The University of Alberta is asking the City of Edmonton to help pay for an arena project at its south campus.
The U of A is requesting $20 million from the city for the proposed development for the $65 million South Campus Community Ice Arena project. The project involves the development of a twin ice sheet that would be connected to the Saville Community Sports Centre.
The main components of the project would be a rink with a seating capacity of 3,000, a second ice sheet with seating for about 400 people and a high performance athlete training and research centre.
The proposal was put forward at a community and public service committee meeting Monday, where parking was a primary discussion point.
The university said the project would support the city’s 10 year Arena Capital Development Strategy, which identifies the need to replace aging single ice sheet arenas with new twin arenas and for additional sheets of ice to meet Edmonton’s growing population.
Northlands has proposed a six-sheet ice facility for Northlands Coliseum as part of its Vision 2020.
In a tweet Monday morning, Mayor Don Iveson said he doesn’t see the Northlands and University of Alberta proposals at odds. He called both “innovative partnership models.”