Pro-heritage group, MacKay cheering for Halifax stadium
Posted Feb 22, 2011 05:53:04 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Halifax’s proposal to build a multi-use stadium is gaining unexpected support from a pro-heritage group which would rather see a sporting venue than a new convention centre built in the city’s downtown.
Allan Robertson, with the Save the View campaign, has written a letter to Defence Minister Peter MacKay asking the federal government to help fund the project, explaining the three reasons why a stadium is a better investment.
“First, HRM already has a convention centre and we don’t have a stadium. This convention centre, by the way, is the largest one in Atlantic Canada,” Robertson told the Rick Howe Show Monday.
“Second reason, the cost of a new stadium would be much less than for the convention centre,” he said, adding a new convention centre could cost $300 million.
Halifax Regional Council has approved a $100-thousand feasibility study on a venue which could cost between $30 million and $60 million. Robertson says the project overall looks like a better financial bet.
“The third reason is a new stadium wouldn’t lose money, probably,” he said. “There’s no question. If you do the analysis, it’s going to cost the province $5 million a year and it’s going to cost HRM the same amount for about the next 25 years.”
Robertson says he received a reply from MacKay’s assistant saying no decision has been made but that they are taking everybody’s opinions into consideration.
The group’s stance comes as MacKay voices his own endorsement for the build.
Nova Scotia’s representative in the federal cabinet says he’s a big supporter of sports and the proposed facility.
“We don’t have a stadium that will accommodate the type of international events, and even the type of local events, in the future that we need. So I feel very strongly that this is a project that we should be working on and perusing,” MacKay told reporters following a funding announcement at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport Monday.
He said it wouldn’t hurt Canada’s bid to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup if we had such a facility in Halifax. But he adds whether the federal government financially supports a stadium or a convention centre is not an either-or decision.
“We have to be able to justify this to taxpayers,” said MacKay. “It has to be done in a way that doesn’t jeopardize other projects, if you know what I mean. It all has to be done in balance. But is (the stadium) something that I am personally committed to, yes it is.”
MacKay says he’s already had informal talks with Mayor Peter Kelly and Premier Darrell Dexter about the proposed stadium.
