EDMONTON - ICON Venue Group — the company responsible for building NHL arenas in Pittsburgh, New Jersey, Phoenix and Denver — will be the project manager for Edmonton’s proposed downtown arena, city officials announced Monday.
Kansas City-based 360 Architecture is the preferred architect for the project, although a contract has not yet been signed, said Tim Romani, CEO of ICON and principal in charge of the Edmonton arena project.
Architects with 360 designed projects in Kansas City and Columbus, Ohio, which have frequently served as examples of what Edmonton’s combined arena and entertainment district could look like.
ICON has been hired to bring the project to a stage where 60 per cent of the design is completed and a guaranteed maximum price is secured. They expect to release introductory sketches of how the interior of the arena could function within days, and have schematic drawings of the arena and district in about four months.
City council and the Katz Group are still hoping the province will contribute $100 million for the $450-million project. The Katz Group has committed $100 million to the arena, plus $100-million worth of investment in the surrounding entertainment district.
Another $125 million will be covered through a ticket tax, and the city has committed to cover the remaining $125 million through a CRL, new parking revenue and several other sources.
The full budget — including that missing $100 million — must be in place by March or April 2013 to sign construction contracts and finish the arena in time for the 2015/2016 hockey season, said Romani.
Katz’ original goal of having an arena ready by the time the lease runs out at Rexall Place in 2014 has been ruled out.
The current building schedule is aggressive, said Rick Daviss, who was appointed the city’s senior manager for the arena project Monday. “It’s certainly aggressive. Is it possible? Yes, it’s possible.”
By the time city council approved developing the project design, most of the work of choosing ICON out of 12 shortlisted companies had already been done, but the city reviewed the process to make sure it aligned with city standards, said Daviss.
“(Katz Group) had recommended ICON,” he said. “There’s really only a handful of firms with the kind of international experience and background that are able to pull a project of this magnitude together.”
“Our arena will be Edmonton’s arena and it will have the kind of ingredients that will make Edmonton successful,” said Mayor Stephen Mandel, adding that ICON is skilled at adapting its arenas to fit a local market place.
ICON Group is “the most qualified group of people to overall see to managing this, to see that in the end it’s a functional, cost-effective facility,” he said.
“The city’s needs are absolutely met in every aspect of this. The city is at the table. This is not about the Katz Group. This is about the City of Edmonton working co-operatively with its tenant to make sure it’s successful for everybody.”
The proposed Edmonton area is being designed with 18,400 seats, which would make it a medium-sized NHL arena. It will have fewer luxury corporate boxes, and likely more “loge seats,” mid-range seating that might appeal to small businesses or a group of friends looking for an “upscale experience,” said Romani.
The design will integrate the arena with an LRT station and outdoor pedway. The pedway will create space for events and a walking connection to surrounding developments. It will be a design-build contract with a fixed price, and city council be asked to approve the final design.
Ian O’Donnell, board member for the Downtown Edmonton Community League, called the 360 Architecture a “very appropriate” choice because of their experience in Kansas and Ohio. “Both are good (examples). They really encourage not just an arena but a district,” said O’Donnell, who also works for local firm Manasc Isaac Architects.
“Neither is quite as good as it could be,” he said, but both bring life to the districts around them and are also destinations for people who aren’t attending games.
Architects from 360 Architecture also designed a new sports centre in Basrah, Iraq and the new stadium for the New York Jets and New York Giants.
ICON’s team also has Ontario-born project executive Dan Vaillant, said O’Donnell. “It’s always good to have someone on the team who knows what snow is.”
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