacon shines, drawing people toward the area’s clubs, restaurants, theatres and sports facilities, but also giving cheer to urban planners, downtown boosters and arena builders across North America.

The downtown streets of Columbus, the pleasant state capital of Ohio — a city of two million, the 32nd-largest metro area in the United States — are busy enough with office and government workers by day. But much of the downtown is empty at night, lifeless in a way that will be familiar to most Canadians, all of us who don’t live in Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver. There’s no place to go in downtown Columbus at night, nowhere to live, no one to see, nothing to do, save for the Columbus Arena District, home of the gigantic searchlight that beams up through the dark, emanating from a 40-metre-high tower on top of the $175-million US Nationwide Arena, home of the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets. The arena is the centrepiece of the district, which also boasts roughly $1 billion in development — numerous bars and restaurants, an 11-theatre multiplex, a new award-winning triple-A baseball park, luxury apartments and condominiums, and the LC Pavilion, an award-winning indoor/outdoor concert hall, which can open to host 5,000 fans in an outdoor amphitheatre.

The district is adored by folks in Columbus, who credit it with revitalizing the city’s downtown, bringing it a new feeling of cool and prosperity. But it’s equally adored by civic boosters and urban development wonks, who argue that it’s proof that a downtown sports arena can be more than just a money-making machine for a pro sports owner — that it can also be a catalyst for the redevelopment of a blighted downtown area and a key investment in a city’s long-term economic health.

Outsiders are fascinated by the district’s success. In 2004, ESPN magazine voted it the No. 2 “stadium experience” in North America. Sports fans Andrew Kulyk and Peter Farrell, who have visited and rated every major North American arena and stadium, gave it a rave review.

“Columbus did it right,” Kulyk and Farrell wrote on their website, The Ultimate Sports Road Trip. “A privately built arena with a dynamic cityscape built around it.

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

L.A. Arena District revives a downtown in decline

The worst streets of central Los Angeles have been transformed, the beneficiaries of a $2.5-billion US bet on the future of this city`s unloved, unkempt downtown.

On this particular night, tourist Sal Aguilera stands in his former neighbourhood, basking in the middle of that wager. Aguilera is smiling, enjoying the people, sights and sounds of loud and glitzy L.A. Live, the Los Angeles arena district, which has all the garish charm but undeniable popularity of West Edmonton Mall.

The arena district here consists of: the Staples Center arena, the 7,100-seat Nokia Theatre, the ESPN Zone studio, almost a dozen restaurants and music clubs, the Grammy Museum, a bowling alley, studios for ESPN, a cinema multiplex and a new, billion-dollar hotel/condo development set to open in February--all of it crammed together in what used to be a drug-infested ghetto.

Aguilera, who grew up in this area but now lives in San Diego and works in a nearby L.A. suburb, has come to show off the arena district to a few of his business associates. The plan is to have dinner and watch an NFL game on a big screen in a restaurant.

"I love L.A. Live. I love it," he says, adding that it was about time for such a development. "I travelled all over the world and downtown L.A. was the worst city as far as nightlife was concerned. It took way, way too long to bring it to L.A."

Aguilera remembers the drug dealers and drug labs that used to be here. "They used to sell heroin down the street," he says.

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Edmonton at a Crossroad

The building of a major arena in Edmonton has always been more than a construction project. It`s been a litmus test, a signifier of the city`s attitudes, wealth and vision.

Four times in the past--always during an economic boom--Edmonton has risen up to build what locals believed to be the very best of western Canadian hockey arenas, rivals to anything seen in Winnipeg, Vancouver or Calgary.

A vision of Edmonton as one of Canada`s main cities, a truly major league city, flourished at those times. As a result, it was seen as right and proper to create a showcase for the city.

At other times, though, haunted by economic recession or depression, and informed by the rural roots and fiscal conservatism of the population, city leaders and voters have fought hard against any kind of money going toward a project such as an arena building.

The weight of the past comes to bear today on Edmonton`s new arena debate. Some, such as former Edmonton Oilers owner Cal Nichols, are pushing for the public to invest heavily in a new downtown arena, a building that might well revitalize a massive, desolate chunk of Edmonton`s downtown, be the best building in the entire NHL, and become as iconic a structure for Edmonton as the CN Tower is for Toronto.

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Oiler owner files $1.4 billion arena proposal

After years of speculation, the Edmonton Oilers hockey club has made its first formal proposal to build a new arena as part of a billion-dollar downtown revitalization plan.

The team is staying tight-lipped, however, on whether it expects the city to pay for the rink – which observers say will smooth the way for the proposal and keep it from becoming a divisive issue in a municipal election this fall.

Late last week, the team`s owner completed a rezoning application for a 16-acre plot of land on the northern edge of the downtown for a development that would include an arena (with an unspecified seating capacity), a practice rink, two office towers, two condo buildings, two student residences, two hotels, extensive retail space and about 4,000 parking stalls.

Currently, the land is home to parking lots and a casino.

The application, announced Monday, also seeks approval for towers up to 60 storeys, nearly double the height of the city`s current tallest buildings.

"This is about much more than an arena. This is about an opportunity to create a mixed-use district, which will change the way the world sees Edmonton," said Bob Black, vice-president of the Katz Group, run by billionaire Oilers owner Daryl Katz.

Read the full article here.