new stadium... summarization thread for people who may have missed it

2005/06 Leo says... hey peeps.. I want to build a new stadium/ waterpark/hotel/convention centre.

It will be a football shaped stadium
the hotel will be at one of of the stadium so some rooms can watch games
the underground of the seating will be a massive convention centre that will be able to hold VERY VERY large conventions.
There will be a pretty good waterpark attached.
It will be in headingly
The reviews are mixed... bombers outside of winnipeg? How much money?
Plus the club says we are not really looking right now anyway.

Idea dies.

Earlier 2008 all of a sudden the board is interested.

Two proposals are from the main stream
Asper says.. give me $80 million and the team I will invest 20 Million of my own money in the stadium We will rebuild on site first replacing one side, then the other. I will build retail on site as well for another 26 millionish.

Leo says. I will build in St. B. You can keep the land where it currently sits. I will build a new stadium, hotel, water park.retail and convention centre. I want the same 80 million but I will put up 360ish million of my own for the rest of it. I dont want to own the team.

Asper wins no reasons are made public that I can remember.

Headingly location sucks.

Late fall 2008 the prov and feds basically both say yeah... thats not gonna happen. We are not giving you that kind of money.
(on the sideline Leo bids for and wins waterpark money from city)
Asper says.. :LETS REDEVELOP POINT DOUGLAS!
we will add lots of waterfront stuff and a massive waterpark attached to the stadium. This idea also has decent merit of being attached to a rapid transit syste, I still get the Polo park land for retail development. I still want 40 million (down from 80) from feds and proc.. city will cover costs of infrastructure changes and of buying people out City and Province are more then a little pissed about announcing ahead of time. Because of the announcement not only do property prices temporarily go up making the city promise of redevelopment of the area harder and more expensive.. Many local residents hate the idea of being forced out for a stadium and people also speculate that downtown will truly be dead on non game/attraction nights.
Feds are more open to idea but still say its too much.

Idea dies

Then the U of M idea is announced. Significant more involvement for amature sport brings Feds to the table, UofM to the table, City, province almost everyone likes the idea.

Asper still gets to own the team. BUT puts up 10 million that will remain in trust should his idea fail or should he try to walk away or whatever. He buys the polo park land for??? (some have said 10 million) the prov and feds only put in 40 mill total.

But it is all contingent on secure and signing all leases for retail to be built at polo park.

Leo renegs on ACCEPTING waterpark money. ( who wouldn;t with the city after accepting his proposal moving forward with Asper and announcing an even bigger water park downtown)
IKEA deal gets announced ( which would have a serious impact on Aspers ability to get retail leases signed I would think)

grumpy old man wrote:Headingly location sucks.

location sucked for sure. I loved the design and idea of a better convention centre tho

so now we sit and wait until at least September (Asper's promised go/no go date that from the article we read today seems it may not be a hard and fast go/no go.) and possibly the original plan for the stadium will be cut back because of expense.

oo also... Leo tried buying the convention centre off the city with promised improvements.. idea was lacking in substanial detail so it was shot down by city.

Lets move a new convention center out to Portage la Prairie, the Bomber Stadium to Plum Coulee, and get retail leases somewhere near the Polar Bear dump in Flin Flon.
Eery one is happy, and as a bonus we put in a fast bus service to the Half Moon in Lockport!

Deank wrote:Earlier 2008 all of a sudden the board is interested.

Two proposals are from the main stream
Asper says.. give me $80 million and the team I will invest 20 Million of my own money in the stadium We will rebuild on site first replacing one side, then the other. I will build retail on site as well for another 26 millionish.

Leo says. I will build in St. B. You can keep the land where it currently sits. I will build a new stadium, hotel, water park.retail and convention centre. I want the same 80 million but I will put up 360ish million of my own for the rest of it. I dont want to own the team.

Asper wins no reasons are made public that I can remember.

This is where the deal starts to smell badly...in comparing the two proposals.

The Bomber Board needs to explain a few things methinks.

I agree with DeanK, the stadium/hotel/water park/convention centre design was my personal favorite so far.

I agree with GOM, the location was crap.

Surely there is other open spaces available where a stadium/hotel/water park\convention centre could have been built...the open stretch of wasteland between Pembina Hwy and Waverly just north of Bishop it huge enough....

There is also a gargantuan chunk of unused land south of Wilkes, West of Kenaston....which could have been used as well...lots of parking, lots of space, and it would be near Ikea! (the Ikea part is a recent add-in)

The plot o'land Leo already owns in St.B seems like a great location... Parking will be an issue. As will traffic. That's why the U of M site was so great.

Those could be dealt with

The two sites seem very similar to me. Both have limited access.

The St. B location might have been Marion Street's only way of getting repaired/ripped out and replaced.

Now we're stuck with an ever deteriorating goat path....and one that gives goat paths a bad name!

U of M has University Crescent, Pembina Highway and Bison Drive to carry traffic away. These are uncongested unrestricted roadways that allow traffic quick routes north, south and west.

St. Boniface is congested. However, it would be much better than Polo Park...

Google map it. You'd be surprised at how limited the St. Boniface site is.

JT Estoban wrote:The St. B location might have been Marion Street's only way of getting repaired/ripped out and replaced.

Now we're stuck with an ever deteriorating goat path....and one that gives goat paths a bad name!

That's not part of the deal is it? Heh heh