Kingsway Entertainment District looks set to advance now, as Mayor of Greater Sudbury Brian Bigger has provided a positive update on the project. According to him, the city council’s decision to launch the project in the area stays and can now move forward, and if everything goes to plan the event center should be launched in 2024.
Initially, the council voted for the event center to be constructed in a downtown location, but later there was an almost unanimous vote to focus on the Kingsway site for the project. Plans for the center have been massively delayed due to many legal obstacles. In 2020 the project was put on hold after the occurrence of the unprecedented situation, which raised a lot of questions surrounding its future.
No More Complications
Last week Mayor Bigger stated that there should not be any further complications with the event center. He explained that staff members are working closely with the partners in the Kingsway Entertainment District to ensure just that. Mr. Bigger said that the commitment of the partners should be known and understood by the public and the council.
In his last report, Greater Sudbury’s executive director of strategic initiatives, communications, and citizen services, Ian Wood, claimed that the project should be finished by the 2024 deadline. According to the report, several major tasks must be reviewed and completed for the construction process to officially begin. This includes determining a venue operator, acquiring build RFP, road and intersection construction, and presenting design drawings.
Rob Mitchell, director of communications and public affairs for Gateway Casinos which plans to launch a casino property in the proposed center, stated that the gaming company is looking forward to obtaining more information on how the project will advance. Mr. Mitchell said that the team is looking forward to seeing the recommendations from the city’s officials on the next development steps and timeframe.
Mayor Bigger stated that there has not been a resolution to review and reconsider the KED site by councilors, as he explained that they have not brought up any motion to oppose the vote from 2017. He stated that while council members are free to introduce such a motion, the project will be moving forward as the majority of councilors have opted for the site.
New Report
At the start of June, the city council has requested PricewaterhouseCoopers to conduct a new report on the event center to determine which site would be more suitable for the project. The final report stated that the revamp of the downtown arena would cost between CA$125.4-128.6 million, which is more expensive than the Kingsway location which is projected to cost around CA$113.8 million without the parking area
Vagueness
As already mentioned, the complex has faced many obstacles since its introduction, then in 2020, the plans were affected by the unprecedented situation. Ward 3 Coun. Gerry Montpellier has expressed his concerns that Gateway Casinos might not pursue the casino property project in the event center due to the financial difficulties in 2020, as the company was more concerned about its existing gaming properties.
Source: Keown, Mary “KED can move forward now, mayor says”, Sudbury Star, June 17, 2021
