After years of debate and hours spent combing through the details, city councillors have voted in favour of building a new home for the Oilers.

Although many councillors said the deal as it stands now is not perfect, councillors approved the financial framework for the project by a vote of ten to three.

Now, the city will spend $30 million for the design, which will allow contractors to bid on the project with a guaranteed maximum price of $450 million.

The city would pay a total of $305 million, broken down as follows:

  • $125 million for CRL and parking
  • $82 million for infrastructure
  • $98 million in interest over twenty years

As the deal stands now, the Katz Group would cover $100 million, plus $95 million in interest over thirty-five years.

The ticket tax would yield $125 million, plus $120 million in interest over thirty-five years.

A major outstanding gap in funding at this point is $100 million, planned to come from the province – but the provincial government has yet to agree to it.

The mayor said Wednesday he has a few ideas on ways to secure the funding from the province, but wouldn't elaborate.

The funding gap and the added need for the Katz Group to agree to the terms approved Wednesday by council, made up some of the reasons why three councillors voted against the plan.

City Councillors Kerry Diotte, Don Iveson and Linda Sloan voted against the deal.

On his blog, Iveson explained his reasons for voting against the deal.

Councillor Iveson said he supports the downtown arena project, but feels the terms could be better.

"I think the responsible thing to do is continue to work toward improving the funding and financing terms," Iveson wrote.

Iveson also said the arena could be a "bonus", but he worries that in the future the arena would be seen as the building that "singlehandedly transformed downtown" – when he said businesses and Edmontonians are already making a positive impact on the area.

The full text of Iveson's explanation can be found here.

The future of this arena deal is now in the hands of the Katz Group, who still need to approve the amended terms.

The Katz Group distributed their statement later Wednesday afternoon, and in the statement Executive VP of the Katz Group John Karvellas said the following:

"We very much appreciate City Council's strong vote of support for the downtown arena, as well as the considerable time and effort Mayor Mandel and City Administration, in particular, have put into this project.

We will work with City Administration to understand the implications of the new elements of the deal introduced in today's motions in the context of the agreements that need to be completed by month-end."

Approval from the Oilers owner could come as soon as Monday.

With files from Serena Mah and Sonia Sunger