final phase 2 feasibility report on proposed event centre — thunder bay, 2012

Phase 2 Feasibility Study

Thunder Bay Event Centre October 9th, 2012

Table of Contents

Covering Letter

1. Executive Summary 1 2. Process 5 3. Site Selection and Commentary 14 4. Concept Design Development 21 5. Transportation and Parking 41 6. An Estimate of Probable Project Costs 73 7. Operational Assessment 76 8. Assessment of Economic Benefits 89 9. Recommendations 98

10. General Assumptions and Limiting Conditions 99 Appendix (separate binder)

October 9th, 2012 Mr. Michael J. Smith General Manager – Facilities & Fleet Department City of Thunder Bay P.O. Box 800 Thunder Bay, ON P7C 5K4 Re: Phase 2 Feasibility Study Thunder Bay Event Centre The Consulting Team is pleased to submit this final draft of the Phase 2 Feasibility Study. The process has been an exciting and meaningful one, addressing the replacement of the Fort William Gardens, a significant City landmark. The outcome of this report creates a vision for a new Thunder Bay Event Centre and speaks to location, possible components, and economic benefit. This long‐awaited report will generate much dialogue with Council, and within the community. The replacement of the Fort William Gardens has been the source of ongoing community discussion, and has really gathered momentum in the past three years. There has been a general consensus for replacing the Gardens but much less agreement on the best location. The Consulting Team has hosted two major open house events, and the process has included members of the community, businesses, learning institutions, Councillors, and City staff. The community discussion has been engaging. We hear what people are saying and know this report will be widely discussed as a key element in building community consensus and moving forward.

The Phase 2 Feasibility Study recommends the Downtown/Waterfront site as the most beneficial location for the new Thunder Bay Event Centre. The transparent evaluation process looked at economic impact, the business case, vision, overall cost, access, and parking. This location is exceptional in terms of character and potential. A new Event Centre on this site would result in a truly unique entertainment venue that will garner national attention, build on the success of Prince Arthur’s Landing, and promote Thunder Bay as an event destination. This Phase 2 Feasibility Study has been an exciting opportunity for the Consulting Team. We recognize its importance as the major component of the City’s due‐diligence process as it contemplates the very significant and impactful next step in replacing the Fort William Gardens. It has been a real privilege for our team to contribute to the process. We wish the City every success with this exciting step in creating a stronger and more dynamic Thunder Bay.

Conrad Boychuk, Senior Director CEI Architecture

Thunder Bay Event Centre Phase 2 Feasibility Study

1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.1 Overview The Fort William Gardens is an iconic landmark in the lives of the residents of Thunder Bay. First opened in 1951, it was one of the most modern event centres for its time and generated much civic pride. Over time, the Gardens has not been able to properly accommodate the growing sports and entertainment requirements of the region. Spectacular events at the facility such as the recent Bryan Adams concert, while seemingly successful, illustrate some of the real issues as a modern day entertainment venue. The discussion to replace the Fort William Gardens has been an ongoing one but in the past three years it has gained significant momentum. This report is one of the steps along the way and was initiated by the City to deal with a number of integrated issues:

Economic impact, Operational performance, Concept design, Overall project cost, Access and parking, Preferred location

Thunder Bay is a truly unique place but shares with many other cities its size a difficulty in coming to terms with the best location for a major new entertainment facility. The two sites garnering most support are Innova Business Park and the Downtown/Waterfront. In terms of character they represent two common but opposing alternates. In the Innova Business Park option the Event Centre is located on a large tract of land with abundant room for parking and easy highway access. In the Downtown/Waterfront option the Event Centre is solidly anchored in a downtown core, a trend that we see as becoming the norm in other mid‐size Canadian cities. The expertise of the Consulting Team includes national and international experience in business case assessments, event centre design, parking and transportation, and cost estimating. These are all critical to evaluating the sites identified by the City. Comments from the community reinforce the idea that the new Thunder Bay Event Centre needs to have a significant economic impact on the City and the surrounding region. This is an opportunity for building a stronger community, and for making Thunder Bay a richer and more visible business and tourist destination. The Event Centre plays a pivotal role in all of this and the most critical decision is about siting. It is no surprise then that the discussion on possible sites has created so much community discussion. The Phase 2 Feasibility Study is part of the City’s due‐diligence process as it moves forward. While siting of the project is of significant community interest, it is the long‐term economic impact of a new spectator and event venue that will be the real legacy of the project. Long term economic impact was one of the key criteria for the site selection process. During the two open house events and with the accompanying questionnaire, it was economic impact that was seen by the community as most critical. Developing a strong vision and building a healthier city were also consistently identified as fundamental objectives. While there was much diversity of opinion in terms of a preferred site, residents were consistent in terms of what was most important.

1.2 Economic Impact

The new Event Centre has the potential to generate significant short and long term economic benefit to the City of Thunder Bay. During the construction of the facility, there will be a direct correlation between the amount of money spent constructing the project and the accompanying benefit – the more money spent on the construction, the greater will be the number of jobs created, the amount of spending that will be circulated within the community, and the amount of tax revenue that will accrue to various levels of government. From this perspective, both the Innova Business Park and Downtown / Waterfront designs should be considered as equally beneficial.

Operationally, the level of benefit that is expected to arise will vary based on the level of spending which the Facility and its various users and uses will impart. In this regard, the Events Centre with an assumed American Hockey League team or Ontario Hockey League team as its lead tenant is projected to impart a higher level of ongoing benefit (including spending, jobs and taxes) than would the Events Centre with Lakehead University and Lakehead University Hockey as its lead tenant. The construction of an Event Centre on either the Innova Business Park or Downtown / Waterfront sites will also have some level of long‐term economic and developmental benefit. There is documentation on a number of recently constructed mid‐size facilities in Canada which Illustrate the direct and measurable benefits of locating in urban sites. Spectator facilities in Sault Ste. Marie (Essar Centre), Kingston (K‐Rock Centre), Oshawa (General Motors Centre), Guelph (Sleeman Centre) and London (John Labatt Centre, now the Budweiser Gardens) have enhanced the viability of surrounding businesses including restaurants, bars and specialty retail shops, contributing to the viability and liveability of their respective downtown cores. With respect to the Downtown / Waterfront location, there are a number of underutilized buildings in the area that could see redevelopment or refurbishing with the construction of a new Event Centre, and during the preparation of this Feasibility Study, two separate parties have indicated they would invest in existing facilities should the Event Centre be located on the Downtown / Waterfront site. There are fewer examples of instances where greenfield Event Centres have generated a similar level of economic development benefit. Where examples do exist, such projects were positioned as part of larger redevelopment strategies to maximize the investment in the Event Centre and the surrounding commercial development. The lack of such a development plan for Innova Business Park (whose focus is on employment uses in the mining natural resources, health care and knowledge industries as compared to entertainment and supportive commercial uses), coupled with a lack of “a critical mass” of complementary uses render this location as much less likely to positively influence development in the short term; its ability to positively influence development in the longer term will also be dependent on the overall build‐out and success of the broader Innova Business Park in achieving its business / employment intentions. Overall, the development and operation of the Events Centre is concluded to impart substantial benefit within Thunder Bay, including: $148.3 million to $149.4 million in direct and indirect spending during the facility’s construction, along with between

$79.0 million to $79.6 million in employment income growth, 1,120 to 1,130 person years of employment, and $17.2 million to $17.4 million in direct tax revenue to the federal and provincial governments; and

$10.8 million to $16.8 million annually in direct and indirect spending during the facility’s operations, including $4.6 million to $5.4 million annually in employment income growth, 265 to 380 person years of employment annually, and $3.4 million to $4.6 million annually in direct tax revenue to the federal and provincial governments.

In addition, the operation of the Spectator Arena and Conference Centre components are estimated to attract numerous new events, along with conference delegates and other visitors to Thunder Bay to attend the various conferences, meetings, trade shows and spectator events held at the Events Centre. The holding of such events is projected to result in approximately $6.1 million in new visitor spending annually within Thunder Bay annually, as well as assist the City in enhancing the revenues it receives from its North Care Parkade, where an additional $91,800 to $129,600 in annual revenue is projected.


1.3 Operational Performance Operationally, the performance of the Events Centre is predicted to vary only somewhat based on location; its performance is, however, predicted to vary more greatly based on the nature of the Spectator Arena’s lead tenant. The nature of the Spectator Arena’s lead tenant will greatly influence a number of different revenue generating features, including the number and pricing of private suites and club seats, attendance and the amount of rent paid by the lead tenant, the amount of revenue generated from concession sales, and sponsorship and advertising revenue. Location is projected to only impact revenues received from parking (where the Innova Business Park location is to have a 2,000‐space parking lots whereas the Downtown / Waterfront location is to have a 200‐space parkade) and from a proposed in‐house restaurant (where the likelihood of a third party leasing and operating such a facility is felt to the substantially greater at the Downtown / Waterfront location). In addition, it is noted that parking at the Innova Business Park site will be limited to the Event Centre’s spectator events while the Downtown / Waterfront parking structure, while smaller, would have the ability to operate year‐round. This report present two operating scenarios, the first assuming Lakehead University and the Lakehead University Thunderwolves serve as the anchor tenant (and using the facility for 40 dates per year), while the second assumes that either an Ontario Hockey League or American Hockey League is Spectator Arena’s anchor tenant. The Conference Centre component projects a total of some 180 events covering approximately 326 event days covering a number of conventions and trade shows, consumer shows, meetings, banquets and receptions and other events. The operational assessment of the Event Centre consolidates the financial performance of both the 5,700‐seat Spectator Facility and the 50,000 square foot Conference Component:

With an AHL or OHL franchise as the venue’s lead tenant, the Spectator Arena is project to realize an operating loss of some $307,900 (excluding capital reserves and building management fees); with Lakehead University and Lakehead University Hockey as the anchor tenant, that deficit is projected to be $513,800 (again excluding capital reserves and building management fees). In comparison, Fort Williams Gardens incurs an annual operating deficit of some $600,000 per year (with this figure similarly excluding capital reserves and management fees).

The Conference Centre component is projected to incur an annual operating loss of some $340,400 prior to capital reserves and building management fees. While the City does not currently operate a similar facility, it is noted from the evaluation of economic benefits that this component of the Events Centre will assist in attracting events, conference delegates and other visitors to the City with a resulting annual spending impact of some $6.1 million per year.

Including capital reserve allowances and building management fees, the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre is projected to realize an annual operating loss ranging between $1.198 million (where an AHL / OHL serves as the Spectator Arena’s lead tenant) and $1.404 million (where Lakehead University and Lakehead University Hockey serve as the Spectator Arena’s lead tenant).

Acknowledging locational differences, the Downtown / Waterfront location is projected to better Innova Park by roughly $125,000 annually with Lakehead University and Lakehead University Hockey serving as the Event Centre’s lead tenant, whereas with an AHL / OHL team, the Innova Park location is projected to better the Downtown / Waterfront site by approximately $20,000 per year.

1.4 Conceptual Design The conceptual design developed for Innova Business Park and the Downtown/Waterfront site are suited to the unique features of each location. The slope of the Downtown/Waterfront site works exceptionally well for a spectator facility and integrates well with the surrounding historic context. Similarly the design for the Innova site is the most efficient approach for a flat site with a seasonally high water table. The concept designs were developed to utilize the opportunities offered by each site and to allow for appropriate costing. The architectural character of the two designs creates an image for the development but is not used as part of the site evaluation process. The Event Centre was originally envisioned as having up to 6,500 fixed seats and a conference component of approximately 50,000 square feet. Reviewing the current and future market as well as business‐case work previously prepared, the Consulting Team recommended that the Event Centre have the following main components:

Spectator Arena Seating bowl with a capacity of 5,700 fixed seats, 24 private suites based on an OHL or AHL franchise, or 12 private suites based on the Lakehead University

Thunderwolves as the major sports tenant, Up to 700 club seats, Conference Centre Banqueting Hall capable of accommodating up to 1,000 people for a sit‐down dinner, 12,000 square feet of flexible meeting room space, A major entry/pre‐function space separate from the Spectator Arena, Integration with the Spectator Arena event/ice level. Restaurant 5,000 square foot restaurant capable of being operated in conjunction with, or separate from the Event Centre

program. This program of spaces applies to both the Innova Business Park and Downtown/Waterfront designs.

Downtown/Waterfront design with the Conference Centre entry behind the Pagoda


1.5 Overall Project Cost The overall cost of developing a new Event Centre on both the Innova Business Park and Downtown/Waterfront sites is impacted by specific features of each site. For Innova Business Park cost premiums include poor soils conditions that will require piling for the building as well as higher‐than‐average costs for developing the at‐grade parking. Since the Innova site requires 2,000 parking spaces within the development, the costs associated with at‐grade parking are significant. The overall cost of the Event Centre at this location is $106,510,000. The Downtown/Waterfront site is able to efficiently accommodate the new Event Centre on a smaller piece of property. However a layer of bedrock below the site adds to the overall to the cost of the facility due to additional excavation costs. The Downtown/Waterfront design includes a pedestrian bridge to connect Van Norman Street to Prince Arthur’s Landing and this has been included in the overall project cost. Finally, an allowance has been made for a 200‐stall 2‐level parking structure on an adjacent property including land acquisition and demolition. The overall cost of the Event Centre at this location is $106,116,750. The selection of a preferred site can be impacted by the associated development costs. During the open house process the community expressed a need to “do it right”. On the questionnaire the categories of “cost impact” and “ease of development” scored relatively low. Looking at value for money, the Downtown/Waterfront design includes two elements that are of significant daily value to the City, the Van Norman Pedestrian Extension, and the 200‐stall parking structure capable of generating revenues on a daily basis. The Innova design provides a large surface parking lot that does have the ability to be programmed for other uses during non‐event days. The value for money appears to higher with the development of the Downtown/Waterfront site.

1.6 Access and Parking

The Innova Business Park site is well‐situated in terms of vehicular access. Thunder Bay Expressway, Harbour Expressway, and Golf Links Road all contribute to ease of access. For the site to properly accommodate the level of traffic during an event significant upgrading of the surrounding traffic infrastructure would be required. In addition, the internal roadway system within the industrial park would also require significant upgrading. While major roads border the site there are a restricted number of entry points which will cause some delay in exiting the site after events. Transit service to the site is limited so virtually everyone attending an event will be arriving by car. This has resulted in the need for a 2,000‐stall parking lot accessed by three entry points off Innovation Drive. In a post‐event scenario it is anticipated that the average walk from the Event Centre to the vehicle will be 3 minutes for typical events (1,200 vehicles) and 5 – 6 minutes for major events. Once in the vehicle the average time to leave the business park will be 10 minutes for major events, resulting in a total time to leave the facility of 15‐16 minutes. The Downtown/Waterfront site is within an existing roadway and parking infrastructure with no need for any significant upgrading to the surrounding streets/roads. The site is well‐serviced by a number of transit lines and as part of the Event Centre design, will incorporate a transit pavilion at the corner of Cumberland and Camelot Streets. Buses will then use Cumberland Street rather than Water Street for the main drop‐off point. Vehicle access to the site has Cumberland and Water Streets as the main north‐south connector as Red River Road as the east‐west connector. Parking in the downtown Port Arthur area appears adequate for smaller audiences at the Event Centre. For larger events or where there are simultaneous events in both the Conference Centre and Spectator Arena, more parking is required if walking distance is to be kept to a reasonable level. For a major event the walking time from existing City‐owned lots and on‐street parking (some 1,775 spaces though availability cannot be assumed) to the venue is +/‐ 10 minutes. The private sector has offered to negotiate with the City on an as‐required basis for an additional 220+ stalls. The Consulting Team is also recommending the construction of a 200‐stall two‐level parking structure directly north of the Event Centre.

