Building Rogers Place: The Agreement

The City of Edmonton owns Rogers Place and the land that it sits on.

The City entered into a series of agreements with the Edmonton Arena Corporation (EAC), owned by Daryl Katz, who also owns the Edmonton Oilers, to design, build, and operate Rogers Place.

These agreements achieve the following 4 objectives, which were identified during public consultation:

Protection of the City’s interests
Does not increase current municipal property taxes
Sustains the NHL in Edmonton
Provides public infrastructure as a catalyst for downtown revitalization

Summary of Financial Framework Terms

The total cost of the project is $613.7 million. The entire project includes the arena, Winter Garden (Ford Hall), Downtown Community Arena, LRT connection, pedestrian corridor and the land.

None of the sources of funding for Rogers Place or the associated infrastructure result in an increase in municipal taxes.

Element	Estimated Cost	CRL	Other City Funding	EAC Lease Funding	EAC Cash*	Ticket Surcharge	Other
Rogers Place (the arena)	$483.5	$145	$81	$112.8	$19.7	$125
Winter Garden	$56.8	$25	$0.1	$25	$6.7
Pedestrian Corridor	$15	$15
LRT Connection	$7	$7
Community Downtown Arena	$24.9	$14	$0.1		$0.3		$10.5
Arena Land	$26.5	$25	$0.5		$1
Totals	$613.7	$231	$81.7	$137.8	$27.7	$125	$10.5

(costs in millions)
*Cash funding is from the EAC and ICE District Joint Venture, both of which have an ownership interest by the Katz Group.

Additional Details

Funding for Rogers Place

Rogers Place is being built for $483.5 million, including underground parking.
The Katz Group is paying $132.5-million. $112.8-million of their contribution will be paid to the City as rent over 35 years, and cover the City’s principal and interest costs. The remaining $19.7-million will be paid as cash.
The City of Edmonton’s contribution of $226-million to the arena building includes funding through a Community Revitalization Levy, new parking revenues, and redirecting the current Rexall Place subsidy.
$125-million will be collected through a ticket surcharge.

Winter Garden

The price of construction for the Winter Garden is $56.8-million
The City’s contribution to the Winter Garden pedestrian pedway over 104 Avenue is $25.1 million.
The Katz Group is paying $31.7-million. $25-million of their contribution will be paid to the City as rent over 35 years, and cover the City’s principal and interest costs. The remaining $6.7 million will be paid in cash.

Public Infrastructure

The City will build an LRT connection to the arena for a maximum $7-million, funded through the CRL.
The City will build a pedestrian walkway through the arena, linking the LRT to the Winter Garden, for a maximum $15-million, funded through the CRL.

Downtown Community Arena

The City will build the Downtown Community Arena for $24.9-million.
The City owns and operates the rink, with all revenues and costs going to the City.
The City will fund $14-million through the CRL. The Federal Government has funded $7-million through the Federal Gas Tax.
The Federal Government is funding $7-million through the Federal Gas Tax.
MacEwan University has agreed to fund an additional $3.5-million to the community rink for improvements needed to host their Griffins athletics program.

Ticket Surcharge

The ticket surcharge will be levied by the City, pursuant to the Downtown Arena Ticket Surcharge Bylaw.
The amount of the ticket surcharge is determined by the City Manager using the process described in the Ticket Surcharge Agreement, signed between the City and the Edmonton Arena Corporation.
The current surcharge is 9.5%. The surcharge is set annually.
The proceeds of this ticket surcharge go to the City and must be sufficient to cover the principal and interest payments for repayment of $125-million over a 35-year term, plus a $1.5-million annual contribution to the City to create a fund for ongoing major capital expenditures.
Capital contributions will be reviewed after 15 years.
A ticket surcharge will be levied on admissions at the Coliseum at the same rate as the ticket surcharge charged on non-hockey events at Rogers Place, to a maximum of 7%. The proceeds of this surcharge will go to the City.

Arena Operations

EAC will operate Rogers Place pay all operating and maintenance expenses and will receive all operating revenues, including naming rights and parking revenue.
Through a Council-approved tax agreement, EAC and affiliates will pay the City a maximum of $250,000 in municipal property taxes annually, for EAC arena operations that are open during event hours and will be responsible for paying all required provincial Education Property Taxes. This tax agreement excludes areas held by third parties, public parking, gambling and restaurants, bars, and other retail and commercial operations operated outside of event hours or open to the general public.
The City will have access to the Arena and Winter Garden for up to 28 days a year, at EAC’s incremental cost. The City’s use will be for community purposes – not for commercial events.

Edmonton Oilers

Sustainability of NHL Hockey in Edmonton is a prime consideration.

A location agreement signed as part of the deal keeps the Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club in Edmonton for 35 years.
The City will enter into a marketing/branding partnership with the Edmonton Oilers to promote the City of Edmonton with the Oilers nationally and internationally at a cost of $2-million annually for 10 years.

Design and Costing

The cost of design work is included in the $613.7-million budget for the entire project.
An on-budget Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) contract was effective in March 2014. A GMP is a cost-based contract where the contractor is paid a fixed fee subject to a ceiling price. The contractor is responsible for cost overruns.

Land

The City bought the land for the arena project, which is included in the $613.7 million cost for the entire project. The cost of the land was $26.5-million.

Lease

The EAC has first right to negotiate up to 3 lease extensions for 10 years, and has the first right of refusal on any subsequent lease or land/building sale.

Community Benefits

The Community Benefits will be included within a schedule as part of the Master Agreement, acknowledging the activities of the Oilers Community Foundation.
A Community Advisory Committee meets on a quarterly basis to identify and address community issues.
A senior member of the Oiler’s operations serves on the Community Advisory Committee.
There will be provision for development/facilitation of training or employment for low-income/high-need Edmontonians.

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Building Rogers Place: The Agreement

Summary of Financial Framework Terms

Additional Details

Arena Agreement Documents

Contact Us

311 Contact Centre

Building Rogers Place: The Agreement

Summary of Financial Framework Terms

Additional Details

Arena Agreement Documents

Related Documents

HOK Report on Downtown Arena

Downtown Arena Financial Framework Details

Contact Us

311 Contact Centre