A report identifying the potential costs of cleaning up the creosote-contaminated downtown site proposed for the CalgaryNEXT multi-sport facility could be released by Christmas, says Ken King, president of Calgary Sports & Entertainment Corp.
The report was led by Calgary Municipal Land Corporation, which has overseen development of the East Village. It was asked to hire a consultant to review existing environmental studies and reports on the extent of the creosote damage.
“That will give us an idea of the challenges that are going to be faced and presumably some estimates in terms of what it will cost to clean it,” said King, who spoke Tuesday at the Calgary Real Estate Forum.
In August, the organization, which owns the Calgary Flames and Calgary Stampeders, among other teams, announced an $890-million proposal for the 40-hectare West Village, which would include a new hockey arena, covered football stadium and multi-sport field house. The area could also eventually be developed for residential and commercial uses.
It remains unclear who is responsible for cleaning up the site, where a wood preserving plant operated until the early 1960s.
“The City has, or is about to put in place, a process,” he said. “This is an evaluation process. This doesn’t say yes or no. This says ‘should we look more closely’ at a number of issues, which I think will spawn some results in April of next year,” said King.
King said the organization intends to help coordinate a meeting with the City of Calgary, the Alberta government and Ottawa to talk about the environmental issues around the proposed site.
“There’s no real rush. We just need to be diligent. We don’t need to be aggressive or in a hurry,” said King.
King said sports teams in North America are no longer just building stadiums and arenas.
“What they’re doing is they’re transforming cities,” he said.
He said a committee has been struck to decide the future of the Saddledome. As for McMahon Stadium, King said it “should disappear” as it serves “no intrinsic value” and would be an ideal site for a transit-oriented development.
The CalgaryNEXT proposal calls for Calgary Sports & Entertainment to contribute $200 million, with another $250 million coming from user fees. Development on the proposed West Village site could create a Community Revitalization Levy opportunity of $750 million to $900 million.
Proposed funding also includes $200 million for the city for the field house and $240 million from the CRL.
King said his organization has no Plan B should CalgaryNEXT fail to proceed.
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