The Downtown/Waterfront site requires less investment in new parking infrastructure but also has longer travel times for those walking from their car to or from the Event Centre. However once they are in the car returning home there will be less traffic back‐up or delay compared to the Innova Business Park option.

1.7 The Site Evaluation Matrix

The Consulting Team prepared a Site Evaluation Matrix that was presented at both open house events and has been well documented on the City of Thunder Bay website. This matrix was been well‐received by the community and forms the basis for rating the Innova Business Park and Downtown/Waterfront sites. The scores from the matrix are included in Section 3 – Site Selection and Commentary

Vision – is the development consistent with the long‐term vision of the City and its pattern of strategic growth? Complimentary Benefits – does development of this site enhance the neighbouring area or context? Ease of Development – are there issues or costs associated with the development of this particular site? Access – is this site easily accessible from a vehicular, pedestrian, and transit (current and future) perspective? Parking – how much parking is required for each site to support the Event Centre? Cost Impact – are there issues associated with the development of the site that result in higher costs? Economic Impact – does the development of this site have a positive economic impact on the City and Region? City Building – does this site enhance the process of “city‐building” by contributing to the economic growth, quality

of life, citizen satisfaction and community pride?

Innova Business Park site development


1.8 Recommendations The Consulting Team is recommending the Downtown/Waterfront as the most beneficial location for the new Thunder Bay Event Centre. The process of site evaluation looked at economic impact, the operation or business case, overall cost, and vehicular/transit/pedestrian access. The team used a matrix of questions that were shared with the community at two open house events as well as on the City’s website. The Downtown/Waterfront site outscored Innova Business Park in most categories although ultimately it wasn’t simply the higher score that justifies this recommendation. The Feasibility Study details the evaluation process and matrix scores and speaks to some of the additional benefits of the Downtown/Waterfront site. The following additional comments are included in Section 3 – Site Selection and Commentary:

Transformation

Transformation is a fairly consistent outcome when communities locate their event or entertainment centre in their downtown core. This is often a tool for urban renewal and reinvesting in your physical and social infrastructure.

Public Perception Residents of Thunder Bay have accepted the notion of downtown Port Arthur as an entertainment precinct. The construction of an Event Centre strategically located within the North Ward and more specifically, within historic downtown Port Arthur and with immediate visual and physical access to Prince Arthur’s Landing is consistent with that vision.

Strategic Land Use The Downtown/Waterfront site would dedicate 3.13 acres or 136,400 square feet to the development of the new Event Centre with a recommendation that a two‐level 200‐stall parking structure be built on an additional 35,100 square feet of land. This commits a total of 171,500 square feet of land with an estimated value of $1,155,000. The overall development has the additional benefit of providing additional parking in a location that can utilize it on a daily basis. The Innova Business Park site would dedicate 1,240,666 square feet of land with a value of $2,068,500 to the Event Centre plus 2,000 surface parking stalls, most of which would be used infrequently.

In addition to benefits identified in subsequent sections of this report, the Consulting team offers the following additional comments and observations: Prince Arthur’s Landing is a remarkable development in the City’s northern core and represents one of the finest

marine park developments in Canada. This park will garner much national and international attention in the coming years. The development of the new Event Centre on a site adjacent to Prince Arthur’s Landing solidifies this area as critical entertainment, business and tourist destination. There is simply no other Event Centre in the country that would rival the uniqueness of this facility and almost all of that comes from the very special character of the site.

The integration of Prince Arthur’s Landing and the Event Centre will create an enhanced sense of community pride in the facility. The new Event Centre, like the Community Auditorium, will generate a sense of pride regardless of where it is constructed but the Downtown/Waterfront site with its view of Lake Superior and the Sleeping Giant, and its proximity to Prince Arthur’s Landing, embodies what is truly unique and memorable about Thunder Bay.

Revitalization of both the North and South cores and specifically, the historic business centres of Port Arthur and Fort William need to be a key objective of future strategic development. The Downtown/Waterfront site is one of the steps along the way to a more vibrant, people‐friendly/accessible North core. Benefits of this magnitude are simply not achievable through the development of Innova Business Park as an Event Centre location.

Recent Event Centres in Canada and the United States constructed in downtown core areas have proven to be key elements in revitalizing their neighbourhoods and enhancing both livability and viability. We expect that a new Event Centre on the Downtown/Waterfront will be another successful example of this informed and emerging trend.

The development of the Thunder Bay Event Centre on the Downtown/Waterfront site will provide a truly unique and nationally recognizable 252,500 square foot entertainment and conference venue on one of the most spectacular and marketable sites in Canada.

The Downtown/Waterfront site lies within the traditional lands of the Fort William First Nation. The development of the Event Centre needs to respect and embrace the longstanding relationship between the City of Thunder Bay and the FWFN, as well as many other aboriginal communities in Northwestern Ontario. The future development of the architectural design should find an opportunity reflect and incorporate this spirit.

1.9 Next Steps

The final recommendation in the Phase 2 Feasibility Study is to obtain support from Council to move forward to Phase 3. The development of the Thunder Bay Event Centre will only happen with funding from other levels of government and possibly the private sector. In addition, the City needs to explore opportunities around the anchor sports tenant, whether that is Lakehead University, or one of the major hockey leagues. Next steps for the Thunder Bay event centre include: 1. Securing the interest of a prospective lead tenant for the Spectator Arena, whether Lakehead University and

Lakehead University Hockey, or an American Hockey League / Ontario Hockey League team,

2. Securing the interest of a third part to design, build, finance, and potentially operate and maintain the Event Centre,

3. Moving forward with Phase 3 of the Thunder Bay Event Centre initiative including the following: Higher level of architectural and engineering design, A more detailed estimate of probable costs based on the new design drawings, A refined business case based on discussions with a number of possible anchor tenants, A financing strategy based on identifying significant funding sources in conjunction with the contribution from

the City of Thunder Bay. The term “shovel ready” has been used frequently in relation to Infrastructure Canada and Ontario funding. Moving to Phase 3 will provide a much higher level of accuracy in terms of the overall project cost and provide enough design development to allow for minimum amount of time from receipt of possible Infrastructure Canada funding to on‐site construction.

View of Downtown/Waterfront Event Centre looking north on Cumberland Street


2.0 PROCESS 2.1 The First Phase

The City of Thunder Bay is one of Canada’s largest cities without a modern and functional multi‐purpose Event Centre. This fact has generated much discussion within the community but while the City continues to maintain and operate the Fort William Gardens, other municipalities have moved to a new generation of spectator and event venue. These include: Moose Jaw, which opened a 4,500‐seat facility in 2011, Abbotsford, which opened a 7,000‐seat facility in 2009, Kingston, which opened a 6,000‐seat facility in 2008, Dawson Creek, which opened a 4,500‐seat facility in 2008, Windsor, which opened a 6,500‐seat facility in 2008, Sault Ste. Marie, which opened a 5,000‐seat facility in 2006, Oshawa, which opened a 6,000‐seat facility in 2006,

Medicine Hat and St. Catharines are in the planning stages for a new spectator venue and will likely see construction in late 2012 or early 2013. The discussion on a replacement for the Fort William Gardens has been ongoing for some time. The facility was opened in 1951 and was an exceptional venue for its time. It had a total seating capacity of over 5,000 although ongoing renovations and updates have decreased that capacity to 3,630. The event calendar included hockey and other sporting events, concerts, bonspiels, dances, circuses, dirt floor events and other forms of entertainment making it an exciting and important entertainment destination for the region. In spite of upgrades to the facility, the ongoing evolution of multi‐purpose entertainment venues has left the Gardens an outdated event centre. One of its main functions today is as a venue for the Lakehead University Thunderwolves. Over the years the Gardens has been the home venue of other hockey teams including the Thunder Bay Flyers, Senators, Twins, Thunder Cats, Bulldogs, and most recently, the Fort William North Stars. In 2009 the City started a two‐phased feasibility process to look at replacing the Gardens, moving on two separate fronts. Deloitte was retained to prepare a report entitled Assessing the Potential of an OHL/AHL Franchise in Thunder Bay. This report was presented to Council on December 14, 2009. Meanwhile, initiatives by City staff were undertaken in part to better understand how a new event facility might move forward. These included: Multiplex Facility Background Report: Phase One Study

Comparative Summary of Multi‐Purpose Events Centres in Selected Communities dated November 16 2009

Renew Thunder Bay Proposed Five‐Year Strategic Infrastructure Plan dated November 23, 2009 Renew Thunder Bay is a major strategic planning initiative that identifies a number of major capital projects and categorizes them into the following:

Legacy Capital Projects (having a major economic impact on the City over the next 50 years) Waterfront Development, Multi‐Purpose Event Centre.

Other Proposed Major Capital Projects Thunder Bay Public Library Facility Renewal – County Park Branch, City Wide Multiuse Trail System, Golf Links Road/Junot Avenue Mixed Use Corridor Improvements.

Multiyear Capital Programs Recreation and Park Facility Renewal – major facility upgrades, revitalization and replacements, etc., Downtown/Mixed Use Areas Infrastructure Upgrades ‐ streetscaping, street furnishing, public art, etc., Smart City Projects‐ broadband connectivity upgrades City‐wide WIFI etc., Green City Projects ‐ Sustainable Energy Projects, Community Environmental Action Plan (CEAP) initiatives,

Urban Reforestation, Energy Management projects, etc., Community Partnership Capital Projects – City capital contribution to community‐based projects.

Proposed Thunder Bay Multipurpose Event Centre (Multiplex)

Open House/Community Workshops Early Stage Public Consultation ‐ held May 5, 2010 This event looked at 10 recently built facilities in Canada and the United States. The population of those communities ranged from 80,000‐150,000 and the facilities varied from 5,000‐7,000 fixed seats. The presentation identified the need for a Phase 2 Feasibility Study that would include the following key elements:

Detailed market study to assess and quantify the range and mix of events that a new facility would attract, Detailed economic impact study to confirm the short and long term benefits of a new Multiplex facility

including direct and indirect job creation, Evaluation of the various program and facility mix options including the potential for integrated convention

facilities and other community facilities, Assessment of potential environmental sustainable facility elements including renewable energy opportunities

(e.g. Solar), Assessment of the seating capacity relative to potential events and community needs, Evaluation of various site locations in the City, Recommendation of a preferred location.

Project Update – Proposed New Event Centre ‐ Public Open Houses held June 1 & 2, 2011

The presentation introduced the following Project Guiding Principles Leverage ReNew Thunder Bay investment, Affordability / sustainability, Partnerships with the Public Sector, Private Sector, and the Community, Public engagement at all stages of the planning process, Economic development catalyst.

This Open House introduced an overall estimated project cost of $80 million with $63 million towards the190,000 square foot Spectator Arena and $11 million towards the 50,000 square foot Conference Centre. The City also introduced for the first time, potential siting of the new Event Centre on the Downtown/Waterfront, Thunder Bay Airport, Innova Business Park, Thunder Bay Community Auditorium/Canada Games Complex, Pool 6/Waterfront, and Fort William Gardens sites. Overall project cost estimates varied from site to site with the Pool 6/Waterfront development having the highest at $128 million. The Open House recommended a Report to Council on a Phase 2 Feasibility Study in June of 2012.


Final Report on Early Stage Consultation on the Proposed Thunder Bay Multipurpose Facility (Multiplex) This report dealt with the process of engaging the community in the visioning of a possible new Event Centre. Public feedback through the consultation process suggested 76% supportive of the project, 9% support but with concerns such as financial impact and sustainability, and 15% opposed with concerns about priorities, funding, and impact on taxpayers. The sites generally considered appropriate were the Pool 6/Waterfront, Innova Business Park, and Downtown/Waterfront sites.

Thunder Bay Event Centre ‐ Preliminary Schematic Concepts – dated June 27, 2011

This report follows the decision by Council to narrow the possible sites to Downtown/Waterfront, Innova Business Park, and Thunder Bay Airport, and looks at possible design concepts for each of the three sites. This is the first time residents had an opportunity to see a preliminary three‐dimensional solution rather than simple floor and site plans. The estimated project cost ranged from $80 million to $110 million. This report was the final document to be assembled by the City in anticipation of selecting a Consulting Team for the Phase 2 Feasibility Study.

Initiation of the Thunder Bay Event Centre Phase 2 Feasibility Study


In July of 2011 the City issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for consulting services and ultimately selected the team of CEI Architecture Planning Interiors as the Prime Consultant, supported by: PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC as financial/economic impact consultant, BA Group as traffic and parking consultant, True Grit Consulting Ltd. as environmental and infrastructure consultant.

The City developed two internal groups to liaise with the Consulting Team. The Staff Working Group lead by Michael Smith, General Manager of Facilities and Fleet, acted as the functional client for the project on a day‐to‐day basis and generally met with the Consulting Team on a bi‐weekly basis. The City also organized a Resource Working Group to review periodically the work being done. The Resource Working Group was made up of eleven representatives of community organizations, members of Council, and City staff. The overall project objectives as outlined in the Request for Proposals and expanded on by the submission of the Consulting Team included the following: Confirm the overall size of the project as well as the major components including the seating capacity, conference

centre, and complimentary or ancillary components, Assess the impact of a new Event Centre on existing infrastructure including transportation and appropriate parking, Assess the viability of the Downtown/Waterfront, Innova Business Park, and Thunder Bay Airport sites as possible

locations for the Event Centre, Prepare an Economic Assessment and Business Case for the proposed locations recognizing that the beneficiary

impact for each site is different, Prepare concept designs for each site fully utilizing what each site offers, Prepare an estimate of probable cost for each site development, And finally, make a recommendation as to the preferred location and size of the new Thunder Bay Event Centre.

The Consulting Team started work on the project the first week of January of 2012, meeting with the Staff Working Group, Resource Working Group, members of Council, and members of the media. By mid‐January concepts were being developed, first on the Downtown/Waterfront site because of the complexity of planning, but quickly followed schematic designs for the Innova Business Park and Thunder Bay Airport sites as well. By mid‐February the first draft of the schematic designs was complete and presented to the public at the first Open House held February 29th at the Italian Cultural Centre.

3.2 The Public Process

The original work plan for the project included two open house events, the second one being an opportunity for the Consulting Team to present their draft recommendation. However the level of public interest and the strongly‐held feelings in the community suggested that the second open house should continue the process of public input with a third open house for the actual presentation of the final recommendation. The second open house was held on April 11th at the Da Vinci Centre with the third planned for the Community Auditorium on October 10th. The open house format for both the first and second events were consistent. The venue opened at 3:00pm for viewing of the display boards. The Consulting Team made a one‐hour presentation at 4:00pm followed by a question period of approximately one hour. A second presentation was held at 7:00pm followed by another one‐hour question period.

The first two open house events ended at approximately 9:00pm with both the presentations and the question period being live‐streamed. The first open house attracted over 350 attendees as well as a similar number following the whole event on‐line. An additional 752 people followed portions of the open house on‐line. The second open house attracted over 300 attendees, again with a similar number following the whole event on‐line. An additional 1,934 people followed portions of the second open house on‐line. The first two open house events included questionnaires to be completed by attendees. These were also available on‐line. For the first open house a total of 190 questionnaires were completed by attendees with an additional 90 being submitted electronically. The second open house had a total of 157 questionnaires completed by attendees with an additional 34 being submitted electronically. Open House 1 The three elements of the open house were the presentation boards, the presentations, and the questionnaire. All were available on line as well. The presentation boards gave an overview of spectator arenas in Thunder Bay, a history of the current initiative, and initial concept designs for the three sites. The boards, along with the questionnaire, outlined the overall priorities of the Site Evaluation Matrix and provided attendees to offer their comments. Feedback from the pubic was in line with the overall objectives of the matrix.


