Brantford gains traction for new sports, entertainment venue

In Brantford, momentum is building for a new sports and entertainment venue and city council is looking to make the project a priority.

Council voted in favour of making the project a priority at a special meeting this week and work will be underway to seek partners and look at feasibility to the proposal.

The idea of a brand new hockey rink and entertainment venue inched closer to reality this week after city hall received positive feedback from the community.

According to city officials, 81 per cent of 575 respondents on a recent survey believe the new complex, proposed right next to the Brantford Civic Centre, would be a positive drive for the local economy.

Brantford mayor Kevin Davis says it was conducted on the open domain “LetsTalkBrantford”, asking if the new building would be good for the city and what amenities they’d like to see.

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“I mean we’re months away from making a final decision so there’s a lot of information we need.“ said Davis.

Plans are moving forward after council approved spending nearly three quarters of a million dollars to seek investors and site feasibility.

“What’s missing there is ‘and would you be prepared to pay for it. And would you be willing to pay for it even if the Bulldogs leave town.’“ commented sports economist Mike Lander.

Lander says public dollars are always a factor on new sports complexes and believes a new hockey barn for the OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs likely won’t be cheap.

“The location, the artist renderings of what the project is going to look like, the actual design plan itself. So, it’s hard to say but if you were planning on $200-250-million, I wouldn’t bat an eye at that and say it’s out of the norm.

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Davis says while those questions get sorted out, preliminary estimates of a new arena show it could be up to $140-million.

“Whether it’s $120-million, whether it’s $140-million, it’s really critical to know what the proposals are and how you finance that,“ said mayor Davis. “You can’t pin me down now to what is an acceptable number because there’s so much more that goes into it.

Davis adds that Brantford residents can expect more consultation as they continue exploring a new venue.

The consortium tasked with renovating Hamilton’s FirstOntario Centre was asked if they have left the door open for a possible reunion with the Bulldog, They said it remains an option, but also say they’re happy that Brantford is seeing success with the Bulldogs.

The team themselves have not commented on the potential new venue at this time.