The aim of putting a new arena at the North Bay Mall is to help revive a dying part of the city according to a spokesman with the group proposing the idea.
"It can't be just about replacing an arena," Jamie Lowery, spokesperson for the proposal told CKAT.
Lowery, who is also CEO at Cassellholme, says if you are going to inject cash into a project it should be more than just meeting a basic need like an arena.
"It creates a destination of sorts, or a hub, accompanied by existing commercial enterprises in the mall, and social programs. In essence, the business part is, the city gets a fixed price on a lease for the arena, and it gets an operator like the YMCA that is well respected, runs a great operation, and does a lot of philanthropic type of exercises. So they are in the best position to make something really unique out of that space."
The idea sees a practice pad and 500 seat spectator pad to make the most of multi-use possibilities.
See: Dying mall may score new rinks
Battalion coach Stan Butler has been giving advice on what tournament organizers, hockey schools, and event planners are looking for.
"With all the existing infrastructure, with restaurants, hotels and the mall, it really does create a great opportunity to build a destination for those types of uses so you can see if you are offering a hockey tournament for example, you've got people eating in the restaurants, staying in the hotels, and getting a glimpse of what the tourism opportunities are, like fishing in North Bay," Lowery explained.
He says he has no idea what the timeline is, but expects the committee looking into it will expect more detailed information.
The business model will see Gross Capital Inc. of Toronto finance and build the arena in conjunction with mall owners, McCowan and Associates, a private firm headquartered in Barrie. That would avoid an immediate big cost upfront for the city, like any other lease, The City would work with the YMCA for services it would run, like a senior drop-in, youth employment services, and a much-needed daycare. Revenue from those services would help offset lease costs.
Owner Ronald McCowan, once told MacLean's magazine, “The business model is very simple,” he testified: look for commercial buildings in secondary markets that need 'a little bit of TLC,' renovate them, and attract new tenants."
Mitchell Jensen of North Bay (One Kid's Place, North Bay Parry Sound Health Unit, Woodlands school) are the architects and BDO will oversee finances.
"We coined the submission, 'Revitalizing West Ferris.' Our feeling is that by concentrating more use in the existing area you can leverage a lot of things that are already there and take advantage of the population, and businesses, and services like water and sewer. It makes a lot more sense than extending out further into the outer reaches of the community. It really acts as a catalyst for the revitalization of West Ferris," added Lowery.
"The city is looking for some new, fresh ideas and by reaching out to community members and key organizations, There's a lot of people that want to make a difference in the city and it's up to the city to try and capitalize on those ideas."