The Presentation Boards – Open House #1


Responses

The questionnaire for the first open house dealt with the following categories:

We would like to know a bit more about you

1. How old are you? Response – Almost one third of respondents were over the age of 60. As a general rule the number of respondents received at the open house was directly proportional to their age. The majority of on‐line respondents were in the 21‐50 age group. There was almost no representation by those under 20.

2. How would you describe the quality and quantity of events that are available in Thunder Bay?

Response – Almost one third of total respondents felt that there was a real shortage of diverse entertainment in Thunder Bay and have actually travelled to other locations to attend events. Approximately one quarter of respondents were satisfied with the diversity of entertainment. Generally, the older respondents tended to be more satisfied with what was currently available in part because of the Community Auditorium and other smaller performance venues.

3. How would you describe your attendance at performance venues (Fort William Gardens, Thunder Bay

Community Auditorium, Magnus Theatre or other similar facility in Thunder Bay? Response – Just over two‐thirds of attendees attended events at performance venues four or more times a year and 90% attended events at least twice a year.

4. Specifically about the two larger venues in Thunder Bay how often do you attend events at the Fort William

Gardens and the Community Auditorium? Response – 31% of respondents attended four or more events annually at the Fort William Gardens and an additional 24% attended at least twice a year. For the Community Auditorium, 35% attended four or more events a year with an additional 41% attending at least twice a year.

We would like to hear more about the relevance of a new Event and Conferencing Centre

5. Do you believe a new Event Centre would have a positive effect on the quality of entertainment for you and your family?

Response – Approximately 70% of respondents stated that an Event Centre would have a very positive effect on their lifestyle with an additional 17% stating that the lifestyle would benefit somewhat.

6. Do you believe a new Event Centre would have a positive effect on the quality of entertainment in the region? Response – Over 70% agreed with this statement with another 16% agreeing somewhat.

7. Would you support the replacement of the Fort William Gardens with a new Event Centre? Response – 60% of respondents agreed with this statement. It was clear in assessing the responses that people could support a new facility while not necessarily agreeing that the Fort William Gardens needed to be demolished or decommissioned.

8. Do you support the idea of a Conference Centre as an added component to the Event Centre? Response – two thirds of respondents supported the statement, 11% were not sure, 10% did not support it, and the remainder could support a Conference Centre pending conditions – primarily price and affordability.

9. Do you think that renovating the Fort William Gardens is a realistic option? Response – three quarters of attendees felt that renovating the Gardens was unrealistic. The respondents from the on‐line survey were not as negative as those who attended the open house. The on‐line responses were 67% against renovating the Gardens.

10. Comment on the kinds of entertainment events that interest you.

Response – not surprisingly, concerts were the most event of most interest to the respondents at 89%, trade and consumer fairs second with 73%, festivals third with 65%, a sports franchise (hockey) fourth with 64%, and boat/car shows fifth with 64%

Comment on priorities/comments relative to the Site Evaluation Matrix that will be used by the Consulting Team

11. The questionnaire identified six different evaluation priorities for the attendees and participants to comment on.

The list was described as follows:

Vision – is the development of an Event Centre at this location consistent with the overall long‐term vision of the City and its pattern of strategic growth? Response – the rating of this category was 3rd by both attendees and on‐line participants. Complimentary Benefits – does development of this site enhance the neighbouring area or context? Response – the overall and on‐line rating for this priority was 4th. Ease of Development – are there issues or costs associated with the development of this particular site? Are there environmental issues that impact the development process? Response – this priority scored 8th overall and 7th by on‐line participants. Access – is this site easily accessible from a vehicular, pedestrian, and transit perspective? Are improvements/modifications required to support the site? Response – this was ranked 2nd overall with but 1st by on‐line participants. Parking – how much parking is required for each site to support the Event Centre: is there existing parking in the area that can be reasonably used to accommodate demands: Can parking be added? Response – parking ranged 6th overall and 7th by on‐line participants. Cost Impact – are there issues associated with the development on the site that result in higher project or construction costs? Response – this ranked 7th overall and 6th by on‐line participants. Economic Impact – does the development of this site have an enhanced economic impact for the City and Region? Response – this ranked 1st overall and 2nd with on‐line participants. City Building – does this site enhance the process of “city‐building” by contributing to economic growth, quality of life, citizen satisfaction and community pride? Response –this was ranked 5th by both groups.

Overall thoughts on the Open House


12. Did you come away more informed?

Response – overall, 54% were satisfied, 25% were somewhat satisfied and 10% not really satisfied. On‐line participants were 37% satisfied, 33% somewhat satisfied, and 18% not really satisfied.

13. Were you satisfied with how the event was conducted? Response – for attendees 58% were satisfied, 21% somewhat satisfied and 10% not really satisfied. For the on‐line participants 39% were satisfied, 35% somewhat satisfied and 11% not really satisfied.

Open House 2 The second Open House had the same three elements as the first open house in terms of material. These were the presentation boards, the presentations, and the questionnaire. Again, all were available on line. The presentation boards gave an updated view of the evolving design now showing all three sites with generally the same sized components. The questionnaire was structured so that respondents could actually comment on any or all of the sites and offer their preference.

The Presentation Boards ‐ Open House #2


Open House Questionnaire Responses

The questionnaire for the second open house dealt with the following categories:

We would like to know a bit more about you

1. How old are you? Response – Over 40% of respondents were over the age of 60. As with the first Open House, the greater the age, the greater the number of respondents received. On‐line participation was at a much higher level for the younger groups. Of the participants under 40, one third participated on‐line compared to those over 60 where less than 2% participated on‐line.

We would like to hear more about the relevance of a new Event and Conference Centre 2. Do you believe a new 5,700‐seat Event Centre and integrated Conference Centre would have a positive effect

on the quality of entertainment for you and your family: Response – 67% of total respondents were strongly positive, 25% were somewhat positive and 8% felt that their quality of life would not be positively affected.

3. At the first open house there was much support for a new Conference Centre as part of the proposed Event Centre. Do you see it as an integral part of the new facility? Response – 74% agreed with this comment, 13% were not sure and 10% did not see a Conference Centre as a necessary part of the new facility.

4. At the first open house participants were asked to indicate the kinds of entertainment events of interest as a spectator/attendee from the following list: Concerts, Curling competitions, Circuses, Rodeos, Boat and car shows, Festivals, Skating shows, Family shows, Religious assemblies, Monster trucks, Industry trade shows, Hockey (OHL and AHL league), Skating competitions, Dances, Trade/consumer fairs, BMX type events, Wrestling or boxing, Basketball or other league sports.

Concerts were the highest level of interest followed by flat floor activity such as Trade shows and Boat/car shows. Are you generally in agreement with the idea of concerts and flat floor activity as being very important to this project? Response – 90% agreed with the question, 6% were unsure and 3% disagreed. Respondents were able to rate the various activities and events identified in the questionnaire. The earlier session saw concerts as the highest interest, a sports franchise as second, and boar/car shows as third. The later session had a sport franchise and skating competitions as the highest interest with festivals as third. The on‐line respondents rated concerts as most important, a sports franchise as second, and had festivals and trade/consumer fairs tied for third.

5. Listed below are the overall categories in the Evaluation Matrix the Planning Team will use to make a

recommendation as to a site that best suits the overall objectives of the City. Based on today’s presentation what are your top three preferences in terms of criteria? Vision, Complementary Benefits, Ease of Development, Access, Parking, Cost Impact, Economic Impact, City‐Building.

Response – In every instance the top ranked priority in terms of the selection criteria was Economic Impact receiving 21% of all votes. Vision followed as the second priority with 16% of votes. The respondents from the 4:00 presentation had Parking as their third priority with 12.2% of votes while the later presentation and on‐line attendees had Complimentary Benefits as their third choice. When all votes were tallied, Complimentary Benefits remained as the third priority for site selection.

6. We would appreciate your comments on the Downtown/Waterfront, Innova Business Park and Thunder Bay Airport sites. Response – Respondents took the opportunity to both comment on the three sites and express a preference. A few respondents offered a broad range of comments without expressing a preference. However most took the opportunity to state their preferred location. The attendees of the 4:00pm presentation who answered the question tended to prefer the Innova Park site voting 44 in favour versus 35 supporting the Downtown/Waterfront site. Those who attended the 7:00 presentation had the opposite preference with 28 supporting the Downtown/Waterfront site and 19 supporting Innova Park. The on‐line respondents were in favour of the Downtown/Waterfront site by a margin of two to one. In total, the Downtown site received a total of 85 expressions of support compared to 73 for the Innova site.

Overall thoughts on this open house

7. Did you come away more informed?

Response – 62% of respondents felt that they had come away from the open house more informed with another 26% somewhat informed. An interesting note is that the on‐line respondents scored the level information much lower than those who actually attended the open house.

8. Were you satisfied with how the open house was conducted? Response – 67% of respondents were satisfied with how the open house was conducted with an additional 23% somewhat satisfied. Again, those who completed the questionnaire on‐line were less satisfied with how the open house was conducted.

Submitting the Report The Consulting Team will be submitting the final report to the Staff Working Group at the end of August. Administration in turn will attach an accompanying Staff Report and on October 15th will provide the report for consideration by City Council as a “first report” on September 17th. On October 10th, the City will host a Media Briefing which will be attended by key members of the Consulting Team. The final Open House event will be held on November 21st at the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium. The fundamental objective of the Planning Team will be to review their recommendation of the Downtown/Waterfront site as the preferred location for the new Event Centre. Unlike previous Open House events, there will be a single presentation followed by a question period. Council will debate the recommendations of both the Phase 2 Feasibility Study and Corporate Report on November 26th and provide direction in terms of a possible next phase of the project.


3. SITE SELECTION AND COMMENTARY

The Consulting Team was committed to providing distinct site‐sensitive concept designs for each of the three sites being considered in the Phase 2 Feasibility Study. The issue of site selection has been controversial since the City began considering the replacement of the Fort William Gardens in 2010. This is by no means uncommon, and it is the experience of the Consulting Team that most communities the size of Thunder Bay face this very same issue. The Consulting Team also recognized that proponents for each of the three sites would be paying particular attention to the concept design for their preferred site and would insist on seeing an appropriate and unique approach for their preferred site.

3.1 General Site Observations Each of the sites was visited numerous times during the concept design process. Information was also assembled regarding the existing infrastructure on or adjacent to the site, geotechnical characteristics (load‐bearing capacity) of the site, changes required as part of the development process, vehicular and pedestrian access, and overall parking requirements. The issues of access and parking are covered in a more technical level in Section 5 – Transportation and Parking. Innova Business Park Site The Innova site is equidistant from the north and south ends of the City and is considered to be centrally located. The site lies west of the Intercity area and is bound on the south by Harbour Expressway, on the west by Thunder Bay Expressway, and on the east by Golf Links Road. The business park has a total of 44 parcels of land of which 4 are currently developed or being developed. The total area of the park is approximately 70 acres of which over one‐third or approximately 28 acres would need to be set aside for the development of an Event Centre. The Innova Business Park site can be described as a greenfield site and is totally owned by the City. The market value for the required property is currently $2,068,500. Access to Innova Business Park is primarily off Harbour Expressway although there are secondary entrances to the eastern portion via existing City streets. The overall planning of the business park is straight forward with an internal loop, Innovation Drive, resulting in properties either being inbound of the road, or outbound. The outbound properties on the south and west have excellent exposure to Harbour Expressway or Thunder Bay Expressway. All services within Innova Business Park were designed for light industrial development and would need to be improved to properly accommodate a new Event Centre. Upgrades would include the following: Improved access off both Thunder Bay Expressway and Harbour Expressway, Widening and upgrading of Innovation Drive and Premier Way Relocation of a major storm sewer trunk line

The geotechnical characteristics of the Innova site will require the building foundation to be constructed on piles. The extent of muskeg on the site will require that the parking area will require some degree of excavation and fill. Soils investigation indicates that during the spring there is the potential for a temporary water table approximately 4 feet below grade. This feature, along with the flat nature of the site suggests an Event Centre concept design that requires a minimum of excavation or sinking the building into the ground. An easement runs through the southern portion of Innova Business Park and protects a major storm sewer trunk line. This significantly impacts the infrastructure improvement cost of the site. While smaller industrial‐type buildings could likely be sited on the affected properties without compromising the easement, the much larger footprint of the Event Centre creates a conflict that requires the relocation of the storm water trunk line.

Innova Site


Downtown/Waterfront Site The Downtown/Waterfront site is envisioned by the Consulting Team as a consolidation of three distinct components. The first is the “block” bound on the west by Cumberland Street, on the east by Water Street, on the north by Camelot Street, and on the south by Van Norman Street. The City owns the majority of property within this block. The other parcels in the consolidated site are Van Norman Street which would be decommissioned and incorporated into the buildable area, and the City owned parking area directly north of the Pagoda and accessed off Water Street. The Downtown site would require the relocation of the existing transit terminal on Water Street and an earlier decommissioning and removal of the Camelot Street Hydro Substation. Total area of the Downtown/Waterfront Site is approximately 3.13 acres or 136,400 square feet with an estimated market value of $785,000. The Downtown/Waterfront site is sloped approximately 18 feet from the high point at the intersection of Cumberland and Van Norman Streets, to the low point at the intersection of Water and Camelot Streets. While the “block” is quite capable of accommodating the Event Centre, the addition of a conferencing component requires the larger consolidated parcel.

The Downtown/Waterfront site is part of Port Arthur’s historic downtown core and its proximity to both the shoreline and the train tracks would normally suggest some level of soil contamination. This site is in an area of bedrock and depending on its location, will impact the overall cost of the Event Centre. Test drill holes were done in April of 2012 as part of a Phase 2 Environmental Assessment. The results indicate very little soil contamination although the Camelot Substation property was not included in the scope of work. Any remediation of this portion of the site would be done by Thunder Bay Hydro as part of the normal process of decommissioning the station. The bore holes indicated bedrock between 6 feet and 7.5 feet below the surface with the exception that bedrock is found within 4.5 feet at Van Norman and Water Street. As a result, some blasting of the bedrock will be required as part of the construction process if the Event Centre is designed without underground parking and considerable blasting will be required with underground parking. For this reason there are two options provided by the Consulting Team for additional parking. The first is the provision of 350 stalls beneath the building while the second recommended option is a new 200‐stall 2‐level a two‐level above grade parking structure directly to the north. Both options have been priced in Section 6 – An Estimate of Probable Costs.

Cumberland Street

Cumberland Street

Van

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Downtown/Waterfront

Site

Prince Arthur’s Landing

Tupp

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Alternate Parking Structure

Location


Thunder Bay International Airport Site

The Airport site, like the Innova site, is relatively flat and best suited to a two‐level Event Centre design (as with Innova) as opposed to the three‐level approach proposed for Downtown. Unlike the other two sites, there are a minimum of property lines to deal with. Generally the site is defined by Arthur Street to the north, and an implied southern boundary based on current existing development and airport taxiways. The site can extend to the west as much as is required, and the overall site configuration will be a simple rectangle. Access to the site would primarily be off Arthur Street. The Consulting Team developed an initial design for the Airport site and subsequently modified it as part of the process of standardizing the various components within each design. However it became clear early in the process that this site was not going to garner any level of real support within the community. After the second Open House the Consulting Team recognized that this option did not warrant additional consideration.

Arthur Street

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Airport Site


3.2 Proposed Site Development

Each of the sites is unique and presents a specific opportunity in terms of accommodating a new Event Centre. As part of the initial concept design work leading to the first Open House in March the Consulting Team prepared significantly different building concepts for each site, respecting what the sites had to offer, and also testing various sizes of building components. This was done to provide PricewaterhouseCoopers with different models to evaluate in terms of the overall business case and economic impact. Following the first Open House, the Consulting Team confirmed an overall program of spaces and applied these consistently to each site. The development of the final program of spaces is discussed in Section 4 – Concept Design Development. Innova Business Park The Innova Business Park site is accessed, and highly visible from both Thunder Bay Expressway and Harbour Expressway. This visibility is an asset for a number of reasons:

One of the advantages to this site is highway access. Being highly visible from both expressways is an advantage in

terms of accessing the site. Visibility is related to potential revenue from sponsorship and naming rights. Capturing the corner of the two expressways means that smaller buildings will not be built in close proximity to the

intersection. Smaller scale buildings with their back door potentially facing either expressway are avoided and overall impact is both maximized and controlled.

