The Ice District in Downtown Edmonton is about to get a facelift.
According to The Edmonton Journal, the Oilers Entertainment Group (OEG), City of Edmonton, and Alberta government have reached a tentative deal that would see a combination of public and private funding used to demolish the vacant Northlands Coliseum and build an event park next to Rogers Place.
This agreement comes after months of negotiating between the three parties and is the province’s response to Edmonton City Council pushing for an investment in the city’s downtown arena after the United Conservative Party (UCP) committed $330 million to Calgary’s Scotia Place and surrounding entertainment district, which is set to open in 2027.
Back in May of 2024, Keith Gerein of PostMedia reported that the OEG, UCP, and City Council were “working on a plan to have the province make a major sports and cultural investment in Edmonton.” In February, The Edmonton Journal added that the province has set aside $106 million over three years for a project that would “demolish the former Northlands Coliseum, add a public event space next to Rogers Place, and fund a private development to renew the Downtown core.”
While the deal hasn’t been finalized, the total cost for the province, municipality, and OEG is estimated to be roughly $408 million.
A significant part of the project is a $250 million event park east of Rogers Place which would be owned by the City of Edmonton. The OEG has agreed to contribute $84 million and would be responsible for any overages in cost. The city plans to use $69 million from a Community Revitalization Levy and the province has reportedly set aside $52 million over three years for the event park.
One-third of the event park’s booking schedule would be dedicated to the public, including community groups and non-profits. The venue would accommodate events for up to 2,500 people, featuring retractable outdoor canopies for year-round use. An attached building will offer indoor spaces, including meeting rooms and classrooms. Time would also be allocated for sports leagues such as minor hockey, youth soccer, and basketball, which addressed a facility gap in Edmonton’s Downtown core, said Tim Shipton, executive vice-president of external affairs at OEG.
“We believe that is going to be an important public space, connected to Rogers Place and the LRT that will be accessible by so many different groups in the communities,” Shipton told Postmedia. “It’s something that we embrace, certainly from an OEG perspective, because through consultation we know that there’s a programming gap, and we know that there’s lots of opportunity for community groups to use the space. We feel that the event park will do that and also create some really great public realm spaces in the Downtown core.”
The province is also setting aside $37.5 million over three years to fund the demolition of Northlands Coliseum, which frees the City of Edmonton from the $35 million commitment they had made to bring down the old arena. Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said the City will redirect that money to jumpstart the construction of new housing on city-owned land near Rogers Place.
“Exhibition lands has so much potential. It is an underutilized area and it’s close to all the amenities that people desire to live close to,” Sohi said. “It has LRT access, all the commercial amenities on 118th avenue, it’s close to the rec centre, close to the library. It has all the community would need. What’s lacking in the area is housing, so this will help us unlock more housing in the core of the city.”
The other $16.4 million commitment from Alberta in this agreement would be used to prepare land in Edmonton’s downtown for The Village at Ice District, a private development by the Katz Group which is reportedly expected to include housing alongside retail and commercial space.
Edmonton’s $613 million downtown arena project that was agreed to back in 2013 was paid for by the team, the City of Edmonton, and a city-levied ticket surcharge. The Katz Group put in $166 million, the City paid roughly $313 million, and the rest is being paid off over time through the ticket surcharge. The City asked the Alberta government for funding and was declined any direct contributions by two different Alberta Premiers, Ed Stelmach and Allison Redford.
Ahead of the 2024 provincial election when Calgary’s arena project was announced, UCP leader and now-Premier Danielle Smith said that she would have a conversation about investing in Edmonton’s downtown.
“We’re prepared to have a conversation, as well, if there’s additional work that we need to do in Edmonton so that both of our downtowns in Calgary and Edmonton can grow out together. I think people expect that the province is going to do these kinds of major infrastructure investments.”
Edmonton City Council’s Executive Committee will meet on Wednesday to look at whether to extend the aforementioned Downtown Community Revitalization Levy for another ten years. Doing so would give the city the ability to borrow money from future property tax revenue to invest in projects that are ultimately meant to raise property value over time. If council moves to continue the CRL, this project with the province and OEG will move forward.
