Northlands to offer public one last glimpse of Coliseum ahead of January closure

With Northlands Coliseum set to shutter its doors on Jan. 1, Edmontonians will have one last chance to say goodbye to the old barn.

Northlands will host a weekend of community events at the Edmonton Oilers‘ former home from Dec. 15 to 17.

“People just want to get in the building one more time,” Northlands president and CEO Tim Reid said Tuesday.

Full details will be released on Thursday, Reid said, but added that some of the fun could include a public skate, as well as an Indigenous celebration.

“We hope that’s a community celebration to tell some stories, celebrate some moments and sit in your seat one last time and look at really one of the greatest arenas in the NHL,” Reid said.

“If you want to get back into the building one more time… we’re going to do our very best to get you in there.”

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READ MORE: ‘It’s a bittersweet day,’ as Edmonton Oilers say farewell to Rexall Place

Earlier this year, city council voted for the city to take over the Coliseum on Jan. 1, 2018 and permanently close the arena.

The future of the Coliseum and the site will be back at council Wednesday. The report to be discussed by councillors suggests the cost to demolish the Coliseum has spiked from $8 million to between $15 million and $25 million.

“That figure that we’re quoting now — $15 to $25 (million) — is really, really high level,” City Manager Linda Cochrane said Friday.

READ MORE: Estimated cost to demo Coliseum doubles, Edmonton report says

The annual operating cost in the vacant building would be about $1.5 million each year.

Mayor Don Iveson said Tuesday he would like to see something done with the Coliseum site sooner rather than later.

“I would like to see them developed. I would like to see them developed sooner. I think vacant sites and boarded-up buildings are not in the community interest, not in our city’s interest,” he said.

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“We’ll take action to remove buildings from the sites or prepare them for redevelopment unless there’s a compelling case for a repurpose. In the case of the Coliseum, that hasn’t come forward yet. I think in all likelihood — albeit it’s a significant cost — if we boarded it up for 10 years at $1.5 million apiece, you would have spent the money boarding it up and sitting on it that it would take to just remove it from the site and get on with positive redevelopment for 118 Ave.”

READ MORE: Mayor Iveson wants options for Northlands Coliseum once it’s closed

Reid said Northlands still has a vision to continue operating festivals like K-Days and Farmfair International “for a long time to come.”