Innovation Drive, coupled with Capital Way and Premier Way, create an internal ring road within the business park. Within the ring are a number of smaller and medium size parcels of which four have been sold. Additional properties east of Premier Way have also been sold. The most appropriate location for the new Event Centre, for both marketing and planning reasons, is the land outside of the ring road and specifically the nine properties that capture an “L” shaped site west of Premier Way and following Thunder Bay Expressway as far north as Capital Way. All of the development is on one side of Innovation Drive allowing spectators to access their vehicles directly without having to cross the street. The approach to massing the building on the site recognizes that buildings seen from a highway are usually viewed at higher speeds than those seen from more typical city streets. The Event Centre on the Innova Business Park site is positioned to dramatically dominate the intersection of both expressways. The site provides ample opportunity for on‐site parking which is a benefit during event times but underutilized during non‐events. The concept design for the Innova Business Park site is discussed in Section 4 – Concept Design Development, but it would be appropriate to introduce one of the fundamental principles of the architectural approach. The design concept reflects one of the emerging trends in mid‐size spectator facilities located on a flat site where excavation is kept to a minimum. Innova Business Park’s high seasonal water table makes this approach particularly relevant to both this site and the Thunder Bay Airport site as well. The fundamental feature of this design approach includes the following features: The event or ice level (including Dressing Rooms and support back‐of‐house space) is at grade along with the

Concourse area. In some senses this is similar to the Fort William Gardens layout. To maintain separation between the public and the entertainer/athlete, the public Concourse is on three sides of the

ice surface only (in the Fort William Gardens it is on all four sides requiring teams, officials, and the ice resurfacer driver to cross the public area to reach the ice surface.

The integration of the back‐of‐house and Concourse results in a larger building footprint although this doesn’t necessarily translate into a larger building area.

Downtown/Waterfront

The Downtown/Waterfront site is located in the heart of the North ward, or downtown Port Arthur. The site is flanked on the east by Water Street and on the west by Cumberland Street – the historic north‐south road and connector to Fort William. Both Water and Cumberland Streets offer good vehicle access to the site. Red River Road is one of the main connections to the northwest quadrant of Thunder Bay and will bring both pedestrian and vehicular traffic to within a block of the site. While the Downtown/Waterfront site does not directly front onto Red River Road, the panhandle configuration of the integrated property allows it to extend very close. The site sits in a historic precinct surrounded primarily to the south and west by a combination of historic buildings and small commercials spaces, many of which would benefit directly from revitalization of the area. The most significant adjacent buildings include: The Whalen Building, Thunder Bay’s most historic “high rise” and at one time, Port Arthur’s City Hall, Prince Arthur Hotel, a historic and well‐positioned 120‐room hotel, The block of buildings on the west side of Cumberland between Red River Road, and Van Norman Street, including

the Lyceum and the Tomlinson Block, The Pagoda, a unique little pavilion that has for over a century been the City’s tourist information centre, and the

oldest of its kind in Canada, The Provincial Building, built approximately 20 years ago as a major investment by the Province, the building is south

of Red River Road and like the Downtown/Waterfront site, is bound on the east and west by Water and Cumberland Streets.

The Downtown/Waterfront site is notable for the lack of development on the property. With the exception of the transit bus loop and the aging Camelot Street Hydro Substation the site is largely undeveloped and used primarily for surface parking. These uses create issues that will need to be dealt with as part of any development of the Downtown/ Waterfront site for an event centre: The transit bus loop is a relatively new facility and well‐located in terms of existing bus lines. Any relocation of this

facility should be done in reasonably close proximity to the existing location. This will require coordination with Thunder Bay Transit and support their long term planning objectives.

The Camelot Street Hydro Substation will be decommissioned before the end of the decade. The construction of an Event Centre on this site will require advancing the demolition date. The cost of removing the substation and environmentally remediating this portion of the site is a cost that would be borne by Thunder Bay Hydro. However, costs associated with advancing the decommissioning date need to be factored into the development cost of the Downtown/Waterfront site.

The development of the Event Centre will remove the largest contiguous City‐owned surface parking area in the downtown and this will require the addition of new parking spaces elsewhere in the general area.

The Downtown/Waterfront site shares certain similarities with other urban event centre locations:

There is a historic context of often under‐performing mixed‐use buildings, The area is well‐serviced by numerous existing transit systems or lines, The neighbourhood has vehicular and pedestrian infrastructure in place, There is an opportunity to, in the reasonably near future, have some level of entertainment and hospitality‐based

upgrading and revitalizing including existing hotel/motel accommodation, The future opportunities are reasonably well understood and achievable.


3.3 Site Evaluation

The siting of the new Thunder Bay Event Centre has created much discussion in the community with passionately held opinions on all sides. While many residents may not feel knowledgeable about the ideal size or capacity of the new Event Centre, everyone does feel more comfortable and confident in discussing the advantages and disadvantages of each site. This public debate is normal for any community looking to build a new Event Centre facility and has occurred in many cities in recent years including Winnipeg, London, Kingston, and Moose Jaw. The selection of a preferred site needs to be done through a process that is visible, transparent, responsible, and meaningful. More than the actual design of the facility, the site evaluation process will be scrutinized by the community‐at‐large and the media. The Consulting Team developed a Site Evaluation Matrix comprised of seven different values or criteria and presented this information at both Open House events. Based on the Phase 2 Request for Proposals issued by the City the Detailed Site Analysis Study would include the following: A site condition assessment for each proposed site, including a high‐level environmental condition assessment and

assessment of the need and availability of infrastructure required to adequately service the proposed Event Centre; Updated capital costs, by site, for the proposed Event Centre, based on the proposed conceptual design and the site

condition and infrastructure evaluation; Preparation of a conceptual design and related drawings for the proposed Event Centre on each proposed site; A preliminary, comparative economic impact assessment for each proposed site, including the identification of

potential opportunities for development and/or redevelopment of lands in proximity to the site; A detailed parking study for each proposed site including estimation of parking required, confirmation of adequacy

of existing parking supply, preliminary parking design/layout concepts and a preliminary traffic assessment for each site.

The Site Evaluation Matrix reflects the objectives of the City so that there is a direct and transparent link with the overall evaluation process. In addition, the matrix clearly reflects the issue of access and parking which has to date typified the community’s overall discussions on this project. Based on the expectations and deliverables of the Phase 2 Report, the Consulting Team has identified the following as overall elements of the Site Evaluation Matrix: Vision – is the development of an Event Centre at this location consistent with the overall long‐term vision of the

City and its pattern of strategic growth? Complimentary Benefits – does development of this site enhance the neighbouring area or context? Ease of Development – are there issues or costs associated with the development of this particular site? Are there

environmental issues that impact the development process? Access – is this site easily accessible from a vehicular, pedestrian, and transit (current and future) perspective? Are

improvements/modifications required to support the site? Parking – how much parking is required for each site to support the event centre? Is there existing parking in the

area that can be reasonably used to accommodate demands? Can parking be added? Cost Impact – are there issues associated with the development of the site that result in higher project or

construction costs? Economic Impact – does the development of this site have an enhanced economic impact for the City and Region? City Building – does this site enhance the process of “city‐building” by contributing to the economic growth, quality

of life, citizen satisfaction and community pride?

The questionnaires available at the two Open House events plus the corresponding on‐line questionnaires provided the community with the opportunity to provide direct input prior to the site evaluation by the Consulting Team. The results of the questionnaire results were as follows:

Event Responses Top 3 Criteria Open House #1 Results handed in

at Open House #1 213 responses 1 – Economic Impact

2 – Vision 3 – Access

Results submitted on‐line

89 responses 1 – Access 2 – Economic Impact 3 – Vision

Stated Site Preference Open House #2 Results handed in

at Open House #2 157 responses 1 ‐ Economic Impact

2 – Vision 3 – City Building

63

63

Innova Park

Downtown/Waterfront

Results submitted on‐line

34 responses 1 – Economic Impact 2 – Vision 3 – City Building

10

22

Innova Park

Downtown/Waterfront

Economic Impact and Vision are consistently rated as the most important factors in site selection. It is also clear that on‐line respondents had a slightly different view compared to those who attended the Open House presentations. The second Open House questionnaire also provided an opportunity for respondents to comment on any/all sites and express an opinion. This comment‐based site preference process indicated support for the Downtown/Waterfront site with 85 respondents versus 73 for Innova Business Park. Based on the responses from the two Open House events the Consulting Team modified the weighting of the various evaluation points. The Consulting Team also evaluated the sites over three different sessions and during this process it was concluded that the Thunder Bay Airport site was not a viable option. The major reasons pertained to overall access to the site as well as the fundamental issue that the site could only be secured through a long‐term land lease with the Airport Authority, whereas there was no issue in terms of the City owning the other two sites. The following is the final Site Evaluation Matrix along with the scoring for both the Innova Business Park and Downtown/Waterfront sites. The first evaluation by the Consulting Team was held on March 21st and focused on:

Ease of Development Access Parking

Even at this point it was clear that the Thunder Bay International Airport site would be a distant third in terms of the evaluation. Subsequent comments by both the general public and Council regarding the latter site allowed the Consulting Team to eliminate it from the evaluation process. The Evaluation Matrix has each item scored with 10 being the maximum allowed. One column identifies the weighting of both the category and the individual questions within that category. The weighted scores for each component are not shown in the matrix. The TOTAL SCORE at the bottom of the matrix is not sum of the individual scores but of the weighted individual scores.


SITE EVALUATION MATRIX W

eigh

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1. Vision – is the development of an Event Centre at this location consistent with the overall long‐term vision of the City and its pattern for strategic growth?

15%

a Is the development of an Event Centre deemed appropriate for this site? 30% 8.5 6.0 b Is an Event Centre one of the highest and best uses of this site? 25% 8.5 5.0 c Does an Event Centre on this site reflect the City’s vision and City’s Official Plan? 25% 10.0 4.0 d Will this development stimulate future growth/expansion consistent with the City’s vision? 20% 8.5 5.0

2. Complimentary Benefits – does development of this site enhance the neighbouring area or context?

15%

a Will the surrounding neighbourhood/area be positively impacted by this development? 40% 8.5 4.0 b Can this site support the development/expansion of an event/entertainment zone? 40% 8.0 8.0 c Are there additional benefits not necessarily associated with entertainment/event activity? 20% 8.0 8.0

3. Ease of Development – are there issues or costs associated with the development of this particular site: Are there environmental issues that impact the development process?

10%

a Is the site well‐serviced? 40% 8.0 7.0 b Are there issues that would prolong the development or approval process? 30% 8.0 8.0 c Are there environmental issues or concerns associated with the site? 30% 10.0 10.0

4. Access ‐ is this site easily accessible from a vehicular, pedestrian, and transit (current and future) perspective? Are improvements/modifications required to support the site?

10%

a Does the site have easy vehicular access and egress for event setup? 10% 10.0 10.0 b Does the site have appropriate vehicular access and egress for spectators at events? 60% 8.0 9.0 c Does transit currently service the site and/or would service be provided? 20% 9.0 2.0 d Is this site accessible by patrons walking to the event (hotel, restaurants, etc.)? 10% 6.0 3.0

5. Parking ‐ how much parking is required for each site to support the event centre? Is there existing parking in the area that can be reasonably used to accommodate demands?

10%

a Is there the potential for adequate parking on or near the site? 50% 6.0 10.0 b Does the event centre parking also effectively support other uses during non‐event days? 25% 8.0 3.0 c Is there appropriate space for event loading/busing? 25% 7.5 10.0

6. Cost Impact ‐ are there issues associated with the development of the site that result in higher project or construction costs?

10%

a Is there a cost premium for developing the spectator component on this site? 35% 5.0 5.0 b Is there a cost premium for overall site development? 35% 5.0 5.0 c Are there funding opportunities associated with the development of this site? 30% 7.0 7.0

7. Economic Impact ‐ does the development of this site have an enhanced economic impact for the City and Region?

15%

a Does the development of this site have a positive economic impact on the surrounding area? 35% 8.0 8.0

b Would this site become an entertainment/event destination? 35% 9.0 5.0 c Is this site positively impacted by the existing surrounding development? 30% 9.0 4.0

8. City‐building ‐ does this site enhance the process of “city‐building” by contributing to the economic growth, quality of life, citizen satisfaction and community pride?

15%

a Does the development on this site enhance the profile of Thunder Bay as a destination? 40% 7.0 5.0 b Would the development of this site enhance the quality of life for the community? 30% 7.0 5.0 c Would the development as envisioned foster pride by the residents of Thunder Bay? 30% 10.0 6.5 TOTAL SCORE 79.7 63.1

Based on scoring of the two sites the Site Evaluation Matrix concludes that the Downtown/Waterfront site is the preferred location and offers the greatest short and long‐term benefit. It outscored the Innova Business Park site in almost all categories with the exception of Parking and Access (slightly). The matrix offers a vehicle for the objective and broad‐based evaluation of the final two sites but the issue of site is a polarizing one and the Consulting Team felt obliged to offer some additional comments in terms of its support for the Downtown/Waterfront location. These comments are based on their observations of the site, knowledge of Event Centres, and their familiarity with comments made by supporters of both sites. Site Selection Commentary The fundamental question in identifying a preferred site is a simple one – which site offers the City the greatest future benefits? A corollary to that question is which site potentially offers the least benefit or has a neutral or negative impact. The Consulting Team looked at both aspects of this question.

Transformation

The issue of transformation was identified by supporters of both sites. Some felt that a new Event Centre in Innova Business Park would encourage the purchase of other parcels of land and speed up the build‐out of this park. This is true to an extent since the development of the Event Centre would consume a total of 9 of the remaining 40 unsold lots. Some of the most highly visible property would be used for the Event Centre development. The remaining 31 available lots would likely be developed as a combination of light industry, commercial and restaurant, and the integrity of the Innova site as a business park would be highly compromised. Development would be unfocused and ad hoc and one of the legacies would be a much underutilized 2,000‐car parking lot. There are a considerable number of examples in Canada where event centres have been constructed in urban areas and in the process, contributed to significant urban renewal. This is a well‐understood principle and explains why most of the recently built facilities have been in urban locations. This has always been the case with larger facilities but it also holds true for mid‐size spectator facilities in smaller communities. A new Event Centre in the Downtown/ Waterfront location would have a significant and immediate impact on the surrounding urban area consistent with the generally held view that the downtown North Ward is an entertainment district. The combination of an Event Centre and Prince Arthur’s Landing will create a remarkable urban destination that has no real equivalent in Canada.

Parking

The issue of parking has been part of the site discussion ever since the City started considering the replacement of the Fort William Gardens. Innova Business Park is a “drive‐to” destination and parking requirements would be greater than for an urban location where there is already a level of existing parking within walking distance. Innova Business Park has adequate land to accommodate all of the anticipated parking requirements and in this regard the site outscored the Downtown/Waterfront site in the Site Evaluation Matrix. However, dedicating over 1,000,000 square feet of land to periodic surface parking is an underutilization of development lands. The poor soils conditions are reflected in the increased cost of developing that on‐site parking. The Downtown/Waterfront site sits within a context of existing parking made up of both public and privately owned stalls. Within the downtown area there is adequate parking for the Event Centre but the time it takes to walk to some of the available stalls can be excessive. At this time there are over 200 privately‐held parking stalls within the area that, according to their owners, could be dedicated to event parking. This would, in the view of the Consulting Team, still leave a shortfall of at least 200 stalls to keep the walking time reasonable for sold‐out events, and requires the construction of a smaller parking structure in close proximity to the Event Centre. There is not a significant difference between the cost of a 200‐car parking structure in the downtown core and a 2,000‐car parking lot in Innova Business Park. There is however, a significant difference in the effect of a new parking facility downtown, with considerably more use for both special events (Blues Fest) and day‐to‐day activity.


