Edmonton city councillors will make an important decision about the fate of the former iconic home to the Edmonton Oilers next Tuesday.
A new report to council estimates that Hockey Canada’s proposed renovations to turn Northlands Coliseum into a hockey academy would cost somewhere between $80 million to $120 million. The report said a tear down of the building would cost less.
“The discussion is going to be how relevant, how much of a priority is the Hockey Canada proposal,” Ward 9 Councillor Bryan Anderson said. “If it isn’t then the discussion switches to, ‘what are we going to do with Northlands?’”
Hockey Canada’s pitch to council might resonate with a lot of Edmontonians who saw the Oilers win Stanley Cups in the old building.
“It’s iconic to say the least,” former Hockey Canada president Tom Renney said. “We have an emotional attachment to it, for sure.”
Councillor Scott McKeen agrees.
“I watched Stanley Cups be won there,” McKeen said. “I watched Gretzky score his 50th in 39 there. I don’t think you, without really careful consideration, abandon a building like that.”
With files from Jeremy Thompson
