News Article: Canadian Press: Markham NHL-size arena a step closer to being built

[hockeywiz542]

http://www.markham.ca/wps/portal/Ma...9sFyjk_f0ZdywQ!!/dl5/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/

Markham Sports, Entertainment and Cultural Centre Sub-committee Presentation

The City of Markham's Chief Administrative Officer, Andy Taylor provided a presentation to the Markham Sports, Entertainment & Cultural Centre Sub-committee on Friday, November 29, 2013, regarding the previous financial framework and the current financial arrangements associated with the proposed Arena Project.

View the Sub-committee meeting presentation.

http://www.markham.ca/wps/wcm/conne...&CACHEID=b30b702c-f499-4aa2-9c5f-60efb2529206

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/markham-nhl-size-arena-a-step-closer-to-being-built-1.2446426

Markham NHL-size arena a step closer to being built

Building would be called the GTA Centre

The Canadian PressPosted: Nov 30, 2013 11:57 AM ET|Last Updated: Nov 30, 2013 12:45 PM ET

A proposed NHL-size arena in Markham, Ont., is moving one step closer to being built.

Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti says the city has signed two new memorandums of understanding that mean no taxpayer dollars will be used to build the arena.

He says a memorandum of understanding has been signed with the private sector that will see half of the project's $325 million cost covered by developers and the lease of the arena itself.

A second memorandum of understanding has been signed between the city and GTA Sports and Entertainment, which will cover the other half of building costs.

"This is a very positive step towards bringing a world-class facility to Markham", said Scarpitti. "The support from our developer community has been outstanding. They are stepping up again like they did for other projects like the YMCA and the expansion of the Markham Stouffville Hospital.

"The benefits for Markham are significant, including hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in economic activity for local businesses."

The two agreements mean the city no longer has to taken on loans for the project, which would now be 100 per cent privately funded.

Both memorandums of understanding need approval of Markham city council for the project to move forward.

Click to read more...

 

[Cap'n Flavour]

The devil is in the details. Just because there's no up-front costs in taxes or loans paid for by the city doesn't mean that the arena will be paid for entirely by the private sector. A generous lease could well lose the city much more money than loans to pay for construction costs.

 

[tamle]

Can it thrive without an NHL franchise?

 

[Kingstonian84*]

Can it thrive without an NHL franchise?

I grew up in Markham and I can safely tell you I highly doubt they get an NHL team for a few reasons

1. To get a team relocated you need to have all 30 owners approve of the move, and I gurantee you Toronto will not approve of it due to selfish and insecure reasons they don't want a team moving in on their turf

2. Markham doesn't have the demographics to support selling out 15-20k seats a night! The main culture is Asian and hockey is just not popular with them, a lot of them won't shell out $200-300 a night to come watch a hockey team play.

I can see an arena being built but it wont be used to house a NHL team.

 

[Leafs For Life*]

I grew up in Markham and I can safely tell you I highly doubt they get an NHL team for a few reasons

1. To get a team relocated you need to have all 30 owners approve of the move, and I gurantee you Toronto will not approve of it due to selfish and insecure reasons they don't want a team moving in on their turf

2. Markham doesn't have the demographics to support selling out 15-20k seats a night! The main culture is Asian and hockey is just not popular with them, a lot of them won't shell out $200-300 a night to come watch a hockey team play.

I can see an arena being built but it wont be used to house a NHL team.

People drive a couple hours to pay 1000 for crappy Leafs tickets.

I'd definitely drive 30 minutes to pay 500 for decent ones in Markham.

And IMO, the demographics would change relatively fast if an NHL team was there.

 

[Oskar The Groucho]

I grew up in Markham and I can safely tell you I highly doubt they get an NHL team for a few reasons

1. To get a team relocated you need to have all 30 owners approve of the move, and I gurantee you Toronto will not approve of it due to selfish and insecure reasons they don't want a team moving in on their turf

2. Markham doesn't have the demographics to support selling out 15-20k seats a night! The main culture is Asian and hockey is just not popular with them, a lot of them won't shell out $200-300 a night to come watch a hockey team play.

I can see an arena being built but it wont be used to house a NHL team.

This would not just bring in people that live in Markham.. I can tell you Living in Pickering, many people would flock from the GTA mainly Pickering,Ajax,Whitby,Oshawa,Uxbridge and Bowmanville to come see that game..

The Market is there they just need a stadium built and they will come

 

[canary]

New York City area has 3 teams, I have no doubt Toronto can support 2.

 

[Patience]

With Rogers getting that massive media deal shutting out their MLSE partners Bell, it's a slam dunk that MLSE will approve Bell getting the second GTA NHL team in the next expansion.

 

[Mess]

New York City area has 3 teams, I have no doubt Toronto can support 2.

Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Toros

Both played out of Maple Leaf Gardens in the mid 1970's.

 

[Judas Tavares]

At what major intersection would this arena be located?

 

[Diatomic]

New York City area has 3 teams, I have no doubt Toronto can support 2.

Florida also has 2 teams and California has 3 team, Ontario already has 2 teams but Toronto can support 2 for sure. Dumb Bettman probably won't do it tho

 

[McLovin*]

Balsillie's Copps Coliseum would've been nicer

 

[Warden of the North]

I was listening to McCown last night and he said he knows for a fact that a Toronto ownership group offered the NHL $500 million for a franchise, TWICE, in recent memory. This group also planned to build another arena, besides this Markham one. He would not disclose the name of the group.

Bettman said no.

 

[KuleminFan41]

I was listening to McCown last night and he said he knows for a fact that an ownership group offered the NHL $500 million for a franchise, TWICE, in recent memory. This group also planned to build another arena, besides this Markham one. He would not disclose the name of the group.

Bettman said no.

