The multimillion-dollar plan to turn Gordie Howe Bowl into a year-round events centre isn’t feasible, Mayor Don Atchison said Tuesday in his annual state of the city address.
"We were hoping at one time to turn it into an events centre for entertainment that would be far more than just for football, but those plans wouldn’t work, so we’re back to the drawing board," he told the crowd during his speech to a business luncheon.
The city has been waiting more than a year for a $50,000 consultant’s report and business plan that is investigating turning the facility into an events centre capable of staging concerts, family activities and trade shows. City officials will report on the plan in March.
The new vision for Gordie Howe Bowl was that revenue from the events held throughout the year would offset costs not covered by the Saskatoon Hilltops or high school football to operate the facility.
But Atchison, responding to a question from the audience on how the private sector can help get the upgrades moving, said turning the facility into an events centre "isn’t feasible."
"It needs a whole overhaul," he said. "It’s another year delay, but we’ve got to get there."
Instead, the city will look to private-sector sponsorship to fund $3 million of an estimated $13 million to add artificial turf and perimeter fencing, dressing rooms, washrooms and a concession, he said, which make up the first phase of upgrade plans.
Saskatoon Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant expressed disappointment over the mayor’s revelation Tuesday. His team started last season at Gordie Howe Bowl, but played four of its last five home games at Griffiths Stadium.
"The Hilltops have two homes right now," said Sargeant, whose club claimed a 14th national title by beating the Vancouver Island Raiders at Griffiths. "Eventually, we’d like to get back to one and we know where we want that one to be."
That won’t happen until Gordie Howe Bowl has an artificial surface capable of withstanding a season’s worth of demands from high school and Hilltop games. When the grass field gets chewed up, it not only limits what skilled players can do, said Sargeant, it also ramps up the risk of injuries.
"We just hope that at some point in time, the youth playing this game get the same opportunity as all of the kids in other provinces," he added. "You just have to go to Alberta, or even Regina — look at the facilities that they’ve got. It’s not an equal playing field. I’m proud to be from Saskatoon and hats off to all of the great things we have here, but I’d just like to see us do a better job of providing opportunities for our kids here in Saskatoon because we’re not in terms of the game of football."
A $30-million master plan for the site includes three phases. The report going to city council in March will update the status of the project.
ADDRESS FOCUSES ON ‘STATE OF MIND’
Saskatoon needs to change its "state of mind," Atchison told the business crowd in his address.
In a marked departure from previous state-of-the-city speeches, which have focused on trumpeting a long list of city building projects, Atchison told around 400 people at a Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce luncheon at TCU Place that Saskatoon is "emerging" as the country’s economic driver led by continued growth in the mining sector.
Atchison lamented that residents don’t believe that growth can be sustained over the course of a number of years.
"We need to change our state of mind and think of all the good things that are happening for us," he said.
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