Report recommends board manage new arena

City staff are mulling three new reports on the proposed downtown arena and entertainment district.

The first looks at setting up a third-party volunteer board to operate the rink. That would ensure public money tied up in the development is protected and that the arena is appropriately maintained.

The report affirms that this model has worked in other cities.

The report was written by University of Alberta professor Dan Mason and University of Michigan's Mark Rosentraub.

The second report covers the impact of the arena and entertainment district on neighbouring businesses and property values.

It concludes some businesses could be hurt, but overall the impact is positive.

Finally, the third report looks at seat licencing — adding an extra fee on season tickets to help pay for the project.

That report said that revenue stream belongs to the Oilers, not the city.

Seat licences could be valued in the hundreds of dollars or even tens of thousands of dollars.

The report said rather than worrying about the licences, the city should focus on negotiations with the Oilers on the team's share.  

It would then be up to the Oilers on how to pay that off — whether it be through seat licences, costlier tickets, or adding deluxe luxury suites.

The documents also began looking at the fate of Rexall Place once the new arena is built.

The city has started working with a sports architecture design company called Populace, formerly HOK, the same company that years ago concluded it would cost $250 million to renovate Rexall Place to current NHL standards.

This time the company will look at the feasibility of keeping both arenas or repurposing Rexall Place for other uses, said city manager Simon Farbrother. 

The reports will go before city council on March 2.