In a City Council meeting Tuesday, Northlands asked councillors to forgive tens of millions of dollars owed to taxpayers – money that was loaned to build the Expo Centre. Northlands officials said it can’t pay the money back if it wants to redevelop once the Oilers leave.

The not-for-profit asked council to forgive the $47 million in debt it owes to the City that was used to build the Expo Centre – the group said that loan needs to be forgiven for the organization to stay afloat.

“There’s 137 years of great leadership behind our company and we don’t want to disgrace that by being the next not-for-profit on the cover of a paper that’s $20 million in the hole,” Northlands President and CEO Tim Reid said.

Reid was at Council Tuesday as Northlands explained their vision for the future to council; the plan includes changing Rexall Place into a multi-plex, transforming the racetrack into a festival space and expanding the Expo Centre to include a larger concert venue.

Reid said the provincial and federal governments have shown interest in the festival site and the Expo Centre concert space, which would leave the City to pay to change Rexall Place.

“We think that that is a city initiative,” Reid said. “You’re going to build those rinks, we’re just optimistic that you’re going to build them at Rexall Place.”

“I don’t think there’s any preconceived notion that any one or all of these will necessarily go ahead,” Mayor Don Iveson said. “We’ve got to look at the business case.”

However, Northlands said in the meeting it wants an answer on the loan forgiveness by September 1 – the not-for-profit admitted they’re losing $3 million per year. That information left some on council to weigh options on the land, and on the future of the organization.

“I’m going, you know what? Maybe you’re not the best team to do this, so I want to see other options,” Councillor Mike Nickel said.

“I think Northlands absolutely continues to exist, how its role could evolve over time, those are some of the things council will have to consider,” Iveson said.

Councillors asked City staff to come back with additional information on a number of topics including where funding could come from, and a needs assessment.

That report is expected in August, a few weeks before Northlands’ deadline.

The City is expected to host a public hearing in August to gather feedback from residents.

With files from Breanna Karstens-Smith