City Needs Champion |
Everything’s in place for Edmonton’s downtown arena bid. Except a leader.
By Natasha Mekhail
A self-deprecating anecdote may not be the textbook way to kick off of a visionary mayoral speech, but somehow it worked when Stephen Mandel delivered his 30-year vision of downtown Edmonton this March. The opener: how a radio station dumped coverage of his address after finding out he wouldn’t be talking exclusively about a new arena.
In fact the mayor’s speech contained ideas to turn a number of neglected neighbourhoods into lively, pedestrian-friendly destinations. Mandel, who has heavily criticized downtown Edmonton’s legacy of pink stucco walk-ups, concrete parking lots and dated facades along (what should be) its prime thoroughfares, has been bringing about change to the drab – and, after 6 p.m., largely vacant – city core. New street level retail, pubs and restaurants fed by rising condo towers are keeping people in the city centre after the offices close. But something is still missing. Just walk downtown along Jasper Avenue, which bisects the core from 82nd to 124th Street, and you feel it. It’s the disconcerting sensation of having nowhere in particular to go.
So when Mayor Mandel talks about his plans for the city, it has all the ingredients of an event that should inspire. He uses descriptions like “green promenade,” “arts district” and “outdoor marketplace.” But Edmonton is the kind of city where people wear Oilers jerseys in July – even when the team doesn’t make the playoffs. And so, Mandel’s speech is completely upstaged by the same-day release of an arena feasibility report.
The only overlap between the two events is the committee recommendation to put the arena in the core. So strong was the consensus on the location that on page 3 of the report it unequivocally states: “It has to be downtown.”
Where that spot will be and who will pay for it have yet to be determined. Mandel doesn’t have the answers that everyone from real-estate speculators to sports fans are chomping at the bit for. But the radio station rebuff highlights the need for a development plan that speaks to this city’s identity. As the report says, “In the end, this is only partly a discussion about an arena. It is wholly a discussion about Edmonton.”