The City’s Own View There is a strong sense by both City staff and residents that downtown Port Arthur should have an entertainment focus and current zoning supports this. The Consulting Team also recognizes that there are times when long‐standing views or assumptions need to be revisited. The fact that rezoning would be required to allow an Event Centre to be built in Innova Business Park should not be seen as a significant obstacle in evaluating the site. The more fundamental question is whether it is time to reconsider the North Ward business core as the preferred entertainment precinct. In the view of the Consulting Team, this notion continues to be the correct one related to developing a vibrant urban area. Prince Arthur’s Landing sets a new and high standard to development in the North Ward and the placement of the new Event Centre on the Downtown/Waterfront site reinforces this development strategy. Innova Business Park was developed as part of a larger regional vision and while there are a large number of properties available only a small number have sold. The majority of those sales happened in the last three years. Maintaining land use as a business park continues to be appropriate and its location in relatively close proximity to Lakehead University, Confederation College, and Thunder Bay International Airport, is more supportive of its current use than as an Event Centre location. The general view of the Consulting Team is that the City’s vision of the North Ward as the entertainment precinct and Innova Business Park as light industrial use is supportable and over time, sustainable. The potential for a significant new mining and industrial cluster (i.e. supply and services) within Innova Business Park is consistent the City’s long‐term vision for this site.

Central versus the North and/or South Over the course of the two open house events the Consulting Team heard much regarding the notion that the new Event Centre should be centrally located. Others suggested that an Innova Business Park location would get beyond the age‐old Port Arthur/Fort William argument. Their view was that the Intercity area and its growth to the west could become the new centre of Thunder Bay. However, in looking more closely at the notion of being central the following needs to be considered: The major transit routes reflect in part the movement of people throughout the City. While there are bus lines

that move east‐west, most major transit points or stations are along the eastern “urban” edge of the City. The main transit terminals are at Water Street, Intercity, and City Hall. The eastern side of the City has always been business centre with the greatest density of activity and the most accessible in terms of transit and pedestrian traffic.

Development in the Intercity area tends to be either “big‐box” or smaller commercial/food establishments where on‐site parking is provided, and in fact necessary for the survival of the businesses. This type of development is typically on the outskirts of a community but Thunder Bay’s unique situation has tended to focus the traditional” development of the outskirts” to Intercity. It is relatively equally located between the north and south end of the City and in that respect, is central. Unlike other city centres, Intercity, especially where there has been recent development, continues to be a drive‐to area with limited transit service and unfriendly to the pedestrian experience. The fact that Innova Business Park is surrounded on three sides by major highways may have benefits in terms of access but contradicts the image of the area as a city centre. The form of development for Innova Business Park and the Intercity area has been established, and it is firmly suburban.

The Issue of Planning and Prioritizing The development and evolution of the intercity has been ongoing and the character of the area has changed significantly. Decades ago it was generally a light industrial area although over time that has changed with more office, commercial and hospitality areas. This diversity has served the Intercity well and its location between the North and South wards has concentrated development compared to other cities where such development would radiate around the central hub. The fact that Thunder Bay cannot grow to the east due to Lake Superior has further enhanced the development of the Intercity area.

The development of the Intercity may have come at a trade‐off. Businesses that typically might consider locating in either downtown are, in some instances drawn to Intercity. Until recently the old Port Arthur and Fort William downtown cores were in a state of decline, a trend that is seen in other cities throughout North America. A move by business to the Intercity did not cause this decline but it did provide an attractive alternative to reinvesting in the downtown cores. For Thunder Bay to grow properly as a dynamic city with a unique north and south historic downtown core, it needs to:

Encourage the ongoing development of the north and south downtown business areas along with Intercity.

Thunder Bay is a single city with a number of unique neighbourhoods and business areas. They all need and deserve to grow and prosper.

The City needs to continue efforts to enhance the north and south downtown areas. Prince Arthur’s Landing is an excellent example of successfully creating a vibrant urban area, and the new Provincial Consolidated Courthouse provides a comparative example for the South. City Council’s considerable public investment and revitalization efforts in both the north and south downtown areas need to continue. Major public and private development/redevelopment projects are the best means of building the sustainability of these core areas.

Strategic Land Use

Land within Thunder Bay has the ability to contribute strategically to the quality of life in the community in a number of ways: It can be developed by the private sector for business and industry generating revenue to the City directly

through property taxes, It can be developed as a publicly owned community resource such as Prince Arthur’s Landing, enhancing the

quality of life for residents, It can be developed as part of the City’s critical infrastructure (hospitals, schools, recreation and leisure, open

space), It can be left essentially unchanged but safeguarded as part of an environmental legacy. The development of the Event Centre on the Downtown/Waterfront site maximizes the ratio between the size of the site and the amount of usable space (roughly 250,000 sf for either design concept) placed on it. The majority of parking for this location already exists and much of it will be on the existing street network. The amount of additional land dedicated to new parking is kept to a minimum and by providing a new 200 space two‐level parking structure (with the potential to add a third level and a total capacity of 300 stalls), the amount of additional site required is also kept to a minimum. Any additional parking provided in the downtown area will be used even when there is no event at the Event Centre.

The Innova Business Park site dedicates a significant tract of land solely for the purpose of event‐based parking. There is no real need by neighbouring businesses for access to this parking as they will be required by the zoning by‐law to provide for their own requirements within their individual developments. As a drive‐to destination, the development of the Innova Business Park site will require sufficient on‐site parking to accommodate major or sold‐out events which, while exciting for the community, are not frequent. This is an extremely unsustainable use for over 1,000,000 square feet of land.


4.0 CONCEPT DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

The Open House held on February 29th at the Italian Cultural Centre introduced the first concept designs for Innova Business Park, Downtown/Waterfront, and Thunder Bay Airport sites. The consulting team provided a high level of detail and explained, through their presentation, how a typical Event Centre functioned. The initial designs varied in terms of the size of various components so that options could be tested as part of the business case to be prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The second Open House, held on April 11th at the Da Vinci Centre, saw a consistency between the three designs in term of both components, and overall building area. The list of components incorporated into the final designs were:

Seating Capacity The overall fixed seating capacity was confirmed at 5,700, generally consistent with an earlier

Deloitte study (2009).

Building Area The Spectator Arena has an overall area of 202,500 square feet on three levels. The Conference Centre has an overall area of 50,000 square feet.

Private Suites A total of 24 private suites will be provided plus space to accommodate a Multipurpose Party Room at the Suites Level.

Conference Space The Conference Centre has a Banquet Hall accommodating up to 1,000 seated guests plus a divisible Meeting Room with a maximum of 12,000 square feet.

Parking Innova Park A total of 2,000 stalls are recommended since all attendees will likely drive to the site as individuals or small groups. Downtown/Waterfront There are two options being considered including a single level of parking under the building with approximately 350 stalls, and an off‐site 200‐stall parking facility (recommended) immediately to the north of the Event Centre. Some owners of parking stalls in the downtown area have also offered to lease their facility to the City or run it themselves during events.

Restaurant The Downtown/Waterfront site has always provided a unique opportunity to overlook Marina Park, Prince Arthur’s Landing and Sleeping Giant. The other sites, because of their isolation, have less opportunity. The Assessment of Economic Benefits looked at a restaurant for both the Downtown/Waterfront and Innova Business Park locations. While it hasn’t been incorporated into the Innova Design, it has been included in the pricing in Section 6 – An Estimate of Probable Project Costs.

Hockey Administration An allowance of 2,000 square feet has been provided for the sports franchise administration at the Innova Business Park site only. There is no consistent approach to including the team’s administration area into their venue but because of the lack of office space around this site, the decision was made to include it in the overall design.

Early concept for Downtown/Waterfront

Early concept for Innova Business Park

Early concept for Thunder Bay International Airport


4.1 The Innova Business Park Design The design for the Innova Business Park site is a two‐level concept and responds to two of the site’s key features, a flat site, and with a high seasonal water table. The overall layout responds to a level site and minimizes both excavation and fill. The building is strategically located in the south‐west corner of the site maximizing the overall visual presence of the facility from both Thunder Bay Expressway and Harbour Expressway.

Design Approach The design approach to the Innova Business Park concept recognizes that there are two distinct aspects or views to the building. Located at a major highway intersection, there are views of the building seen exclusively from vehicles either approaching the site or driving by at relatively high speeds. As a result the form of the Event Centre facing Harbour Expressway is a large, simple and dramatic form. Once within the business park and approaching the building from the north, the treatment of the building façade is more articulated recognizing that spectators will be approaching slowly by vehicle, and ultimately, as a pedestrian walking from their parking stall to the building. The architectural approach to the design is a combination of these two different aspects of the building location.

Planning the Site A total of approximately 2,000 parking stalls are located on the site running both east and north of the building. This arrangement places all of the parking on the outbound side of Innovation Drive, allowing large assemblies of land to remain intact for future development for light industrial, commercial, or mining‐related light industrial use. The parking arrangement also ensures that the movement of spectators to their vehicles does not require them to cross Innovation Drive on foot, something the Consulting Team feels can be potentially dangerous during exiting for major spectator events. The availability of land on this site allows for a large back‐of‐house area that is shared by both the spectator component and the conferencing piece. All vehicles associated with major concerts, trade shows and other events can be accommodated in this back‐of‐house area.



The building section below illustrates the two primary levels of the building – the Event/Concourse Level, and the Private Box Level. A clear dimension of 50’ has been provided from the event or ice level and the underside of the primary steel structure. Not shown on the floor plans but included in the pricing is a catwalk system that would be used for access to lighting, spotlights, the scoreboard, and general rigging.

Main Level Floor Plan The main floor level of the Innova design is generally at the same elevation as the surrounding area. The design approach places both the public areas and back‐of‐house areas on the same level. Within the Spectator Arena the public area is organized around three sides of the seating bowl and is made up of the Concourse, Concessions, and Washrooms. A Main Entry at the north‐west corner of the building provides access to the general seating area with a separate Private Box Entry south of the Main Entry. Also on the main level are Building Administration and Hockey Administration. These areas have been included in the pricing for this option although there is the alternate of providing only Building Administration. Overall, with the design development of Event Centres, there is no general policy of accommodating the sports franchise offices within the hosting venue. The Conference Centre portion of the design has all of the activity on the one level and is fully integrated into the spectator component. The Conference Centre has a Main Entry at its west end which is relatively close to the mid‐point of the overall Event Centre. The entry leads directly to a large corridor or “mall” with the Meeting Rooms and Banqueting Room on the south side. The Meeting Room space can be configured a number of ways. With the movable wall panels in the retracted position the room has a maximum enclosed size of 12,000 square feet although these walls can also be retracted so that the space effectively becomes a very large open area and part of the mall. The Banqueting Hall is also enclosed by a movable wall system and like the Meeting Rooms, can have all walls retracted so the space become part of the mall area. With the walls of the Meeting Rooms and Banqueting Hall totally retracted the overall area of the seamlessly integrated Mall/Meeting/Banqueting space is over 30,000 square feet.

Main Event Level – Concourse on 3 sides of seating bowl and back‐of‐house on 4th side

Administration

Suites Level Suites Level

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Concourse Washroom

Building Section through Innova Business Park concept – looking east


The back‐of‐house area for the Conference Centre integrates with that of the Spectator Arena and includes a Storage Room and commercial type Kitchen. The design allows the Kitchen area to feed both the Meeting Rooms and the Banqueting Hall (regardless of the configuration) directly through a service corridor. The Back‐of‐House area is at the east end of the Spectator Arena and is significant in overall size. This area is at the end of the horseshoe‐shaped concourse and is a secure zone not accessible by spectators. In this fourth side of the bowl are located four Community Dressing Rooms, a Visitor’s Dressing Room, the Home Team Suite (a combination of Day Lockers, Dressing Room, Washroom/Showers, Fitness Area, Team Lounge, Coach’s Offices, Workshop, Team Storage, and general

support areas), Staff Change Room, Referee’s Change Room, Event Office, Star Dressing Room, Green Room, Ice Resurfacing/Workshop, Refrigeration Room, and Mechanical/Electrical Rooms. The largest area in the Back‐of‐House is the Marshalling Area which is used for open storage as well as vehicle circulation for trade shows, concerts and other events. The Spectator Arena and Conference Centre have been designed in all cases to operate as a single integrated facility or as two stand‐alone units capable of functioning simultaneously.

Main Level Room Legend

1. Conference Centre Lobby 2. Banquet Hall 3. Meeting Rooms/Exhibit 4. Banquet Storage 5. Kitchen 6. Event Floor 7. Spectator Arena Lobby 8. Private Suites Entry 9. Ticketing 10. Administration 11. Hockey Administration 12. Concessions/Retail 13. Washrooms 14. Concourse 15. Storage 16. Community Dressing Rooms 17. Control 18. Staff Area 19. Marshalling 20. Refrigeration 21. Zamboni 22. Mechanical/Electrical 23. Visiting Team Dressing 24. Home Team Dressing 25. Loading

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The Private Box Level Floor Plan The Private Box Level is accessed either by stairs or an elevator from the Main Floor Level Private Box Entry. This area is composed of 24 Private Boxes, Washrooms for the boxes (there are no washrooms within the Private Box), 2 Party Rooms, a Lounge Area, and a Media/Broadcasting area. The Private Boxes on the north side of the bowl are consistent in their dimensions while the boxes on the south side vary in depth, the majority being deeper than those on the north side. The Lounge Area and north side corridor to the boxes have views towards Mount McKay and the Norwesters.

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Private Box Level Room Legend

1 Lounge Area 2 Private Suites


Design Commentary

The design concept developed for Innova Business Park recognized that while there were several buildings already existing on the site, a new Event Centre would redefine the site and make it a mixed‐use development rather than a light industrial park. The Consulting Team had a number of key objectives for Innova Business Park including the following:

Take advantage of what the site has to offer which is an abundance of available land. There is a balance in proposing development for such a large tract of land and the Consulting Team felt that the existing infrastructure should stay in place and be upgraded rather than redesigning the overall park. The use of land needed to be responsibly done so that there was the opportunity to maximize the marketability of the remaining site.

The site has high visibility from Thunder Bay Expressway, Harbour Expressway, and to a lesser degree, Golf Links Road. Each of these roadways would be critical for vehicular access to the site. This visibility should be taken full advantage of in such a way that it promotes the idea of the Event Centre as the cornerstone to the park.

Innova Business Park is a relatively flat site and a design concept was developed to suit this site feature. The design places the Concourse at grade so that as one approaches the building, or when driving by, one can see the spectators as they move within the building. This visibility of spectators enhances the impact of the building during events.

Develop an appropriate architecture that responds to the experience of approaching the building from within Innova Business Park as well as for those driving past the facility on either Harbour Expressway or Thunder Bay Expressway. The Consulting Team utilized a large, dramatic and simple form on the building’s south elevation facing Harbour Expressway. The large curved form is located as far west as appropriate to also maximize the exposure of the Event Centre to Thunder Bay Expressway and increase the marketing and naming rights opportunities.

Avoid a sea of parking recognizing that as a drive‐to site there will need to be approximately 2,000 parking stalls. The site planning utilizes only the land between Innovation Drive and the two expressways. The Event Centre is strategically placed within the overall configuration of the site. This approach avoids centring the building within a parking lot and in the process creates zones of parking for both the Spectator Arena and Conference Centre. This allows for a more aesthetically pleasing parking lot design and provides a scale of parking that is more sensitive to the existing and future buildings within the park.

