Project Background

2010

April 2010:

• Council requests an Arena Renewal Strategy.

2013

January 2013:

• Following a series of staff reports and public consultations, a report is submitted to the Community Services Standing Committee that provides a detailed review of all community arenas, including an analysis of demand for ice time, remaining lifecycle of existing facilities and projections for facility repairs and replacement.

July 2013:

• A staff report on the Arena Renewal Strategy is presented to the Community Services Committee, providing results of a community consultation regarding the Sudbury Community Arena.
• Council approves a resolution to explore opportunities to replace the Sudbury Community Arena, including renovating and enhancing the existing facility and considering Public-Private-Partnerships.

2015

March 2015:

• A full report, titled Arena Renewal Strategy and Sudbury Community Arena – Renewal Options, is presented to Council, including a report from independent consultant Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis (CBRE) on the scope of work and cost of refurbishing the Sudbury Community Arena.
• CBRE also provides a comparison of the scope of work and the cost of replacing the facility. CBRE partnered with MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects in the completion of the project analysis.

2016

July 2016:

• City Council engages PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) to develop a Phase I Market Analysis and Business Case Assessment.

2017

March 7, 2017:

• The study completed by PwC is presented to Council,which concludes the Greater Sudbury market could support an Event Centre with approximately 5,800 seats to service demand.

June 27, 2017:

• Council selects the Kingsway location for the new Arena/Event Centre as well as a financing plan for inclusion in the 2018 budget.

Spring 2017:

• City issues Request for Supplier Qualification for the design-build RFP process which produces three short-listed teams for the RFP process.

August 22, 2017:

• Council authorized staff to single source Cumulus for the integrated site plan and authorized staff to enter into a partnership with Gateway and Zulich for the integrated site plan.

September/October 2017:

• Public consultation for the draft integrated site plan for the Kingsway Entertainment District

November 3-10:

• The City of Greater Sudbury hosts open houses at 18 locations throughout the community, including all 14 municipal arenas. Residents also have opportunity to submit comment online.

November 2017:

• Final Site Design Strategy is presented to Council for approval.
• Site Design Strategy Presentation

December 2017:

• The 2018 Budget is presented to Council for approval, which includes a business case for financing the new arena/event Centre.

2018

January 22, 2018:

• Two Preliminary Planning Reports are presented to Council for approvals. The first is an application for rezoning to permit a recreation and community centre in the form of a public arena and the other is applications for Official Plan Amendment and Rezoning to permit a place of amusement in the form of a casino. This report was released to the public and was part of a two part public hearing.

February 27, 2018:

• Council approves the Evaluation Criteria for the design-build RFP for the Event Centre.

March 2018:

• The application for the official plan amendment and rezoning to permit a place of amusement in the form of a casino is presented and approved by Council.
• The application for rezoning to permit a recreation and community centre in the form of a public arena is presented and approved by Council.
• The application for rezoning to permit parking lots in addition to the uses permitted in MR, Light Industrial and M3, Heaving Industrial Zones is presented and approved by Council.
• Various studies and documents in support of and in response to the three applications are included with the March 2018 reports and available to the public. Supporting documents include the Planning Justification Report (and an Addendum), the Stage 1 Planning Hearing – Public Comment Summary, the KED Traffic Impact Study (and Addendum) and Peer Review Comments, a Memo on Exit time vs. Processing Time Following Arena Events, Species at Risk Submittal, and a Risk Management Plan.

May 2018:

• May 8, 2018, Update to Council
• Steve Johnston, Managing Director of RFP Solutions Inc. hired as Fairness Monitor for Design/Build procurement process.
• May 29, 2018, Update to Council

June 2018:

• June 12, 2018, Update to Council
• June 19 to July 11, 2018: Public engagement for Festival Square
• June 26, 2018, Update to Council

July 2018:

• July 10, 2018, Update to Council
• Spring/Summer 2018: 12 appeals are filed with the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) regarding the rezoning and official plan amendments for the arena/event centre and the Kingsway Entertainment District project.

August 2018:

• August 14, 2018, Update to Council

September 2018

• September 11, 2018, Update to Council
• September 25, 2018, Update to Council

November 2018:

• November 6, 2018: LPAT holds the first of two Case Management Conferences.
• November 20, 2018, Update to Council

2019

Several update reports are presented to Council while the City waits for the LPAT and Superior Court processes to proceed.

January 2019:

• January 15, 2019, Update to Council
• January 29, 2019, Update to Council

February 2019:

• February 12, 2019, Update to Council

March 2019:

• March 19, 2019, Update to Council

April 2019:

• April 2019: Under the partnership agreement, the Developer transfers 11.96 hectares (29.56 acres) to the City for Greater Sudbury for a nominal $10.

May 2019:

• May 28, 2019, Council Update Report;
• May 28, 2019, Presentation

August 2019:

• August 18, 2019: LPAT holds a second Case Management Conference.

