Markham Arena Gets Rough Ride

At a recent Markham Sports, Entertainment and Cultural subcommittee meeting, residents expressed serious concerns over the proposed $325M - 20,000 seat NHL size arena to be built near Highway 7 and Warden Avenue.  Questions were raised as to the ultimate benefits for the residents, as well as the actual cost of constructing the proposed facility.

Much of the discussion revolved around the proposed transit plan which contemplated that 56% of the people would use public transit to get to the arena, which would be a major shift for the car lovers in suburban Markham.

Concerns also continue to be raised as to the financing of the project which would require the City to borrower $325M to pay for the arena’s construction and then to be reimbursed, 50% by the GTA Sports and Entertainment which will be spearheading the project, and 50% to be recovered from “voluntary” contributions and charges to be paid by developers, as well as revenue from the arena.  At this time, no major tenants have been solidified and the prospect of getting a NHL team in the face of opposition from Toronto and Buffalo looms as a major obstacle.  Also, the legal ability to raise those kind of development revenues from developers on a “voluntary” basis remains to be seen.

More recently, GTA Sports and Entertainment has submitted its plans for processing through the lengthy approval process.  Although there was a suggestion by the Mayor “it is possible we could be in the ground later this year”, given the lengthy approval process and the financing issues, this would be highly unlikely.  Further, a public hearing is scheduled for mid-September 2012 to deal with the site plan and community access to the arena. 

Financing this type of facility via development charges is not contemplated by the Development Charges Act and the only way to encourage developers to contribute to the cost is by seeking “voluntary” contributions in exchange for accelerated development approvals.  BILD has previously expressed its objections to this kind of “voluntary” community support.  It is the personal view of this writer, that it is not appropriate for builders to be saddled with the responsibility for creating a commercial venture for the City as a quid pro quo for accelerated development approvals.

This story will have many chapters to unfold over the next year.  Stay tuned.