An open house for the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon is being offered to the general public on Monday with the hopes of giving residents a behind-the-scenes look at how events are currently being operated.
“We’re at a critical point right now where we’re seeing the potential of losing opportunities if we don’t consider this infrastructure in an urgent sense,” said Steph Clovechok, CEO for Discover Saskatoon.
Clovechok hopes this shows why they’ve been advocating for the development of the Downtown Event and Entertainment District.
“You may not see the inner workings of the facility and the conditions that the staff currently has to work within to provide the guest experience and an experience for the concerts, the bands, all of the people who are coming to our city to perform or conduct their business in this space.”
She said they are making some compromises that are affecting both the visitor experience as well as the performers’.
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“Right now the SaskTel Centre team really has to work around a lot of old, outdated operational systems within their building.”
She gave an example of the bid they put in for the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, saying a bunch of concessions would be needed to accommodate that event like washrooms and external change rooms.
“This invitation that we have around the world to come and experience this destination has to be matched with what we deliver on the ground and our current infrastructure does not allow us to do that.”
She said the SaskTel Centre will continue to run, but added that the infrastructure needs to be enhanced and needs to be located somewhere that offers a better visitor experience.
Tours run every hour from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday with residents needing to register ahead.
The City of Saskatoon said the first round of public engagement around the Downtown Event and Entertainment District wrapped up in May, with initial designs for the event centre to be presented this month.
Public feedback on the initial designs will be sought during summer and fall, with a review of the draft designs to follow.
It was noted in a city council meeting back in May that feedback on those designs will be presented in the Decision Report, and a recommendation will be put forth in November that could be accepted, another option selected, additional information requested, or a decision to not proceed at that time, with further reports and engagement planned for 2024.