New report favours Kingsway district over downtown for Sudbury events centre

A new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) says a new events centre on the Kingsway in Sudbury would be preferable to a downtown option.

Sudbury city council voted in favour of the Kingsway Entertainment District (KED) proposal nearly four years ago, at a June 2017 council meeting. But given the time that's elapsed and the ongoing debate, council asked earlier this year for a new report.

"The reality is, much has changed since 2017," said Mayor Brian Bigger at a council meeting on Jan.12, 2021.

"We owe it to our citizens and ourselves to ensure that we have correct information to make some very big decisions in the coming months."

The report foundtheKingsway site would have more economic benefit at a lower cost to the city, compared withbuilding a new site downtownor renovating the existing arena.

Comparing locations

In June 2017, another report from PwC favoured a downtown location for an events centre. However, the new report notes things have changed since then.

The KED has been imagined as an entertainment district, with a casino, hoteland other businesses such as restaurants. However, the city would only be building and paying for the event centre portion. The report notesthat since 2017, "plans for the development of a hotel on the site continue to be advanced."

"It is specifically noted that these projects/initiatives are dependent upon the construction of the new events centre on the Kingswaysite."

The report states that in comparison, additional or complementary development "could occur" in conjunction with adowntown site, but "theexact form or nature is currently not known."

No firm agreements with hotels, businesses

Dario Zulich, the developer who owns the Kingsway land, said there's nofinal agreement with a hotel, but hehas received several letters of intent.

"All the major hotel chains are very interested in having their flag fly at the KED."

Zulich said he expects agreements to come together quicklyonce council directs the project to go ahead.

"We need to know there's a project first."

Zulichis hopeful the report will provide council with the information it needs to move the project forward.

KED critic unhappy with report

Jeff MacIntyre,a board member with the Downtown Sudbury BIA, which has opposed the KED plan,hopes council will reject the report.

MacIntyre said it doesn'tcover all the things it should.Notably, he said,it should have taken a look at the economic implications for the downtown and other parts of the city, if the KED project goes ahead.

"We want to see what the economic impact [would be] of pulling the events centre out of the downtown, creating a new district on the Kingsway that will compete with New Sudbury, that will compete with downtown, that will compete with the Valley, that will compete with Capreol. All of those areas that are struggling right now, should this go through have a new competition," said MacIntyre.

Sudbury city councillors will discuss the report at a special council meeting on June 16.