A 9000 seating capacity seems a tad small for this day and age.
http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/n ... cle/700723
Metro centre to make money: report
Published Tuesday June 16th, 2009
Expert says multi-use entertainment centre will revitalize downtown Moncton
By Brent Mazerolle
The consultants tasked with assessing the feasibility of a new multi-use entertainment centre for downtown Moncton believe there is a sound case for such a project that, besides stimulating the regional economy, would turn a profit in its own right.
IBI Group's Jonathan Hack says his firm's estimates -- his report includes 88 pages of detailed financial data -- "are reasoned. They're not conservative. They're not aggressive."
He also emphasized the firm's research did not take a cookie cutter approach from similar studies it has done across North America and elsewhere, but rather focused on a Moncton-centric picture, using Moncton data and conditions.
And the picture that emerges for Moncton includes a 9,000-seat facility in the $75-million range, that cost shared with public and private partners which would be reasonably affordable for taxpayers.
And for those who argue that talk of price tags on projects like this focus on the construction but tend to forget operational costs, Hack has good news.
He says there is no reason the operation of a new facility should incur a deficit. In fact, IBI Group numbers estimate an operating revenue that could be as high as $650,000 per year. Deliberately pursuing a less rosy scenario, Hack's team imagined a scenario in which there would be a 20 per cent drop in attendance across the board at all events that might be held in such a facility. With that cut, the complex would still be looking at $378,000 in operating revenues each year.
"These things make money. If you don't make money, you're doing something wrong," says Hack, who led a similar study that laid the groundwork for the John Labatt Centre in London, Ont., which Billboard magazine has declared the most successful facility of its size in the world.
While Hack emphasized there's more to Metro Moncton building a Metro Centre than taking an approach based on the experience of the larger Ontario city, the fact is, "London is not an aberration. A number of other facilities make money too."
That's pretty encouraging given the Moncton Coliseum and Agrena complex is a money loser, requiring a subsidy of more than $1 million per year. As well, the previous two city councils spent years pursuing the idea of a standalone convention centre, an acknowledged "loss leader" for any community. A metro centre, by comparison, while incurring a debt to be serviced, would at least be able to pay its way and then some when it came to operations.
IBI Group's report also addresses a question on a lot of people's minds: What would happen to the Moncton Coliseum?
The answer is it would remain open and focus mostly on trade shows, needing a smaller civic subsidy because it would host less events and, especially important, get out of the expensive business of ice-making with aged equipment. It would keep its ice making capability however, for times when the extra ice surface might be needed, as was the case this year when a number of conflicts at the Coliseum meant its regular tenant Moncton Wildcats had to contest a number of playoff games at the inadequate J. Louis Levesque Arena. While IBI Group is not a design firm and was not hired to design a complex, its report does give some shape to what such a facility would be and look like.
It would first of all have the means to easily change configurations depending on the needs of an event. It would include retail and restaurant components that would be part of the downtown streetscape and serve a wider public day-to-day, rather than being buried inside a cavernous civic centre and focused on merely providing concessions during events. Similarly, there should be a civic square element on the grounds, so that it is truly part of an animated downtown, a welcoming place that feels open and inviting and is a centre of activity at any time, not just during events.
Ultimately, in a competitive world where people travel widely and have seen the best other communities have to offer, a facility like this -- that will become not just a gathering place but part of the region's overall identity -- has to be done right, Hack said. Money saved on cost-cutting half-measures is a false economy, especially since a successful downtown facility will spur private development that will pay the city handsomely in property taxes.
"In 10 years' time no one will look at the debt. They will look at the building," he said. "Spend the money. It makes all the difference."
Generally, he said, public dollars spent on such centres garner the investment of six times as many private development dollars. (In high-performing London, the return on investment has been 11 times greater).
"The building represents a good investment -- if it's downtown," he said, emphasizing it must be downtown. "We know that from other communities."
"The market is there for a larger facility," Hack said, particularly with the technological change in the music industry spurring growth in the concert business.
On the other hand, he says, "if you don't do anything, the existing market share will reduce."