Compliments future development of a mixed‐use Innova Park. Future development of property adjacent to the

parking areas of the Event Centre will actually have higher visibility to Thunder Bay Expressway and Harbour Expressway and will be seen through a foreground of the highly landscaped parking lot.

Firmly establish the Harbour/Thunder Bay Expressway intersection as the most important in terms of the City’s major highways. The development of event centres within a greenfield or suburban site often sees the placement of the building in the distance with major intersections being used primarily for marquis signage. The design concept reinforces the importance of this highway intersection.




4.2 Downtown/Waterfront Design The development of a concept design for the Downtown/Waterfront site was a complex process for two primary reasons. The first was the configuration of the properties available. Initially the Consulting Team looked only at the block bound by Van Norman, Cumberland, Water and Camelot Streets. Including Van Norman as part of the site was always part of the planning process, just as it was in earlier design studies initiated by the City prior to the Phase 2 work. The finite size of the site caused the designers to look at the City‐owned property directly to the north of the Pagoda and while this was a rather long and narrow piece of land, it provided a real benefit in maximizing the Conference Centre component on the Downtown/Waterfront site. Design Approach There were a number of objectives in planning the downtown facility: The design needs to take advantage of the variable grades of the site with the corner of Van Norman and

Cumberland being the highest point and Water and Camelot Streets being the lowest. A sloped site can work well for a spectator facility and in this case the grade difference between the two corners was a real asset in the design.

The Cumberland Street elevation needs to be consistent in scale and material with some of the other commercial buildings in neighbourhood. The Prince Arthur Hotel and the Whalen Building are, because of their height, exceptions to the overall architectural character and scale of the surrounding area.

More specifically, the design should be part of a contemporary backdrop to the historic Pagoda. The development should offer the pedestrian the opportunity to move freely between Cumberland Street and

Prince Arthur’s Landing. This objective was also part of the City’s earlier study of this downtown site.

The facility’s adjacency to Prince Arthur’s Landing and Lake Superior were spectacular assets that needed to be taken

advantage of in terms of how the functions in the building were planned/oriented. The iconic Sleeping Giant in particular needed to be highly visible from the building wherever possible.

Cumberland Street in particular should have views into the public domain (Concourse) of the Spectator Arena. Water Street should have some ability to view into the Conference Centre portion of the facility. Parking needed to be critically evaluated so that any additional requirements could be achieved either on site or

within the adjacent area. Confirmation of access to existing privately owned stall was critical to this evaluation. Planning the Site The Downtown/Waterfront site, as with most urban sites, has a high ratio of site coverage by the building. The primary outdoor public areas in the proposed concept include: Van Norman Street between Cumberland and Water Streets, functioning as a level pedestrian experience with

access to the Conference Centre via an upper Lobby, a restaurant on the east side of the Event Centre, and a pedestrian overpass to connect with Prince Arthur’s Landing.

A public plaza north of the Pagoda and functioning as the outdoor assembly area for the Conference Centre. A ramped/terraced area abutting the east edge of the Prince Arthur Hotel property, connecting the Van Norman

pedestrian extension with the Conference Centre plaza.

Early design sketch of the Downtown/Waterfront concept (Van Norman Pedestrian Extension not included in the project at this point)


The natural grades of the site have worked extremely well in accommodating the planning and design process. The almost 20 foot grade difference between the highest and lowest points on the site result in the building being sunken into the ground along Cumberland Street. This lessens the overall building height along Cumberland Street, and minimizes the obstruction of views from the Whalen Building. The resulting massing of the building along Cumberland Street is consistent with the scale of the surrounding historic buildings. Unlike the Innova Business Park design where the overall footprint of the building is large, the planning for the downtown site is much more compact with stacking or layering of elements. The section of the building and the specific levels of the design are strongly defined by the surrounding grades. A cross‐section through the building illustrates this: Parking Level, an option where there are a minimum of 350 underground parking stalls provided on site. While

presented at the second Open House, this option for providing additional parking is not being recommended by the Consulting Team.

Event Level with all of the interior back‐of‐house components for the Conference Centre and Spectator Arena determined by the elevational grade at the corner of Water and Camelot Street. This corner is the vehicle entrance to the event floor. The major components at the Event Level include the ice surface, dressing rooms, Banqueting Hall, and Meeting Rooms.

Conference Centre Entry Level is at approximately the same grade as the Pagoda and allows for a totally accessible entry to this portion of the building. It is roughly eight feet above the Event Level with stairs, an escalator, and elevator providing the connection between the two levels.

Concourse Level is the main indoor public area of the Spectator Arena and is set by the elevation of the corner of Cumberland and Van Norman Streets. The Concourse Level contains Concessions and Washrooms, all off the main Concourse which in the downtown design, runs on all four sides of the seating bowl (unlike the Innova Park concept where the Concourse is on three sides only. There is also an Upper Entry to the Conference Centre at the same elevation as the Concourse although access to this Upper Entry is from the Van Norman pedestrian street.

Private Boxes Level is approximately 15 feet above the Concourse Level and has its own Lobby directly off of the Van Norman pedestrian street.

Underground Parking Level (an option)

Event (Ice) Level Event (Ice) Level Event Level

Concourse Level Concourse Level

Suites Level Suites Level

Bus shelter

Downtown/Waterfront Concept Building Section looking south


Parking Level (Elevation 182.6m) The on‐site Parking Level, shown only as an option, identified one approach to increasing the parking count within reasonably close proximity to the facility. A total of 350 stalls are possible at this level which would run under the overall footprint of the building. Access to the underground parking would be via a ramp in close proximity to the loading area at the corner of Water and Camelot Streets. The underground parking concept was developed prior to the second Open House but prior to a preliminary geotechnical review of the site. Test holes dug as part of a Phase 2 Environmental Assessment indicate bedrock generally 6 – 7 feet below the surface. This would require partial excavation of the bedrock for the Event Centre without underground parking. The development of an underground parking area would be built totally in bedrock which would add significant cost to the project. For this reason there was a second option for parking on or directly adjacent to the site. The second considers a stand‐alone parking structure north of the Event Centre. Both approaches have been priced as part of the Downtown/Waterfront site evaluation.

Proposed New Parking Structure The Consulting Team did not take into account the availability of privately held parking staff when doing a parking assessment of the Downtown/Waterfront site. The 350 on‐site parking stalls identified as part of the underground parking level in the Event Centre reflected this position. Following the second Open House owners of three private parking lots in the downtown area offered to make over 200 stalls available for dedicated Event Centre parking. The Consulting Team felt that these privately‐held stalls and an additional 200 stalls in a proposed new adjacent City‐owned parking structure would satisfy the general parking requirements for the downtown area. Illustrated below is one possibility in terms of a site that is in size and location appropriate for an above‐grade parking structure. The Consulting Team is suggesting that while there are alternate locations it should not be fronting on Cumberland Street which needs to develop as a more vibrant and mixed use downtown commercial street. The Consulting Team is also recommending this option of a 200‐stall parking structure rather than the construction of a parking level under the building.

Underground Parking Option

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Alternate 2‐Level 200‐Stall Parking Structure

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Event Level (Elevation 186.50) The Event Level coincides with the major portion of the site, namely the area bound on the north by Camelot Street, on the east by Water Street, on the west by Cumberland Street, and on the south by the southern edge of Van Norman Street. The Event Level is dedicated to two primary functions. The Spectator Arena has all of the back‐of‐house space on this level of the building. There is enough capacity at the northern end of this level to accommodate tour or broadcasting busses within the building. These are typically associates with concerts, sports events and family shows.

Spectator Arena Portion

The plan of the Spectator Arena is anchored by the ice surface. To the east are four Community Dressing Rooms, Ice Resurfacing Room, and Building Administration. To the north is the Loading and Marshalling areas. To the west are the building support areas including the Mechanical, Electrical, Refrigeration rooms. Also on the west side are smaller Multipurpose Change Rooms (referees and performers), a Green Room, Interview Room, Visitor’s Dressing Room, and the Home Team Suite including Washroom/Showers, Dressing, Street Lockers, Workshop, Player’s Lounge, Trainer’s Room, Coach’s Offices, and Storage. There is a large Building Storage space to the southwest.

Conference Centre Portion

The Conference Centre has the majority of the space at the Event Level, but with a split‐level entry to the north of the Pagoda. At the Event Level the two main conference spaces are the Banquet Hall to the east of the ice surface, and the Meeting Rooms to the south. As with the Innova Park design, large rooms can be subdivided, made into a single room, or function with all walls removed. The Downtown/Waterfront design is more compact than Innova Park and the adjacency of the Banquet and Meeting Rooms to the possible trade show area is more direct. The Banquet Hall is along Water Street although the actual floor level is lower. As a result, the east wall of this space will have primarily translucent glass, allowing a level of privacy relative to the adjacent sidewalk to the east. The Kitchen that services the Banquet Hall is directly north and easily services both the Concourse and Private Box levels. A portion of the Event Level south of Van Norman is referred to as part of the Pre‐Function space and included general circulation and gathering along with washrooms and a small administrative area.

Event Level Room Legend

1. Lower Pre‐Function Lobby 2. Banquet Hall 3. Meeting Rooms/Exhibit 4. Banquet Storage 5. Kitchen 6. Event Floor 7. Administration 8. Storage 9. Community Dressing Rooms 10. Staff Area 11. Marshalling 12. Refrigeration 13. Zamboni 14. Mechanical/Electrical 15. Visiting Team Dressing 16. Home Team Dressing 17. Multi‐Purpose Dressing 18. Loading 19. Ramp to Underground Parking 20. Transit Warm‐Up Pavilion

At same elevation as the corner of Cumberland and Camelot Streets

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Conference Centre Pavilion Lobby Level (Elevation 189.14m) The Conference Centre Pavilion Lobby Level is the “panhandle” portion of the site that is east of the Prince Arthur Hotel parking and directly north of the Pagoda. This space is at natural grade and provides both a dedicated entry to the Conference Centre and serves as a backdrop to the Pagoda, integrating the facility into the downtown urban fabric from the perspective of both Water Street and Red River Road. The Conference Centre Pavilion Lobby Level is comprised of a large Lobby/Pre‐Function space along with vertical circulation (stairs, elevator, escalator) to both the Event Level and Concourse Level (which opens onto the Van Norman Pedestrian Extension).

Transit Stop Level (Elevation 187.4m) Shown on the Event Level Floor Plan on the previous page, there is a small transit shelter pavilion at the corner of Cumberland and Camelot Street. This space is at the natural grade of the corner, below the Concourse Level and above the Event Level. As a result, the space does not interfere with the Concourse and the floor is high enough above the Event Level to allow the space under the Pavilion to be usable Refrigeration Room floor area. To support the use of this block of Cumberland Street as a transit hub the Event Centre will have an extensive canopy system as well as bench seating with a series of planters on the building’s west facade.

Conference Centre Entry Room Legend

1. Entry Plaza 2. Parking 3. Pavilion Lobby (Pagoda Level) 4. Upper Lobby off Van Norman Pedestrian Walkway 5. Elevator connecting all levels 6. Stair/escalator to Event Level

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Conference Centre Entry Level Plan


Concourse Level (Elevation 192.44) The Concourse Level technically includes three different areas, the Concourse within the Spectator Arena, the Upper Pavilion Lobby of the Conference Centre, and between these two spaces, the outdoor Van Norman Pedestrian Extension.

Spectator Arena

The Concourse Level is the main public level of the Spectator Arena and includes the Main Entry at the corner of Van Norman and Cumberland Streets, the Concourse which encircles the seating bowl, Washrooms, and Concessions. There is a Private Boxes Lobby at this level but accessed from the Van Norman Pedestrian Extension, as is a commercial/restaurant space that has been provided on the east side overlooking Prince Arthur’s Landing.

Conference Centre

The Conference Centre has two entry points into the Pavilion Lobby. The first, described earlier, is at the Conference Centre Entry Level behind the Pagoda, while the second is from the Van Norman Pedestrian Extension. The Entry at the Concourse Level is a secondary one but does connect the Conference Centre with Cumberland Street via the Van Norman Pedestrian Extension.

Norman Pedestrian Extension Van Normal Street east of Cumberland Street is being proposed as a level (versus following the current natural grade) pedestrian zone which. It will cross over Water Street and the railway tracks to graciously connect the downtown area with Prince Arthur’s Landing. This connection is illustrated in the architectural design of the Downtown/Waterfront site and is priced as part of the project cost. Part of the Van Norman Pedestrian Extension is the removal of the current pedestrian connection over Water Street.

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5 6 55

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5 6 512

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Concourse Level Room Legend

1. Van Norman Pedestrian Way 2. Main Entry 3. Tickets 4. Private Suites Entry 5. Washrooms 6. Concessions 7. Restaurant 8. Kitchen 9. Roof Deck/Patio 10. Concourse 11. Conference Centre Upper Pavilion Lobby 12. Ramp down to Pagoda Level


Private Box Level (Elevation 196.94) The Private Box Level has an allocation of 24 Private Box modules. These can be adjusted so there are fewer suites and one or more Multipurpose Party Rooms. Generally two Private Boxes can be converted to a single Party Room, so as an option, there could be 20 Private Boxes and 2 Party Rooms. In addition to the Private Boxes, there is a Media Room in the northeast corner, and Lounge space on the south end with views of Prince Arthur’s Landing and the Sleeping Giant. The Private Box Level has washrooms clustered in the corners with no washroom facilities in the actual Private Box.

Private Box Level Room Legend

1. Lounge Area 2. Private Suites 3. Media 4. Transit Office 5. Roof Deck Patio

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Design Commentary The design approach to the Downtown/Waterfront site had several fundamental goals or objectives: Providing a functional design illustrating that the Downtown/ Waterfront site has the size and configuration to

accommodate this scale of development. The objective was to provide a truly functional and integrated Event Centre incorporating, without compromise, a Spectator Arena and Conference Centre.

The Downtown/Waterfront site bound by Cumberland, Water, Camelot and Van Norman Streets is adequate in size to accommodate a new Spectator Arena although not large enough for the addition of a Conference Centre, The Consulting Team quickly determined that for a fully functioning facility the site would need to incorporate the City’s parking lot directly to the north of the Pagoda. With this additional space, the Downtown/Waterfront location properly accommodates the unique requirements of the Event Centre and does so in very spectacular way.

Aerial view from above Prince Arthur’s Landing looking northwest


Taking advantage of the sloped site which can as a general rule, be an asset in planning a spectator facility. The workability of an urban site is often governed by the existing slope of the land. Main entries especially to the Spectator Arena are best located where there is a high level of people movement, and for the Waterfront Business District, this means Cumberland Street. Similarly, the best location for the back‐of‐house or service area is opposite the main entry and ideally, a full storey lower. The corner of Camelot and Water Streets works well for a number of reasons. Water Street is ideal for staging or accommodating event‐oriented vehicles (tour busses, tractor/trailers) to the venue and the loading area is a full story below the Cumberland Street entrance. The slope of the Downtown/Waterfront site is one of the unique advantages of this location.

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View from the corner of Cumberland and Camelot Streets with the at‐grade bus pavilion

View from Water Street looking southwest


Being sensitive to the historic downtown, a point that has been raised at the both Open House events as well as on Facebook sites. The site has heritage buildings to the south including the Pagoda and Prince Arthur Hotel, and on the west side of Cumberland Street, almost a full block including the 2‐storey Tomlinson Building and the 3‐storey Lyceum. In the Waterfront Business District, Cumberland Street has the largest collection of historic buildings and they are concentrated within the three blocks north and south of Red River Road.

