A reader proposes a different infrastructure project to help Saskatoon's downtown, with an arena district years away if it's approved.
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Reader Letters
Published Jun 09, 2023 • Last updated Jun 09, 2023 • 1 minute read
Having attended the downtown event centre/arena open house this spring at the Midtown Plaza, showcasing its preliminary planning and conceptual design, I came away with the following thoughts.
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Letter: New arena fails to help Saskatoon's ailing downtown right now Back to video
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Why Midtown Plaza, instead of our city hall’s lobby or the TCU Place lobby showcasing the lands across the street that were purchased for the event centre/arena?
Having heard the presentation from a city planner, it became clear what a waste of time, money and energy the entire “Journey to the District” endeavour is right now. We in Saskatoon have an eroded, decaying, uninviting, merchant-starved downtown core requiring immediate attention.
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Businesses are paying city taxes without any sufficient desirable audience, while our city hall prioritizes a future project taking five to seven years to build/occupy with an unconfirmed budget and timeline.
City hall resources should be focussed on an above street level, glass-enclosed, heated, downtown grid walkway system (like Calgary’s with a 40-years-plus history), sheltering downtown patrons and making all-year visits comfortable — a much-needed infrastructure upgrade for our citizens and businesses.
When you consider the future costs of bike lanes, $8 million more for Remai Modern construction and its $6-million annual city hall subsidy and the preliminary design costs for the event centre/arena, this project could very well be a possibility.
A downtown infrastructure upgrade legacy, leading us to the jewel in the crown — the downtown event centre/arena. Meanwhile, we have an existing SaskTel Centre arena, TCU Place convention facility and a newly upgraded downtown outdoor festival site capable of facilitating outdoor events.
Darrell Zakreski, Saskatoon
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