Northlands

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Downtown Arena – Negotiations Nixed in 2012 and Now…

Posted by Randy Talbot on 2014/11/09
Posted in: Facilities, Politics. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

I just came across  a blog post that I had started to write exactly 2 years ago, but I never completed it, nor posted it. In November of 2012 City Council had just killed the idea of a new Edmonton Arena, ending negotiations (remember that?) with Edmonton Oiler owner Daryl Katz. Here is what I was thinking about the situation at the time:

I was happy to hear that Edmonton City Council finally quit plans on a new downtown arena but I fear we may not have heard the last of it. Don’t get me wrong, I very much relish a strong and vibrant downtown core but the Katz proposal and more particularly the process – stank!

I have questions. the first and foremost is simply “Why replace”? What is wrong with the existing facility?  This throwaway mentality seems to be general problem. This thinking of a building’s lifetime in terms of decades, when it should be in terms of centuries is a terrible waste!

I could understand a new facility new facility  if it were significantly bigger (in terms of seating capacity).  50 to 100% larger would put the facility in a different class from the Northlands building, but this proposal calls for just a marginal increase in capacity. It is still very much in the same class and therefore unnecessary. We don’t need two facilities in this same size class – until we have two NHL franchises or are regularly turning away touring world class arena concerts. We certainly are not there yet – maybe in 100 years?

Development around arena has been sold as a benefit of a downtown arena. If this is a natural consequence of a big arena, why did it not happen around Northlands? Are there not already enough major buildings, activities, magnets in the downtown area?

I’ve also felt that there was something fishy about the whole arena process and that the City got sucked in. Am I mistaken in recalling that when Katz first bought the Oilers, he said he was going to build a new arena with his own money plus he would put $100 million into nearby development? It sounded as if all the City had to do was support the necessary zoning for the project. By the end it was to the point where the City builds the arena out of tax dollars, Katz gets the revenues from it and pays a small portion of those revenues back to the City  over many years (i.e. nothing out of his pocket!) This is such a radical  change. This is a “bait and switch” of enormous proportion – if this happened to me on a personal transaction I would have walked away much earlier This kind of bargaining tactic does not even deserve negotiation.

So that is what I was thinking in November 2012, what do I think now, two years later in November 2014, with the arena construction well under way?

I still do not like the process by which the City got pulled in and committed to this project, but I’ve got to say that I am very impressed by the progress in the arena construction  and the plans for development around the Arena District. The City needs more distinct districts in the downtown core and it looks like this one, for business and entertainment, is indeed happening and will be good for the City of Edmonton as a whole.

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Oh – K?

Posted by Randy Talbot on 2012/11/27
Posted in: Events. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Yesterday Edmonton Northlands revealed the new look for Edmonton’s summer festival K-days. The name was selected by public vote this summer after years of dissatisfaction with the “Capital Ex” moniker that Northlands had arbitrarily laid on the City years ago. Given the public’s name choice, Northlands has developed the “brand” Seeing the new brand I am left wondering “Has Northlands dropped the ball again”?

My first impression on seeing the new promotion was that it had something to do with Special K cereal – perhaps a new logo for the front of their box. It really seemed to be lacking something – nothing that I saw suggested Edmonton, nor our history. It seemed to try to appeal to everyone – I wonder if it will strike a chord with anyone.

The name K-days is a derivative on Edmonton’s long time festival Klondike days which celebrated the historical era when Edmonton was born. That historical theme was something special and although it did get watered down and almost forgotten at the end of the 20th century, it still was an interesting and concrete theme.

I liked the idea that the “new” name “K-days” wasn’t tying us down to the historical “Klondike” theme but rather left the door open to other, supplementary interpretations of “K”. Still, I have to believe that it was the old theme, that was in the back of people’s minds when they voted for the K-days” name. I find it hard to believe that Edmontonians just have some weird fixation on the letter”K”.

Whatever else the “K” might stand for, the “Klondike” theme should not be forgotten and should  be the root, the uniquely Edmonton, theme.  Unfortunately it seems like the folks at Northlands, seem set on having nothing to do with the historical theme. After appearing to hear Edmontonians last summer, it seems that they are now just pushing through with their old idea for a generic, “nothing-special” fair (kind of like what they tried to do in the Capital Ex era)

If the theme is everything – then the theme is nothing!

What to Name a Summer Fair?

Posted by Randy Talbot on 2012/07/17
Posted in: Events. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

On of the big items for discussion in Edmonton in this summer of 2012, is what to call the annual summer fair. For years it was “Klondike Days” or K-days. Five years ago Northlands, who run the show, arbitrarily decided to rename the 10-day event  to Capital Ex. Although not everyone liked the name Klondike Days, I’ve yet to hear anyone who really likes the current name. To Northlands credit, they have heard the people and finally relented. They have asked for public opinion/voting on 6 proposed names. These names are:

  1. EdFest
  2. The Edmonton Exhibition
  3. Edmonton Summer Exhibition
  4. K-Days
  5. River City Festival
  6. River City Summer Fair

My thoughts?

EdFest – “Who’s Ed?” – it’s bound to be asked – often! Isn’t there already a music festival using this name? This one just leaves me cold.

Edmonton Exhibition – Too 1940’s; not looking forward. When I was a kid, it was “The Exhibition” that we were going to. The actual exhibiting of things is not what it used to be and is a very small part of the activities.

Edmonton Summer Exhibition – Pretty generic and implies there are other seasonal exhibitions. Same general criticisms of using “Exhibition”.

K-Days – Note that it is not “Klondike” Days. I always liked the Klondike theme, although critics pointed out that Edmonton was not in  the Klondike, nor was it on a popular route to the Klondike. The City was however born in that era and for that reason I thought the title appropriate (and it was a fun theme while it lasted and great while people and businesses bought into it). Just using K-days does allow us to harken back to the Klondike theme, but it also leaves the door open to find something new that the “K” can stand for.

River City Festival – While I absolutely love our river valley and believe it to be an absolute jewel for this city, the fact is that virtually every community  is built up around a river (stream etc.). No one outside of Edmonton will think of Edmonton as THE river city.

River City Summer Fair – same criticism of use of “River” in the title , plus “Fair” is just so small town.

Of these six, I support K-Days. I somehow sense that we don’t have the ideal name amongst these six, but don’t have a better one either. Any of these will be an improvement over Capital Ex.  Lets choose one, stick with it and make it work!

Do you have your own opinion? You can vote (until 2012 July 28th at 6 PM) for your favorite name at: http://nameyourfair.ca/