Sudbury.com reached out to the full slate of Greater Sudbury mayor and council candidates to find out where they stand on the city proceeding with a new or renewed municipal arena
After Sudbury Wolves owner Dario Zulich caused a stir by declaring the team needs a “brand new arena,” Sudbury.com reached out to the full slate of municipal candidates vying for election on Oct. 24 to see where they stand on the matter.
Zulich was the land developer behind the KED, and reiterated his advocacy for a “brand new arena” during last week’s unveiling of a new scoreboard at the Sudbury Community Arena. “As the owner of the Sudbury Wolves, I want the players, the fans and all the people of Sudbury to enjoy our brand of hockey in a NEW events centre, not a refurbished arena,” he said.
Sudbury.com then issued a follow-up email asking those who had yet to respond by the end of day Wednesday to send something in by noon on Thursday. “The new council will decide what the most appropriate decision is, and I believe that discussion should happen then.”With people concerned about the high cost of living and crumbling infrastructure, Dutrisac said “talk of the arena needs a break.”
“It's apparent that the citizens are tired of the gridlock and lack of progress on the matter. I hope to find a solution to either start renovations or construction in 2023. I'm looking forward to working with Zulich and all other partners in growing the City of Sudbury.”“With the KED firmly in the rear view mirror, after the costs escalated to $215 million, it is time to reconsider how we will invest in our community arena,” Lefebvre said.
“To provide perspective; Sudbury is not comparable to similar cities, where on a single line item in 2022 Greater Sudbury spent 43.1 per cent of the total budget while North Bay spent 22.4 per cent, Kawartha lakes spent 19.2 per cent. The city’s annual financial documents, audited each year by a third-party, include various references to the city’s debt load. “The new council should canvas their constituents as to what they want,” he said. “Bring it to a meeting and decide the Top 5. Once the Top 5 are chosen, let the people decide by a referendum.”“On the matter of KED, to me and for me, this is a non-issue,” Wong said.
As he has all along, Montpellier said he’s promoting the renovation of the existing downtown arena using federal and provincial green energy grants – programs he said have been used successfully by other municipalities A referendum needs to take place on the KED, Fortin said – “In fact, it should have been part of our current municipal election.”
People in Ward 4 are “divided and very passionate about the KED fiasco,” she said, adding a referendum also needs to be held on the Junction East Cultural Hub and the Junction West convention centre projects. City council voted in June to suspend Junction West. “Renovating has worked for other cities like North Bay and Kitchener, and is the greener and more cost-effective solution.”
“Moving the arena out of the downtown core and even developing a sports district could prove beneficial to the largest number of residents. Once I'm on council, if the decision that is made by the majority is not the one that I agree with, I will respect democracy by supporting the council's decision .”
“If I am re-elected as councillor of Ward 5, I will not support using that money to renovate the current arena or to be put toward a new events centre. We have too many other more important uses for that money.” The new arena/events centre project should have remained a private venture, and neither the downtown nor The Kingsway location are ideal, Hazlett said.
“I think there are alternative locations to explore, I think close to the airport on Radar Road just past Skead Road might be an ideal location. Being closer to the airport, this might be a great feature to the development.”Although Labbée said she believes in waiting on the city’s report on the Sudbury Community Arena, “because anything else would be premature,” she prefers a downtown location.
As for the implication the Sudbury Wolves might leave the city in the event they don’t get a new arena, she said, “I strongly feel that any amount of perceived ultimatums from user groups should also not be part of influencing the decision by Council either way.”Rather than respond to Sudbury.com’s inquiry, McKillop pointed to a post on his Facebook page on which he refers to the KED saga as a “horror show.
His opinion is that the arena project should go anywhere “but downtown, and that the old barn be repurposed into something else,” such as an indoor market or homeless shelter.The city needs to do whatever it takes to retain the Sudbury Wolves hockey team, Auge said. “This Council has had five years to build the KED and couldn’t get the job done,” he said. “Council supported the spending of millions on consultants and reports but couldn’t get shovels in the ground. They’ve wasted over $5 million chasing this dream while asking residents to pay more and more. It’s caused deep division and resentment across the community, showcasing the actual lack of leadership at Tom Davies Square.
“I do feel with all the discussion, reports and studies that have been provided over the past term regarding the build of a new event centre and KED location, it is good to pause and take leave for the short term. “We still have a 70-year old arena that has needed expensive emergency repairs, and was not built for the types of sporting and entertainment experiences that people want these days,” she wrote.
“These are expensive projects, as we’ll need accurate costing, public input and reliable information from all involved if we revisit this idea again. But Mr. Zulich is right, it will be a decision of the next council.”Although admitting to having a “bias” for a downtown location for a new arena, Felsbourg-Linton said she recognizes it’s her ward and not everyone will agree.
“Does it need to be addressed? Of course. Immediately? I don’t think so. What we do need to tackle is a pretty massive infrastructure deficit , simultaneous addiction and housing crises and an unmoored tax levy.” The city needs to “build a new arena that’s going to be the proper size so that we can have a great entertainment centre in the heart of Sudbury somewhere, I don’t care if it’s downtown, The Kingsway, South End, wherever council decided to put it.”
“Some of the $84.4 million the city gets from the now-defunct KED deal should be used towards the renovations to keep the arena where it is.”Jeff MacIntyre - Modern arena in an existing commercial district
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