Council vote pushes arena project forward

Edmonton city councillors voted 10-3 in favour of a financial framework administration must use in negotiationswith Oilers owner Daryl Katz on a proposed downtown arena.

"I was hoping for this," Mayor Stephen Mandel said after the vote Wednesday night. "I think it shows that this is an NHL city and that any owner would be thrilled with the deal that council put on the table today and hopefully we can find a way [for] our administration to finalize this."

Councillors Tony Caterina, Linda Sloan and Don Ivesonwere the dissenting votes on the motion about thecontroversial $450 million replacement for Rexall Place.

Approval of the motion means city staff are directed to negotiate with the Katz Group under a number of conditions, including:

• the city owns the land and the arena
• maximum price of the project is set at $450 million
• $125 million of the project cost must be raised through a ticket tax
• the Katz Group is responsible for the facility's operating costs
• the Edmonton Oilers must play at the facility for30 years
• the city must have access to the arena four weeks each year

The agreement also calls on city administration to direct $20 million raisedby a taxknown as the Community Revitalization Levy to the arena, down from the original amount of $125 million.

The remaining CRL money is to be directedto other downtown projects like the Quarters and Jasper Avenue.

The remaining $105 million of the city's $125 million maximum contribution is to come from either tax revenues generated directly from the arena or from savings that come from not having to pay current subsidies and increased parking revenues.

Mandel says the city will likely now approach the province for the remaining $100 million needed to finance the project.

Last week, Katz indicated in a letter to Mandel that he had not agreed to the $125 million dollar ticket tax. Katz Group spokesman Steve Hogle said the motion contains a large amount of information which needs to be reviewed.

"We're going to have to consider the implications. We're going to have to meet with administration and then we'll consider our next steps," he said.

Councillors spent the day asking questions based onsix new reports prepared for them by city staff.Some councillors continued to express concerns about not havingenough information to make a decision.

The vote was held after city administration provided councillors with an update behind closed doors.