Fix for Charlottetown Civic Centre could cost $40M: report

The Charlottetown Civic Centre, the city's main indoor entertainment venue, is outdated and fixing the problem would cost as much as $40 million, says a report released this week.

The 20-year-old building has been criticized in recent years for its poor design, blamed for Charlottetown missing out on an Elton John concert, and now those complaints have been validated by an independent consultant.

The centre has had successful years, hosting thousands of hockey games, trade shows and concerts, but times have changed.

"Now concerts demand more," said Dave McGrath, general manager of the Civic Centre.

"The promoters demand more in the way of amenities, number of seats, where your steel is in the building to hang speakers and those types of things, a true backstage area. And so we needed to take a look at that."

Charlottetown Area Development Corporation hired a consulting firm to study the venue, and its report outlines three options.

• Keep the centre as is, which is costing the city $500,000 a year to operate.
• Renovate, at a cost of about $34 million.
• Build a new facility, for about $40 million.

No one seems to favour the status quo, and majority opinion appears to be leaning towards a new building. Charlottetown Mayor Clifford Lee believes a new centre could be built for less than $40 million.

"You look around the region at other facilities that were built at $40 million price tags, and certainly a lot bigger than what we have planned, if and when the time comes for the city to replace the Civic Centre," said Lee.

The report recommends that a new facility would have no more than 5,000 seats, as compared to the 3,700 in the current centre, and be located in the downtown core. The centre's primary user, the P.E.I. Rocket major junior hockey team, welcomes the idea.

"It would be incredible," said Rocket general manager Kent Hudson.

"It would make our life easier in terms of a better atmosphere for our fans, which is really how we look at it from our fan standpoint and from a security standpoint for teams coming in. A new building would certainly help us attract more fans."

All three levels of government and tourism officials will discuss the options, including how to pay for them. Lee said it could be months or even years before a decision is made.