Edmonton Downtown Arena development moves forward after council vote

Councillor Amarjit Sohi along with other  city councillors are getting information about the latest cost estimate of the downtown arena. 

Edmonton city councillors have voted in favour of developing the current schematic design for the downtown arena.

The motion passed by a 10-3 margin late Tuesday afternoon, with councillors Kerry Diotte, Linda Sloan and Tony Caterina all opposed.

The vote passed after councillors questioned administration about how to bring the proposed downtown arena back on budget.

The cost of the current design is estimated at $485 million, $35 million more than the maximum set by city council last year.

Councillors asked city manager Simon Farbrother and the project consultants about what effects proposed cuts could have on the overall design. Some changes include switching some of the exterior from zinc to steel and cutting the number of underground parking spots from tp 200 from 400.

Councillors still want to keep the cost at $450 million but Mayor Stephen Mandel said the city may have to spend more to ensure Edmonton doesn't end up with something inferior.

"At some point in time, council will have to make a decision if it's going to be over, what is the overage going to look like?" he said. "And I think that it's important that council makes a decision for 30 years, not for 35 minutes."

Funding questions remain

The tone of the questions during Tuesday's meeting was tense and pointed at times, particularly during the exchanges Farbrother had with councillors Linda Sloan and Kerry Diotte.

Sloan said afterwards that the look of the arena doesn't concern her at this stage.

"I frankly don't care if it's zinc or steel and I don't have any questions for the consultants because I think we're not at a stage where we can really discuss the next stage," she said.

"My questions are for the administration. Why are we discussing a project exceeding $450 million?"

Coun. Don Iveson asked whether Oilers owner and project proponent Daryl Katz could help pay for the budget overrun. Farbrother said that question has not been asked.