'We’ve got one shot': City of Brantford one step closer to building new arena and concert venue
A brand new arena and concert venue is one step closer to reality after a meeting at Brantford City Hall Tuesday night.
The $140 million arena would be a new home for the city’s OHL team, the Brantford Bulldogs, but also a part of revitalizing the downtown core.
The new Sports and Entertainment Centre is set to be built in an empty parking lot, right next to the existing Civic Centre arena, which is where the Bulldogs play. But council members say it’s about so much more than hockey; it’s about a city that needs its confidence back, and most agree.
“We've got one shot, we can’t let it go because this opportunity really only comes to us once in a lifetime,” said Gino Caputo, Ward 2 Councillor, during the council meeting.
The city’s special committee of the whole has approved the development of the Sports and Entertainment Centre in the downtown.
The main push – the spoken word promises of the Bulldogs and Ottawa Senators owner, Michael Andlauer.
Before the vote, delegates expressed their excitement.
“I see this was a way to save Brantford, not [to have the] same Brantford,” one delegate said.
But some also expressed their concerns, particularly regarding the price tag.
“I have to ask you as well, why the $140 million, isn’t the hospital the first priority?" questioned the same delegate.
“We have way more pressing issues, homeless, addiction, affordability and primarily a new hospital,” another delegated added.
However, city staff say it’s not that easy.
"I asked straight up if we had the money for a new hospital, when could we see the doors open, she said 2035,” said Michael Sullivan, Ward 1 councillor, referring to his conversation with the hospital’s CEO. “We are not getting it any sooner than that, just the way the province runs, the way the program goes."
A new arena could mean new hope in a different way, according to Coun. Caputo.
“Brantford was always a well-kept secret for years, there wasn't really any growth,” he said. “I don’t believe there was a lot of vision and at times there really wasn’t any hope, but we are now the hottest topic of conversation when it comes to developers in the province.”
As for covering the price tag, city staff’s financial plan includes selling some municipal properties downtown to build nearly 4,000 new residential units and at least one hotel.
The city also claims incremental property taxes worth $9.5 million a year would help contribute to the build. Additionally, they would plan to sell the naming rights for the building at $5 million.
It was described by one councillor as a creative combination of efforts to keep the weight off the taxpayers.
“This will not impact your property tax bill, so the taxpayer will not be funding the Sports and Entertainment Centre," explained Linda Hunt, Ward 4 councillor.
Final approval for the project will be brought to council at the end of the month.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
W5 Investigates Car security investigation: How W5 'stole' a car using a device we ordered online
In part two of a three-part series into how thieves are able to drive off with modern vehicles so easily, CTV W5 correspondent Jon Woodward uses a device flagged by police to easily clone a car key.
Satire slinger The Onion buys Alex Jones' Infowars at auction with help from Sandy Hook families
The satirical news publication The Onion won the bidding for Alex Jones' Infowars at a bankruptcy auction, backed by families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims whom Jones owes more than $1 billion in defamation judgments for calling the massacre a hoax, the families announced Thursday.
South African government says it won't help 4,000 illegal miners inside a closed mine
South Africa's government says it will not help an estimated 4,000 illegal miners inside a closed mine in the country's North West province who have been denied access to basic supplies as part of an official strategy against illegal mining.
Some Scotiabank users facing 'intermittent' access to banking days after scheduled maintenance
Scotiabank users say they are having issues using their bank’s services following a scheduled maintenance period that ended days ago.
B.C. Realtors fined $200K for failure to disclose relevant information to clients
Two B.C. real estate agents have been fined a combined total of more than $200,000 for professional misconduct they committed during the sale of a waterfront property on the Sunshine Coast in 2017.
Trump's defence secretary pick said women shouldn't be in combat roles. These female veterans fear what comes next
Female veterans fear the progress made for women in combat since then will be reversed after U.S. president-elect Donald Trump announced Pete Hegseth this week as his pick for secretary of defense – a Fox News host and Army veteran who has criticized efforts to allow women into combat roles.
Only 8 monkeys remain free after more than a week outside a South Carolina compound
Just eight monkeys remain free from the group who more than a week ago broke out of a South Carolina compound that breeds the primates for medical research, authorities said.
B.C. midwives' college issues warnings about 4 unregistered women
The B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives has issued nearly identical warnings about four women, each of whom it says 'may be offering midwifery services' without being permitted to do so.
A look at how much mail Canada Post delivers, amid a strike notice
Amid a potential postal worker strike, here’s a look at how many letters and parcels the corporation delivers and how those numbers have changed in the internet age.