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The National Post reports civic officials and business leaders driving the Markham arena project - a $325-million proposal for a 20,000-seat arena in a suburb north of Toronto - gathered in a room for an open house Thursday night.
Under the proposal, the city would take out a loan for $325-million, then pay back half of that cost through a series of sources, including a controversial levy on local developers. The other half — $162.5 million — would be on the shoulders of the private group behind the project, which includes a giant local developer (The Remington Group) and the one-time chairman of hockey equipment-maker Bauer Performance Sports Ltd. (Graeme Roustan).
Markham council approved the financial framework of the deal on April 26, just six days after the first public meeting was held on the proposal. There are no shovels in the ground yet, but the mayor has repeatedly emphasized his willingness to speed the project along.
"I've never seen anything like it," Markham regional councillor Jim Jones said Thursday. "We can't approve a speed bump [in] six months, with environmental assessment and all that. It's just: 'What's the rush?' "
Roustan, a Montreal-raised businessman who resigned his position at Bauer last month, hopes to have the building approved, built and opened by the end of 2014. The proposed building does not have an anchor tenant, such as a professional sports team, but Roustan has said it would be viable through concerts, community festivals and smaller events.
"I don't think I need to tell you that, if you build this type of facility, who knows what other opportunities you could attract," Markham mayor Frank Scarpitti said during the open house on Thursday.
One of those opportunities, some Markham councillors believe (or hope), is a National Hockey League franchise. Roustan has arranged partnerships with businesses owned by Jeremy Jacobs and Ed Snider, two powerful NHL owners.
No guarantees of acquiring a franchise have been made, at least not in public. And there would be several obvious and significant hurdles — including the Toronto Maple Leafs, based just 35 kilometres to the south — that would have to be overcome to land a team.
"It will be a host of things that make this thing viable," Scarpitti said. "And of course, if something else falls from the sky, then it's even more viable."
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