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The public has its first look at what a future downtown arena could look like with the city releasing illustrations of the two potential sites on Monday.
City council also approved the public consultation process for the future entertainment district at its meeting, which will help guide the final decision on choosing either Site A, the north parking lot of Midtown Mall, or Site B, the city yards on 25th Street East next to the Saskatoon Police Service headquarters.
An artist rendering showing a proposed downtown arena in the Midtown Mall parking lot. (Supplied/City of Saskatoon)
“We have a chance to make decisions that will shape the downtown and the city for the next 50 years and beyond,” Mayor Charlie Clark said in a release.
“The illustrations give people an idea of what the District could look like and how exciting and dynamic this will be. A lot of the design detail will still need to be worked out ultimately by architects, partners, and working with the community. These are simply possible concepts.”
Five different locations were considered, but only two were considered viable options, as the others did not meet the size requirements for a new event centre.
The consultation phase will run for the next five weeks asking for input from residents and businesses through various telephone and online surveys until Oct. 3
The arena, convention centre and future Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system will be the anchors for the entertainment district, boosting the revitalization of the downtown according to the city report that studied the different downtown locations.
Results from the surveys will be shared publicly and presented to city council in November with a final decision on the location to come later.
An artist rendering showing a proposed downtown arena near the Saskatoon police station. (Supplied/City of Saskatoon)
