City to hire consultant to take a fresh look at events centre project

Sudbury city council will spend up to $125,000 on a consultant to write a report about the the community's events centre project.

Council has hired Ron Bidulka, who has experience in real estate, sports and entertainment. He was also a member of the site selection committee that recommended the city choose a downtown location for its new arena.

It's been more than three years since Sudbury's councilfirst approved the decision to build an arena as part of the Kingsway Entertainment district.

The project was caught up in legal battles, whichwere resolved late last year.

Because of all the changes since this project was first approved back in 2017, most notably all that's shifted with the pandemic,council wantsupdated information to make future decisions.

Mayor Brian Bigger says hiring a third-party consultant makes sense, because city staff currently have a lot on their plates.

"We're working on homelessness, we're working on opioidissues, we're working on COVID-19, we're working on our 2021 budget."

The report,which will not include recommendations,is due at a council meeting in June.

City councillor Robert Kirwan says he thinks getting advice from an outside expert like Bidulka is good, as he already comes with consulting experience around the issue.

"Mr. Bidulka knows what the baseline was in 2017. So it's going to be easier for him to examine where we started in 2017 ... and come up with a clear analysis so he can show what has changed. Considering the effects of COVID-19 virus, have there been any changes in the operating environment?"

Kirwan notes that, whatever the report reveals, the consultant's assessment will have to be applied to a project that moves ahead three years from now.

"Because three years out is when we will probably be opening this event centre, regardless of where it is."

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