Following over three hours of discussion, and more than two years of negotiations, Saskatoon City Council has decided not to move forward with OVG 360 as a private partner to manage the Downtown Event and Entertainment District.
The private parter was initially selected to oversee operation of the city’s new arena and convention centre, slated to be built downtown.
Board Member at SaskTel Centre Trevor Jacek went before Council Wednesday afternoon to sway the City away from choosing a private partner and encourage them to let SaskTel Centre’s current team take over the job. Jacek says OVG 360 operates many arenas across the country, which poses a competition problem when big events are looking for a place to set up shop.
“What happens with events like the JUNOS or the briers? The comment (from OVG) was ‘Well we will pick and choose who we’ll like to have the event.’ In the alternative, if this is a municipal-run facility, we’re going to be championing for Saskatoon every time.”
City Manager Jeff Jorgenson says it was a bit late for them to put their hat in the ring now.
“This was a hard-nosed negotiation following a public procurement process. You use that whole process to assure you’re getting the best value for residents you can possibly get. Anytime somebody comes in after the fact and says ‘Oh, we could’ve done better. We could do better than that,’ we always exclude that information.”
Five councilors acknowledged the work administration and OVG had put into the agreement framework thus far, but voiced concerns about cost, securing federal funding, and reputation, as OVG is an American company.
Numerous councilors made it clear that Saskatoon’s former council was rushed and uninformed when deciding to go with a private associate over a local parter, including a member of that Council, Zach Jeffries.
“I’m increasingly wondering if that’s something we ought to have weighed, at the time, with a little more information in front of us. That’s on some of us, especially me, as a member of council who was around a few years ago.”
He suggests a ‘made in Saskatoon’ approach would be better liked by residents, especially in this time of geopolitical turmoil.
Administration will now head back to the drawing board to develop a new agreement framework or find a new operating partner all together.
Also at the City Council meeting on Wednesday, nearly 70 Saskatoon residents wrote in to City Council on the topic of designating the Meewasin Valley as a National Urban Park.
The issue many folks have with the idea involves the proposed park boundaries, specifically around the Small and Northeast Swales. The new boundaries would reduce the amount of protected land in the area, endorsed by council in 2023, likely endangering the wildlife and plant species that have come to live there.
City Solicitor Cindy Yelland assured Council that boundaries can be adjusted later, but if they’re adjusted now, there will be natural consequences.
“It’s up to Council whether they want to approve the boundary that’s in front of them today, but if you change the boundary today to extend it, it is going to delay the designation of the National Urban Park.”
After over an hour of discussions, Council approved to move forward with NUP designation, with hopes of adjusting the boundaries in the future.
