WATCH ABOVE: Construction at Rogers Place is entering its next phase. Tom Vernon gives us a peek.
EDMONTON – Rogers Place arena continues to take shape in downtown in Edmonton.
Here are some interesting facts that came out of Tuesday’s update:
Steel construction begins
The steel construction phase of the project has started and will take about a year to complete.
Nine-thousand tonnes of steel will be used for the project, enough to stretch from Edmonton to Red Deer if all the pieces were put together in one line.
Excavation has been completed and the foundation and general shape of the arena can be seen.
“It is our most exciting phase of construction to date. The building is starting to extend beyond ground level, and throughout the next year the changes will be formed to those outside,” explained Mike Staines, PCL.
On time & on budget:
Those behind construction say the project is on time and on budget.
“We’re six months in now. It’s a two and a half year process. We got just under two years ahead of us, and certainly everything is going very well and I’m very pleased with the progress we’ve made,” said executive director Rick Daviss, Edmonton Arena Project.
“It’s tremendously gratifying. This has been a real journey getting to this point, and it’s incredible to see the partnership with the city of Edmonton really take foot here,” said Bob Black, Edmonton Arena Corporation.
The parking issue:
With only 350 stalls underneath the arena – which will be reserved for players, administration and ticket holders – parking around Rogers Place is a concern.
The Katz Group says more parking will be developed in the future arena district, and those driving to events will be able to use current parking space around downtown.
“Downtown office towers in particular with all that structure parking provide, in our view, ample parking. The arena and arena district will add to that parking inventory,” said Black.
Rexall Place currently has four public parking lots which cost $15 per vehicle.
“I believe that there indeed will be more parking.”
“Utilizing not only the parking of the arena and arena district, but also the core, they’ll be significantly more parking than there is at Rexall Place currently.”
The total cost for the 18,559-seat facility is $480 million.
“We certainly expect public transit will be well utilized by people attending the arena,” said Black. “Once the 102 Avenue alignment is complete, there will be seven LRT stops within a 10-minute walk of the arena.”
Area management & safety:
Daviss said, over the last six weeks, Edmonton police have become more involved in the operational planning of the arena district.
“I actually will be travelling down to Columbus and Los Angeles with police a couple of weeks from now to check out how the systems work down there to make sure we’re not having to reinvent the wheel and we’re taking advantage of other similar arrangements where we can employ proper safety and protocols and make sure that things are operated as smoothly as possible.”
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