Edmonton continues to thrive and is quickly becoming a key destination in Canada and North America to visit, live and work. To help the city to meet the demands of a growing population, the Government of Alberta has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the City of Edmonton and OEGSE.
The MOU would help the city achieve its vision to develop an event park and public realm space fully connected to Rogers Place in Edmonton’s ICE District, unlock more housing in the downtown core, and would also support site servicing for the Village at ICE District and demolition of the old Coliseum at Exhibition Lands. Discussions between the Government of Alberta, City of Edmonton, and OEGSE are ongoing as further details are worked out. The province’s Budget 2025 allocates funding for this project, should a final agreement be struck among all three partners.
"Alberta's government is proud to be partnering with the City of Edmonton and OEG Sports & Entertainment on this exciting plan to support world-class facilities and services and revitalize downtown Edmonton. This agreement would ensure that Edmonton continues to be one of Canada's and North America's leading entertainment and event districts."
These priority projects will support much-needed housing development, provide residents and visitors with year-round access to sports, culture and entertainment activities, as well as improve safety and build 2,500 new units of diverse housing types. The total cost for all projects is $408.2 million, which will be shared among all three partners.
As part of this ongoing work, the City of Edmonton has released a report that outlines options to extend the end date for the Capital City Downtown Community Revitalization Levy (CRL) beyond 2034. This report contains new catalyst projects including public infrastructure site servicing for the Village at ICE District housing development and a proposed event park that would be funded through the CRL. The event park is estimated to add over $70 million to the local gross domestic product (GDP) and up to 1,400 jobs throughout the construction phase.
"This investment will boost our economy and solidify Edmonton’s status as a global events hub. I’m pleased the Government of Alberta is investing in our city. Municipalities need provincial support to manage record growth, and this funding will support diverse housing projects, including needed affordable housing."
“We are proud of our work to date with the development of Rogers Place and the surrounding facilities, which have become catalytic drivers of investment and development in Edmonton’s downtown core, and we look forward to building on that success through this new agreement. This agreement is a significant step in the right direction toward creating great public spaces that will add to the community programming, activity and vibrancy of downtown Edmonton, and will bring public infrastructure investment to encourage development of much-needed housing in our city.”
Alberta’s government, the City of Edmonton and OEGSE will make a more formal announcement in the days to come.