September 2019:

• September 10, 2019, Update to Council

October 2019:

• October 29, 2019, Update to Council

December 2019:

• December 3, 2019: The City of Greater Sudbury formally serves its response to an application filed with the Superior Court of Justice related to the proceeding to have the by-laws on the Arena/Event Centre at the Kingsway Entertainment District set aside.

2020

January 2020:

• January 21, 2020, Update to Council

March 18, 2020:

• The appeal filed by the Minnow Lake Restoration Group against the approval of the parking lots at the Kingsway Entertainment District is dismissed

June 2020:

• June 9, 2020, Update to Council
• June 29 and 30, 2020: A Superior Court of Justice hearing on the Kingsway Entertainment District is held.

September 2020:

• September 17, 2020: LPAT Hearing for Kingsway Entertainment District planning appeals is held.

October 2020:

• October 6, 2020, Update to Council

November 2020:

• November 2020: The Superior Court of Justice matter is concluded.

December 2020:

• December 15, 2020, Update to Council
• December 23, 2020: LPAT Vice Chair issued his decision on the LPAT appeals (PDF, 482 KB). He determined the City’s approvals were consistent with and conformed to the relevant planning legislation and all appeals were dismissed.

2021

January 2021:

• January 12, 2021, Update to Council

June 2021:

• June 16, 2021: June 16, 2021 Event Centre Update Report is presented to Council. It includes:
• An update report prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc. (PWC),
• An Assessment Study for the Expansion of the Sudbury Community Arena, and
• A Sudbury Community Arena Renovation and Expansion Program Cost Plan.

July 2021:

• July 14, 2021, Update to Council
• A July 14, 2021, report is presented to Council for approval to advance the work required to develop the Event Centre without further delay in accordance with the existing, approved Cost Sharing Agreement, a project schedule that produces a facility which is ready for use in 2024, and regular progress reporting to City Council.
• Council approves the Executive Director of Communications, Strategic Initiatives and Citizen Service to have delegated authority to negotiate, execute and subsequently amend or extend any agreements to produce the work required for delivering the Event Centre Project in 2024, subject to Council’s approval to confirm the site preparation Contract, the Venue Operator, and the final budget of the design-build request for proposals.

August 2021:

• Minnow Lake Restoration Group files a notice of application for judicial review regarding the outcome of the July 14, 2021, Council meeting

September 2021:

• September 28, 2021: Council approves staff to finalize negotiations for the site preparation contract (Bot Engineering & Construction Ltd.) and to begin site preparation by November 29, 2021.

November 2021:

• November 3: 2021: Update to Council
• November 29, 2021: KED site grading work put on pause

December 2021:

• December 9, 2021: Genesis Hospitality announced as hotel partner in KED development
• December 14, 2021: A motion is carried for staff to notify the media of the KED build commitment limited to site preparation. Read the public notification.

2022

January 2022:

• January 11, 2022: Update Report is presented to Council.
• January 25, 2022: A Member’s Motion for Information on KED is carried.
• January 28, 2022: The City issues a Design-Build RFP for the Arena/Event Centre.

April 2022:

• April 8, 2022: Change in Design-Build RFP for Event Centre Project. The City of Greater Sudbury issues an Addendum to the Event Centre Design-Build Request for Proposal (RFP). The amendment changes the method of the procurement from the current Design-Build to a Progressive Design-Build (PDB) process.
• April 11, 2022: The Minnow Lake Restoration Group judicial review is heard in court. There is no scheduled date for the case’s conclusion.

May 2022:

• The OPP investigation was concluded in late May 2022, thereby resolving a project risk.

June 2022:

• June 16, 2022: An Event Centre Update Report is presented to Council.
• June 16, 2022: Council gives direction to staff to start to negotiate a contract with the preferred Venue Manager. The terms and condition of the negotiations will be subject to Council approval.
• June 16, 2022: An report for information only is provided to Council that describes how the Ramsey Lake Subwatershed Study recommendations are met in the KED Stormwater Management (SWM) report.

July 12, 2022:

• An update report is presented to Council for approval on the project budget, a financing plan to secure debt in in the amount of $115 million for a 30 year term, and to commence the site work in September 2022 (subject to execution of the KED Project Completion Agreement). A report with additional information on the Event Centre procurement is also provided.
• At the Council meeting, an amendment to the resolutions from the staff report is presented that requests staff to engage the preferred proponent in a process to achieve a firm target price and total project budget of $150 million, and that staff return back to Council no later than Q1 2023 with a revised plan. This resolution (CC2022-192-A1) is defeated.
• The four (4) resolutions in the original report, which would have allowed the project to move forward, were subsequently defeated (CC2022-192, CC2022-193, CC2022-194, and CC2022-195).
• A report to wrap up the project is expected to be presented to City Council in the coming months. Visit the meetings and agendas page of the City Council July 12, 2022 meeting to read the report and view the meeting.

July 15, 2022:

• The Divisional court released its decision regarding the application brought by the Minnow Lake Restoration Group (MLRG). The application has been dismissed and the Court found that the application was entirely without merit. The City has been awarded legal costs in the amount of $37,000.00