The entrance pavilion of the Conference Centre directly behind the Pagoda


The Consulting Team wanted to develop a design concept that was sensitive to the historic context of the neighbourhood and felt that the most appropriate way to achieve this was with building scale and use of materials. The notion of creating an artificial historic look was not seen as appropriate and could possibly detract from the neighbouring buildings. A building similar in scale to the Tomlinson and Lyceum buildings would be the most appropriate addition to the Cumberland Street experience. Similarly, the Conference Centre entry, being directly

north of the Pagoda, also needs to compliment this historic landmark building. A quiet and simple design of glass and brick was seen as a sensitive and appropriate approach for both the Cumberland Street elevation, and the entrance to the Conference Centre. While complimenting the heritage design of the Whalen Building and the Prince Arthur Hotel, the Event Centre design is both contemporary and dynamic, and makes a clear statement about the exciting future ahead for Thunder Bay.

The Downtown/Waterfront Event Centre as seen looking north on Cumberland Street


Taking advantage of Prince Arthur’s Landing, a most remarkable destination in Thunder Bay and one that is

garnering national attention as a vibrant urban waterfront. It reinforces the City’s relationship to Lake Superior, its history as a port connecting shipping and rail transportation, and its relationship with Aboriginal communities. In moving from a working waterfront to a leisure destination it has become a 12‐month gathering place for all ages. The ability to attract multiple generations to a single place for recreational and social activity is a strategic objective that has been notably achieved.

Prince Arthur’s Landing greatly enhances the Downtown/Waterfront location and creates one of the most

interesting entertainment developments in the country. It is appropriate that the Event Centre compliment and add something unique and important to Prince Arthur’s Landing as well. There are a number of ways in which the Event Centre design specifically does this:

Van Norman Street has been reconfigured as a level (versus sloped) pedestrian‐only bridge that spans over

Water Street and the railway tracks and connects to Prince Arthur’s Landing. This eliminates the need to access the park from Water Street and engages Cumberland Street and the downtown core with the Park. As part of this proposal the existing covered pedway would be removed.

The western face of the Event Centre is extensively glazed integrating the experience of being in the facility with

that of being in the park.

A restaurant is provided on the east side of the Spectator Arena on the Concourse Level with spectacular views of Prince Arthur’s Landing and the Sleeping Giant.

Aerial view of Prince Arthur’s Landing and to the west, the Downtown/Waterfront Event Centre


Engaging the pedestrian in the urban experience, and enhancing the quality of liveability in the downtown core. It is important to integrate Cumberland Street, Water Street and Prince Arthur’s landing as a pedestrian and cyclist‐friendly environment. The image to the right is of the plaza in front of the Conference Centre entry behind the Pagoda. It illustrates a small urban park complimenting the more spectacular waterfront development to the east.

Highlighting the Sleeping Giant, viewed by many as Thunder Bay’s most iconic natural feature and a landmark for

the City. While the Sleeping Giant can be seen from most parts of the City, the new Event Centre will offer what might be the most spectacular views of all and do so from a number of perspectives:

From the Conference Centre, visitors in the main Pavilion Lobby will have views of the Sleeping Giant prior to

moving to the larger Banquet Hall and Multi‐Purpose Rooms. From the Concourse Level of the Spectator Arena the west side will have stunning views of the Sleeping Giant,

Lake Superior, and Prince Arthur’s Landing. This will be reinforced by the opportunity for a patio area on the west side as well.

From the Private Suites Level, a major Lounge space will have the same views as well as its own discrete rooftop patio.

The Van Norman Pedestrian Extension will have at the end of its view corridor, the Sleeping Giant.

Downtown/Waterfront design seen from Cumberland Street looking east

Conference Centre entry and plaza directly north of the Pagoda


The views below illustrate the Van Norman Pedestrian Expansion that runs from Cumberland Street to Water Street and then extends to span over the train tracks and connect to Prince Arthur’s Landing.

A view from the Van Norman Pedestrian Extension looking west towards the Whalen Building. The restaurant and Private Suites entry tower are on the right and the upper level entry to the Conference Centre is on the left.

Public Art Commentary An allowance of $800,000 for public art has been provided in the

A view from the Van Norman pedestrian extension looking at the Private Suites entry tower and the restaurant entry directly to the right.


5.0 TRANSPORTATION AND PARKING

Introduction BA Group’s role within the consulting team was to provide technical input into the transportation related aspects of the evaluation including the ability of each of the sites to accommodate Event Centre parking and transportation demands.

5.01 Candidate Site Locations The City of Thunder Bay has prepared a short‐list of three potential sites for the proposed Event Centre to be evaluated as part of the site selection process. The three sites are as follows: Innova Business Park site

generally situated north and east of the Thunder Bay and Harbour Expressways, Downtown / Waterfront site

situated on the current Water Street bus terminal and adjacent lands in the Waterfront Business District, Thunder Bay Airport site

situated on the northern airport lands south of Arthur Street. The three site locations are shown on Figure 1.

Figure 1 – Candidate Event Centre Venue Locations

5.02 Site Evaluation

The proposed locations of the proposed multi‐purpose facility will be evaluated based upon a number of criteria including, from a transportation perspective, considerations related to a comparative assessment of site access opportunities / constraints, parking deployment and the need for new facilities, the ability of each site to leverage and support transit and pedestrian travel. A site evaluation matrix was developed by the team to be used in the overall evaluation process and is used to establish a comparative performance “score” for each of the proposed sites relative to each of the evaluation criteria. This matrix is the key tool used as a basis by the architectural and consulting team in recommending a preferred site for the proposed Event Centre The transportation considerations outlined within the site evaluation matrix are as follows: Access Is this site easily accessible from a vehicular, pedestrian, and transit (current and future) perspective?

Does the site have easy vehicular access and egress for event setup? Does the site have appropriate vehicular access and egress for spectators at events? Does transit currently service the site and/or would service be provided? Can transit reduce car dependent travel to this site? Is this site accessible by patrons walking to the event (hotel, restaurants, etc.)?

Parking

How much parking is required for each site to support the event centre? Is there existing parking in the area that can be reasonably used to accommodate demands? Can parking be added? Is there the potential for adequate parking on or near the site? Is there existing parking in the area that can be used for events? Does the event centre parking also effectively support other uses during non‐event days? Is there appropriate space for event loading/busing?

BA Group has provided detailed input, working with the consulting team, into these specific aspects of the evaluation based upon the information presented within this report.

Thunder Bay Airport Site

Innova Business Park Site

Downtown / Waterfront Site


5.03 This Study This study outlines the key transportation related technical analyses undertaken for each of the three sites as input into the evaluation exercise, to determine how Event Centre related travel demands would be met in each case and to identify any new transportation related infrastructure that would be required to appropriately support the Event Centre. This analysis provides the technical inputs used as a basis to “score” the transportation related criteria outlined in the preferred site selection matrix.

Approach A four step approach has been adopted in evaluating how the travel demands of the Event Centre would be met at each site. These are as follows: 1. Establishment of Event Centre Attendance Characteristics

Establish travel demand characteristics for the Event Centre based upon an anticipated event programme, seating capacity of the Event Centre, temporal and seasonal patterns and attendance characteristics. Events have been considered in four event categories related to their size and frequency throughout the year.

2. Evaluation of Event Centre Parking and Traffic Demands Establish Event Centre parking and traffic demands for each of the three sites. These forecasts take into account the sites’ relative ability to attract patrons to travel by transit, anticipated vehicle occupancy characteristics for each of the identified event categories, charter bus use, taxi and personal car pick‐up / drop‐off and typical patron arrival / departure patterns before and after events at the Event Centre.

3. Evaluation of Parking Supply Needs and Deployment This evaluation focusses upon how and where parking demands can be met for each of the three sites and for the various event conditions considered. This includes an assessment of how much new parking is required for each site, whether existing parking infrastructure can be utilized, how existing parking (if available) may respond to the parking needs of the Event Centre and the overall distances that supporting parking may be located relative to the Event Centre.

4. Ability of the Area Road Network to Accommodate Event Centre Demands Focusses upon the ability of each site and the supporting area road infrastructure to accommodate pre and post event travel demands. This includes a high level assignment of event traffic on the road networks surrounding each site, an assessment of traffic operations considering Event Centre demands and the identification of infrastructure improvements required to appropriately support traffic activity in each case.

Further transportation analyses will be undertaken, at a more detailed level, for the selected site as part of the subsequent approvals and design process to determine specific operational and logistical needs as well as related parking and traffic management protocols. Review findings, and a summary comparison of the transportation related aspects of each of the sites, are presented in the body of this report within the balance of Section 5.


5.1 Event Centre Development Program Transportation characteristics of each of the candidate sites are affected by the mode of transportation that event attendees choose to utilize when travelling to / from events. This is influenced primarily by the context and location of the site as well as the type of event.

5.1.1 Event Characteristics The proposed Event Centre will contain approximately 5,700 fixed seats with a potential maximum capacity for concerts, where the arena floor is also used for seating, of approximately 6,800 people. The Event Centre will be used for a range of events and functions including sporting events, concerts, family and other entertainment shows, community events, and other convention / conference events. Spectator attendances related to the Event Centre will vary depending on the type of event as is typical among facilities of this nature. The frequency of events throughout the calendar year also varies with event size with the largest (i.e. capacity) events occurring only on an occasional basis and with the smaller more typical events occurring on a more regular basis. Figure 2 outlines the representative range of events, related spectator attendances and the relative frequency of each form of event / function based upon experience at other facilities comparable to that proposed in Thunder Bay.

Figure 2 ‐ Representative Events, Attendance and Frequencies

Event Events / Year Typical Attendance

Sports

Hockey (assume largest attendance)

35 to 45 4,200 average

5 to 10 capacity events / year

Exhibition Games (NHL/Team Canada)

1 to 2 capacity events

Tournaments (OUA/CIS)

<20 250 to 2,500

±1 to 2 events at 3,000

Other (i.e. Figure Skating)

Occasional up to 2,000

Concerts Minor 5 to 10 up to 2,500

Major 5 to 7 3,000 to capacity

Shows

Family Shows 10 to 20 shows with matinees 1,500 to 2,000

Other (WWE / Monster Trucks)

3 to 5 up to 2,500

Trade Shows occasional 3 to 4 day events total daily attendance of 2,000 spread

across the day

Other Corporate/Community occasional 500 or less

Event Categories

For the purposes of developing parking and traffic forecasts, event conditions at the Event Centre were categorized into four types of events based upon the relative size of event attendances and their typical frequencies throughout a year. These categories are outlined below and illustrated in Figure 3.

major / capacity events ‐ 5,700 – 6,800 people ‐ ±10 / year large events ‐ 3,500 – 4,500 people ‐ ± 25 – 30 / year typical events ‐ up to 2,500 people ‐ ± 50 / year other / conference events ‐ up to 800 people ‐ ± 50 / year

Figure 3 ‐ Event Categories Summary

The travel characteristics (i.e. car occupancy, transit use) and visitor expectations (i.e. proximity of parking) for these event categories differs given the nature of the events within each grouping. An outline of the characteristics of the various event categories is as follows:

1. Major / Capacity Events

This grouping is comprised of “sold out” concerts and shows and special sporting championship events (i.e. play‐offs, Team Canada and pre‐season hockey exhibition games) which generate in the order of 5,700 – 6,800 people. Such events occur on an occasional basis with in the order 10 or less such events occurring throughout the year. These events are typically scheduled on weekends or in the weekday evening periods.


Typically, such events are considered to be “special” by spectators and patrons and it is expected that greater levels of congestion and activity would occur when travelling to /from and parking at the Event Centre. Patrons will adjust their travel plans accordingly (i.e. leaving earlier, travelling together with others, planning to meet before or after the event) in expectation of greater attendance levels at the Event Centre. These events, because of their special nature and peoples’ travel expectations, tend to exhibit greater vehicular occupancy levels (i.e. more people travelling together in a car), a greater provision of transit services (i.e. shuttles and charters) and a greater use of those services. The following can also be anticipated for these major events: i) increased tolerance for less proximate parking relative to the Event Centre location; ii) increased tolerance of pre and post‐game congestion and delays as people travel to / from the Event Centre; iii) more spread‐out arrival and departure patterns with people being more likely to “arrive early / stay late” and

visit a restaurant or other entertainment location before or after the event; and iv) greater propensity for spectators to be from out‐of‐town staying within hotels across Thunder Bay.

2. Large Events Large event based on experiences at other similar facilities s include OHL / AHL hockey games, large concerts, major sports events and other larger family shows. Attendances typically range between 3,500 – 4,500 people. Events occur in the order of 25 to 30 times over the course of a typical year and are typically scheduled on weekends or in the weekday evening periods. These events reflect more typical vehicular occupancy levels at the Event Centre and generally a lesser use of transit than the largest events. Parking proximity and convenience is more important and patron travel behaviour is more event focussed and concentrated before / after the event itself.

3. Typical Events Typical events occur more frequently than the larger event categories and can include a number of sporting tournaments or competitions, family shows and a range of other types of shows (i.e. WWE, Monster Trucks). Attendances of up to 2,500 people can be seen for this category of events. Events towards the 2,500 person attendance level are typically scheduled on weekends or in the weekday evening periods. However, family shows and certain tournaments (which typically have reduced attendances) can run during the weekday daytime periods (i.e. matinees and day‐long sporting events). These events are more locally focussed in terms of the area they will draw patrons from and a greater level of travel and parking convenience is typically expected. Patrons are less likely to travel by transit and will, typically, travel in smaller groups.

4. Other / Conference Events This grouping of events includes smaller corporate / community events, trade shows and conference events that may attract a peak attendance of up to 800 people. These events are typically scheduled throughout the weekday period and on weekends (i.e. wedding shows, corporate events, and conventions). While a proportion of conference or corporate function attendees may be drawn from the area hotels, the ability to provide convenient and visible parking for attendees is an important consideration for this event grouping and size.

5.1.2 Seasonal Variations Event Centres of the capacity proposed in Thunder Bay normally program an event schedule that is typically focussed between September – June when events such as hockey games, music concerts, shows, other sports events and tradeshow / corporate events typically occur. The heaviest periods of activity are typically between September and March. The number of events that occur during the peak summer months (July and August) and school vacation periods is, in comparison, relatively small with only occasional events being scheduled during these periods. This is an important consideration when considering, for instance, the overlap of Event Centre demands with other high‐attendance summer events in Prince Arthur’s Landing and the waterfront park areas (i.e. Summer in the Park, Bluesfest and marina events). A summary of the 2011 event calendar for the K‐Rock Centre in Kingston with 5,700 fixed seats is, by way of example, illustrated in Figure 4 and shows the distribution of events and functions across a typical year. Figure 4 ‐ Sample Events Calendar (K‐Rock Centre)


5.2 Travel Demand Forecasts

The assessment of event travel demands for each site is comprised of a number of factors that affect and influence the way people will travel to / from events at each location. These factors include the specific context of the each of the three sites, type of event and the method of travel that attendees would choose given the above. These factors are considered in the evaluation of the number of vehicles that would require parking in the vicinity of each of the sites and that would be driven to / from the Event Centre before and after events. Clearly major and capacity events at the Event Centre will generate the greatest levels of vehicular and other (i.e. bus and pedestrian) travel activity at the Event Centre as well as on the supporting area road systems. The pre and post event periods for such events represent the traffic context that needs to be accommodated in an appropriate manner to enable the Event Centre to be properly supported from a transportation perspective. These events will also lead to the greatest parking demands in the Event Centre vicinity (i.e. either on‐site or within area parking facilities depending on the site) and will, for the most part, guide the amount of parking required to appropriately support the Event Centre. It is important to consider when determining what roadway infrastructure is required to support the Event Centre on any particular site is that Event Centre traffic demands are typically, while intense, short‐lived and occasional in that they are focussed generally in the periods immediately before and after an event. Furthermore, the most intense periods of activity related to the largest events only occur on a relatively small number of occasions over the course of a year with the key post‐event (departure) period typically occurring outside of the weekday peak hour periods when traffic activity on the area road network is reduced compared to the rush hour periods.

