A city contract signed with the Oilers Entertainment Group in 2013 is placing some uncertainly around the repurposing of Rexall Place.
The clause in the contract titled “Master Agreement between the City of Edmonton and Edmonton Arena Corp” is only a few lines long but the intent is to limit competition to the Oilers Entertainment Group.
The contract reads: “The City will not financially support or advocate in favour of any initiative to rebuild or substantially renovate Rexall Place unless such rebuilding or renovation is for the purpose of converting Rexall Place into a facility to be used for purposes other than as a sports or entertainment facility.”
READ: Master Agreement between the City of Edmonton and Edmonton Arena Corp
On Wednesday, Northlands unveiled its future plan for the current site, which included redeveloping Rexall Place into a two-level athletic complex with seven sheets of ice.
Northlands CEO Tim Reid said the goal is to keep the site alive.
“The great part about this process is everyone has equal say and I think Mr. Katz has equal say as do 800,000 other Edmontonians,” said Reid on Saturday. “If the idea is good, I think that will probably give everyone reason to dig deeper into the agreement between OEG and the City of Edmonton and see what options exist.”
City Councillor Michael Oshry said he’s confident the 2013 contract will quickly become a non-issue.
“Northlands has no intention of competing with the downtown arena for concerts or events. Once that is understood and known... I can’t imagine why the Oilers Group would ever think that (having seven sheets of ice at Northlands) was in competition or a bad idea,” said Oshry.
With files from CTV's Michel Boyer