Bettman's gotta have that Las Vegas and Arizona hockey teams

 

[hockeywiz542]

At what major intersection would this arena be located?

http://gtacentre.ca/?page_id=8278

Location

The GTA Centre would be located in Markham, Ontario – at the heart of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) with a population of more than six million people. The City of Markham is one of Ontario’s fastest growing municipalities and home to over 400 corporate head offices and 900 high-tech and life science companies.

Designed as an architectural landmark, the GTA Centre would anchor Markham Centre, a mixed development featuring retail stores, restaurants and bars, office space, hotels and condominiums. The arena would be built on the north side of Highway 407 between Warden Avenue and Kennedy Road. It would be easily accessible via public transportation using the Unionville GO Station and VIVA bus service.

Highway 407 Extension

The Highway 407 East project, already under construction, will lengthen the expressway and would make the GTA Centre easily accessible to residents of Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, Oshawa, and Clarington.

 

[Kingstonian84*]

At what major intersection would this arena be located?

Just north of the 407 between Warden and Kennedy Road, basically right across from the Unionville Go Station.

 

[Pocket Hercules]

I grew up in Markham and I can safely tell you I highly doubt they get an NHL team for a few reasons

1. To get a team relocated you need to have all 30 owners approve of the move, and I gurantee you Toronto will not approve of it due to selfish and insecure reasons they don't want a team moving in on their turf

2. Markham doesn't have the demographics to support selling out 15-20k seats a night! The main culture is Asian and hockey is just not popular with them, a lot of them won't shell out $200-300 a night to come watch a hockey team play.

I can see an arena being built but it wont be used to house a NHL team.

I grew up in Markham as well, and I have to agree with all of this. Don't know too much about Durham Region and The Golden Horseshoe area, but I do know that Markham has a very strong contingent of hardcore Leaf fans that wouldn't just switch allegiances because a new team has moved into town. It also doesn't help that the percentage of Chinese people that live in the Markham/Unionville area is now well over 50%, and they sure as hell won't come out and support this team.

If this is a tactic to bring an NHL team here, than they got their work cut out for them, that's for sure.

 

[Daisy Jane]

I was listening to McCown last night and he said he knows for a fact that a Toronto ownership group offered the NHL $500 million for a franchise, TWICE, in recent memory. This group also planned to build another arena, besides this Markham one. He would not disclose the name of the group.

Bettman said no.

Don't blame him.

I don't think Ontario needs another Franchise. truthfully I'd give Quebec one.

(and considering that the HNIC panel + the TSN panel was saying Bettman wants 32 teams in the league like football/baseball?) the two new teams are going to be in the west anyway.. unless they move Florida).

 

[Kingstonian84*]

I grew up in Markham as well, and I have to agree with all of this. Don't know too much about Durham Region and The Golden Horseshoe area, but I do know that Markham has a very strong contingent of hardcore Leaf fans that wouldn't just switch allegiances because a new team has moved into town. It also doesn't help that the percentage of Chinese people that live in the Markham/Unionville area is now well over 50%, and they sure as hell won't come out and support this team.

If this is a tactic to bring an NHL team here, than they got their work cut out for them, that's for sure.

Which part of Markham did u grow up in?

 

[garyjones93]

I grew up in Markham and I can safely tell you I highly doubt they get an NHL team for a few reasons

1. To get a team relocated you need to have all 30 owners approve of the move, and I gurantee you Toronto will not approve of it due to selfish and insecure reasons they don't want a team moving in on their turf

2. Markham doesn't have the demographics to support selling out 15-20k seats a night! The main culture is Asian and hockey is just not popular with them, a lot of them won't shell out $200-300 a night to come watch a hockey team play.

I can see an arena being built but it wont be used to house a NHL team.

Well if they move a team that isn't making much money to Markham, they will vastly increase the team's income, thus raising the cap which will help teams like Toronto. If I could move any team there it would be Tampa. Imagine Stamkos playing in his home city. They would easily sell out. Then move Florida to Quebec city. More money for the league, higher cap/more revenue sharing.

 

[yakfish]

I get the idea of another Toronto team making sense, but it won't be an expansion team. It would have to be a current team that gets moved. That raises the question of where this team would be moved from? The Eastern Conference already has more teams that the West. The only likely teams that I could see moving are #1 Phoenix, #2 Nashville or #3 Florida. With Phoenix being the most likely. Moving another team from the west to the East IMO would be out of the question. and I really don't see Nashville or Florida getting moved. I makes more sense that if a team is going to be move that it moves to a western market such as Seattle or Portland.

 

[Warden of the North]

I get the idea of another Toronto team making sense, but it won't be an expansion team. It would have to be a current team that gets moved. That raises the question of where this team would be moved from? The Eastern Conference already has more teams that the West. The only likely teams that I could see moving are #1 Phoenix, #2 Nashville or #3 Florida. With Phoenix being the most likely. Moving another team from the west to the East IMO would be out of the question. and I really don't see Nashville or Florida getting moved. I makes more sense that if a team is going to be move that it moves to a western market such as Seattle or Portland.

Phoenix isnt going anywhere any time soon, with there new ownership in place and lease deal done.

 

[LeafalCrusader]

If they do get a team I hope its through relocation. No more expansion.

 

[Pocket Hercules]

Which part of Markham did u grow up in?

Around the 16th and 48 area. Right by Brother Andre.

You?

 

[harvey]

The NHL owners LOVE money.
thus there will be TWO expansion teams in the east:
Markham and Quebec City

at over 500 million PER expansion team, the owners will be salivating.
and the NHLPA will not complain.

Look at the current team alignments, and it is set up completely for adding 2 more teams.

So what about relocation and alignments?

I could see the florida panthers being moved to Seattle,
columbus moving to the central,
lightning to the metropolitan
quebec and Markham in the Atlantic division.