The town of Markham voted 11-2 in favour of a proposal which would see another big arena be built within the Greater Toronto Area.
Bauer chairman Graeme Roustan is leading the charge of a group of private investors. The plan calls for the private sector to put in half of the proposed $325 million dollar cost, in which the city would chip in the other half.
Town officials insist that their share will come by way of levies placed on new developments. Parking and ticket surcharges would also help in recouping the cost. The city would own the arena while leasing it to Roustan’s group.
The deal is NOT contingent on an NHL franchise coming to the region. The arena would most certainly be able to accommodate a team should the opportunity arise, but it is fully sustainable without it according to those involved.
“Live Nation is a huge partner,” said Roustan of the largest concert promotion company in the world. “The group has assured me that they can fill about 131 days a year.”
Make no mistake. Landing an NHL franchise is something the group, as well as the city, would like to see happen. Roustan denied landing an NHL team as motivation, but his track record with the league is deep.
Roustan is credited with providing the help necessary to land San Jose an NHL Franchise. He also put in offers to purchase the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning, only to come up just short.
Greater Toronto Area Sports and Entertainment is the corporation that Roustan heads up. Roustan’s newly created corporation will get a lot of play over the next few weeks. While GTASE has met with NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly. As has been the case with other prospective owners, nothing has been promised.
You can bet that Roustan has learned how to play ball here. They will stay mum on any NHL interest. If Jim Balsillie and Mark Chipman have taught us anything, it’s the NHL’s way or no way, and silence is golden.
Several councillors took particular issue with the lack of hard numbers in the proposal, prompting an argument to delay approval but that was quickly shot down.
Roustan hopes to get the shovels in the ground by the end of summer, with the hope of having the building ready by late 2014. GTASE will be putting in a proposal to the IIHF to host the 2015 World Jr. Hockey Championship. That may be asking a little too much.
While getting construction started right away will help keep costs down, the speed in which a town council can move can be at a snail’s pace. There is still a lot of due diligence that needs to be taken care of including environmental assessments and exact costs. Also in question is how the costs will be divided up should there be overruns.
Regardless of an NHL tenant, Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment is watching this development very closely. Certainly there will be heated competition for landing big ticket events with another arena nearby. Executive Vice-President of Venues and Entertainment Bob Hunter never left his seat during the over four hour council session.
“The city (Markham) has a vision of where they want to take this thing and good on them” says Hunter. “We’re in the entertainment business, we’re just here to observe.”
Live Nation as a partner of GTASE didn’t appear to phase Hunter, either.
“We’re very early in these stages to understand what that means. Live Nation is our biggest entertainment partner so obviously we’ll be in discussions with them to understand what their approach is to this but this has a long way to go.”
This story is bound to heat up once the NHL playoffs conclude in June.