5.2.1 Travel Characteristics – Candidate Sites

The site context for the three sites can be categorized into two general locations, for the purposes of the development of travel demand forecasts for the three candidate sites. Two of the sites (Innova Business Park and Thunder Bay Airport) can be considered greenfield sites and are situated where there is a high level of highway and arterial roadway access but a lower level of transit service (1 to 2 existing routes). There is also little or no existing parking infrastructure that can be utilized for Event Centre parking purposes and limited vehicular access (road) infrastructure currently provided for each of these sites. All parking required to support the Event Centre will need to be built on these two sites. The third site is the Downtown/Waterfront site in the historic business district of Port Arthur (now referred to as the Waterfront Business District). It sits on the current Water Street bus terminal with a total of 7 existing bus routes connecting central the north ward with all areas of the City. The Downtown/ Waterfront site is also proximate to existing on and off‐street parking facilities that could be used for event parking purposes subject to availability. The relative availability of transit for each of the sites will lead to a greater reliance on automobile travel for the Innova Business Park and Thunder Bay Airport sites compared to the Downtown/Waterfront site. Traffic and parking demands will, accordingly, be greater for these sites. There will also be a greater concentration of traffic at the Innova and Airport sites at the Event Centre compared to the Downtown/Waterfront site as all of the supporting parking areas will be located, logically, on the Event Centre site and would be accessed by a limited number (nominally three to four) of access routings as compared to the Waterfront condition where parking would be distributed across a number of off‐site parking facilities located at varying distances from the Event Centre. The transportation (road and transit) contexts of the three sites are illustrated in Figures 5a, 5b and 5c.

Figure 5a ‐ Transportation Context: Airport Figure 5b – Transportation Context: Innova Business Park

Figure 5c ‐ Transportation Context: Downtown / Waterfront


A summary of the travel demand assessment established for the proposed Event Centre is provided in Figure 6.

Figure 6 ‐ Travel Demand Assessment

Event Type

Mode of Travel Innova / Airport Downtown Vehicles

Capacity 6,800 ppl

Automobile Transit / Shuttle

Charter Bus Taxi / Drop‐Off

“No Shows” People / Car

6,000 people (±88%) 150 people (±2%)

250 people (±5%, 5 buses) 200 people (±3%) 200 people (±3%)

2.75 – 3.0 people / car

5,500 people (±81%) 650 people (±10%)

250 people (±5%, 5 buses) 200 people (±3%) 200 people (±3%)

2.75 – 3.0 people / car

Innova / Airport = 2,000 cars

Downtown = 1,800 cars

Major 5,700 ppl




4,900 people (±87%) 125 people (±2%)

250 people (±5%, 5 buses) 175 people (±3%) 175 people (±3%) 2.75 people / car

4,400 people (±79%) 575 people (±10%)




Large 4,500 ppl




3,950 people (±89%) 100 people (±2%)


3,600 people (±81%) 450 people (±10%)




Typical 2,500 ppl




2.350 people (±94%) 0 people (±0%) 0 people (±0%)

75 people (±3%) 75 people (±3%) 2.0 people / car

2,225 people (±89%) 125 people (±5%)

0 people (±0%) 75 people (±3%) 75 people (±3%) 2.0 people / car

Innova / Airport Up to: 1,200


A summary discussion of the various factors adopted within these forecasts is provided in the following sections.

No Shows An allowance is made for “no shows” within the forecasting of travel demands at the Event Centre, recognizing that there will be attendees who are unable to be at the event for a variety of reasons. A nominal allowance of 3 percent has been assumed as “no shows” for the purposes of this calculation based upon typical experience and recognizing that no all people who buy tickets for an event – however large – attend the actual event itself for a variety of reasons.

Transit

Public transit service varies between all three sites. At the Innova Business Park and Thunder Bay Airport sites, scheduled transit service is limited, with one to two scheduled bus routes serving these sites. While it is recognized that special event transit service (i.e. event shuttles) could be provided to these two locations, it is likely challenging for a transit authority, such as Thunder Bay Transit, to appropriately resource (i.e. buses and drivers) multiple, special services on an intermittent basis outside of their regular bus routes. Such special service would, furthermore, also be unlikely to be provided for all events at the Event Centre given the relative ridership levels that could be expected. A relatively modest transit mode split of 2 percent of the Event Centre attendance has been assumed for the Innova Business Park and Thunder Bay Airport sites.

The Downtown/Waterfront site is currently served by 7 bus routes connecting to the existing Water Street bus terminal located on the property today. These bus routings provide services across Thunder Bay on a regular basis with the potential to augment service to increase bus frequencies during key events at an Event Centre located on the Downtown/Waterfront site. A transit mode split of 10 percent of event attendance has been assumed for the Downtown/Waterfront site. It is notable that the current Water Street Transit Terminal is located on the proposed Event Centre site. Should this site be selected, an alternate on‐site transit facility will need to be established also utilizing the area street system similar to the way that the former Brodie Street Transit Terminal was relocated onto the roads surrounding City Hall as a result of the construction of the Thunder Bay Consolidated Courthouse. A transit warm‐up pavilion would be incorporated into the Event Centre design programme at the corner of Cumberland and Camelot Street to provide supporting transit passenger facilities at the Downtown/Waterfront site.

Charter Bus

Allowances have been made within the travel demand forecasts to account for a proportion of people travelling to the larger events at the planned Event Centre by charter bus. This would include out‐of‐town group travel in which a group may travel directly and only to / from the event or may stay at a hotel overnight. Between 3 and 5 charter buses have been assumed for the large, major and capacity events providing a travel opportunity for between 3 and 5 percent of event attendance and assuming in the order of 50 people per charter bus. The greater number of charter buses has been assumed for the major and capacity events. Logistical requirements of charter bus activity (i.e. pick‐up / drop‐off and parking) will be addressed in detail as part of subsequent management protocol development for the selected site. Suitable parking arrangements can be accommodated for each of the three sites as described in general in the site assessment analyses contained in Sections 5.4, 5.5 and 5.6.

Pick‐Up & Drop‐Off Activity (Private Vehicle and Taxi) A proportion of people attending any event at the Event Centre will be picked‐up and dropped‐off either in a private vehicle or taxi. These vehicles, notably, do not require parking at the Event Centre although they do travel to / from the site before and after events. A relatively modest and conservative allowance equivalent to 3 percent of anticipated event attendances has been assumed, for the purposes of this preliminary assessment, to occur by way of pick‐up & drop‐off (up to 200 people for the largest events) for the purposes of this comparative analysis.

Private Automobiles that Park

The balance of the travel activity related to events and functions at the Event Centre will be undertaken within vehicles that drive to / from and park at or near to the Event Centre. In the order of 85 to 95 percent of people travelling to / from the Innova Business Park and Thunder Bay Airport sites will, based upon the forecasts outlined in Figure 6, be undertaken within a car that parks at an Event Centre on these sites. The proportion of car‐reliant travel would be lower at the Downtown/Waterfront site given the relative use of transit and is expected to be in the order of 80 to 90 percent depending on the event type and size. The number of vehicles that will be generated by events at the proposed Event Centre and that will park at or near to the Event Centre is, given the above, related to the number of occupants within each car. This varies with event type and size as discussed below.


Vehicle Occupancy The vehicle occupancies for large events typically fall within a range of 2.0 to 3.0 persons per car, based upon information recorded at other event centres by BA Group. Vehicle occupancies tend to be towards the higher end of the range for larger events (i.e. major capacity events) such as concerts where patrons expect a large attendance and in instances where such events are considered to be “special”. An average vehicle occupancy of 2.75 to 3.0 people per car is adopted for all sites for the largest capacity events anticipated at the Event Centre. A lesser occupancy ratio of 2.5 people / car is adopted for large events with attendance of 3,500 to 4,500 people recognizing the more typical operational characteristics of these more regularly scheduled events. The vehicle occupancies for smaller general events that may be held at the Event Centre will tend to be lower than that for more significant events. A vehicle occupancy of 2.0 people per car has been used for typical and smaller events.

Event Parking Demand Surveys – May 9, 2012 Fort William Gardens Concert BA Group has undertaken parking demand surveys at a recent concert at the Fort William Gardens (Bryan Adams Concert on May 9, 2012) to provide an understanding of the number of vehicles used by people attending this capacity “sold‐out” event in the Thunder Bay context. The parking surveys indicated an incremental parking demand above typical non‐event parking levels of approximately 1,100 vehicles on the area street system within approximately 800 metres of Fort William Gardens for the 3,600 people at the concert (staff and audience). This equates to an average ratio of 3.3 people per parked car. Taking into account the potential for a proportion of people having taken transit or been picked up / dropped off by a friend or relative, an average vehicular occupancy of 3.0 people per car is considered to be an appropriate (and maybe conservative) upper‐end vehicular occupancy ratio to adopt when forecasting demands related to larger events at the Event Centre.

5.2.2 Event Centre Parking Demands

The provision of adequate parking facilities and efficient parking operations is important in developing an effective parking deployment plan that accommodates the impact of event related vehicular activity for any one of the three candidate sites. The key principles relating to parking supply and deployment include providing an appropriate level of parking supply required to support the Event Centre, optimizing the use of any available area parking facilities (off‐street, on‐street, municipal and on‐site) that could be reasonably utilized to meet Event Centre related demands and avoiding, to the extent possible, the construction of parking facilities that would not otherwise be required to meet the majority of the event parking demands. The parking supply needs of each of the three sites is based upon the number of vehicles forecast to be driven and parked at an Event Centre on each of the three candidate sites (see Section 5.2.1 and Figure 6). A summary of the parking demands for the three candidate sites and for each of the event categories considered as part of this report is provided in Figure 7 and is summarized below: 1. Innova Business Park / Thunder Bay Airport up to 500 vehicles for conferences / conventions (800 or less people); 1,200 vehicles for typical events (less than 2,500 people); 1,600 vehicles for large events (4,500 people); and between 1,800 vehicles – 2,000 vehicles (major/capacity events).

2. Downtown/Waterfront up to 500 vehicles for conferences / conventions (800 or less people); 1,100 vehicles for typical events (less than 2,500 people); 1,450 vehicles for large events (4,500 people); and between 1,600 vehicles – 1,800 vehicles (major/capacity events). These parking demand / supply thresholds have been used in the evaluation of the ability for each of the three sites to accommodate Event Centre parking demands, how such parking is met (i.e. distance from the Event Centre) and the extent to which new parking is required to be constructed. It is noteworthy that the above demands include staff parking needs as well as preferred parking needs (i.e. sports team, private box guests, barrier‐free parking). However, while the parking evaluation outlined within this assessment report does identify the parking supply needs for each site, it does not determine the exact location of such parking (i.e. preferred parking, staff parking, season ticket holder parking). These matters will be addressed on a comprehensive basis for the selected site and at a later time as part of the detailed planning of the Event Centre and its operational characteristics. All sites will / can be designed to respond to any allocation needs that may be required by the ultimate operator of the Event Centre and the related building programme. As such, these items are not pertinent to the comparative ability of one candidate site versus another to meet such demands.


Figure 7 ‐ Forecast Event Parking Demands

5.2.3 Event Centre Traffic Demands

The activities at the Event Centre will generate, at times, increases in traffic activity on the area road system surrounding the proposed Event Centre. These increases will be focussed and concentrated at the Event Centre site itself in the case of the Thunder Bay Airport and Innova Business Park sites given that parking for these sites is provided on the property immediately surrounding the Event Centre. Additional traffic activity for the Downtown/Waterfront site will, in contrast, be dispersed across a number of routings serving the downtown given that parking demands will also be “spread” across a variety of parking facilities located across the downtown area. The periods of increased, and potentially intense, traffic activity are short‐lived and confined, typically, to the one hour long periods immediately preceding and following an event. Traffic operations on the area road system supporting the Event Centre will be impacted during these periods. Road improvements to the area systems may be necessary to accommodate the projected traffic volumes and increased activity levels in a reasonable manner. A typical vehicular arrival / departure profile for an Ontario Hockey League (OHL) hockey game (e.g. Brampton Battalion) is shown on Figure 8. The traffic activity pattern illustrates that in the order of 90 percent of an event attendance arrives within 60 minutes of the start of the game while 75 percent (three‐quarters) leaves within 45 minutes of the end. The remaining people arrive early or after game start or before the end of the game. Event Centre traffic demands forecast during pre and post event periods, and utilized for the purposes of assessing the suitability of the access provisions for each of the three sites and any improvements required to accommodate related traffic demands, are outlined in Figure 9.

Figure 8 ‐ Typical Vehicular Arrival/Departure Profile

Figure 9 ‐ Maximum Event Hourly Volumes

Event Type Innova / Airport Downtown

Capacity Event 6,800 people

Pre‐Event: ±1,800 cars Pre‐Event: ±1.625 cars

Post‐Event: ±1,500 cars Post‐Event: ±1,350 cars

Traffic concentrated at site accesses Traffic dispersed with parking


5.3 Candidate Site Analysis: Parking and Traffic

BA Group has undertaken an analysis of the facilities required to enable each of the three candidate sites to effectively and appropriately support the proposed Event Centre. Transportation related facilities required for each site vary significantly given the different site and transportation contexts and include the following which are important comparative considerations in a site selection process such as this:

the need to provide new parking facilities and, if needed, the number of spaces required in each case; the way new parking – if needed – would be provided, the proximity of such parking to the Event Centre and its

ability to be reasonably relied upon for event parking needs considering the range of events that would occur at the Event Centre;

the need to provide new access roadway infrastructure (new roads and / or improvements) to enable people to arrive and leave the Event Centre in a reasonable fashion; and,

the relative time it takes for an event patron to leave, on average, each of the sites following a major event has also been assessed at a high level as a relative measure of the overall patron travel experience at each of the candidate Event Centre locations and as part of the evaluation of the relative convenience of one site compared to another.

Considerations related to the relative transit and pedestrian accessibility afforded to each of the sites is considered within the travel demand forecasts outlined for each site. The nature of provisions that can be made at each site relative to charter bus parking, servicing and barrier free parking are also outlined at a high level. The analyses outlined herein form the basis for the relative ranking of each of the three sites from a transportation perspective with respect to the evaluation criteria adopted for the site selection process. An overview of the approach adopted in analyzing each of the sites is provided in the following sections.

5.3.1 Parking

This evaluation focusses upon how and where parking demands can be met for each of the three sites and for the various event conditions considered. Event Centre parking demands and supply needs have been outlined for the various event size categories in Section 5.1 and have been used in assessing the parking circumstances at each of the three sites using the following basic 4 step methodology: A. Assess Existing Area Parking Availability

While there is little to no existing area parking available for either of the Innova Business Park or Thunder Bay Airport sites and all required parking will be “new”, there is the potential for existing facilities to be utilized for the Downtown/Waterfront site to offset‐ either partially or wholly ‐ the need for new parking to be provided to support an Event Centre at that location. As such, a detailed analysis has been undertaken for the Downtown / Waterfront site to establish the extent to which existing area parking can be relied upon to meet Event Centre demands and that could reduce the amount of new parking required. This analysis is focussed upon providing an understanding of the following for the Downtown site:

i) the number of parking spaces available within a reasonable walking distance from the potential Event Centre

site; and ii) the availability of municipally controlled parking that could be used for Event Centre parking given prevailing

demands during the key daytime / evening /weekend periods.

B. Determine Parking Supply Requirements The amount of new parking required to meet anticipated demands at each of the three sites is identified taking into account event demands outlined in Section 5.2 and the extent to which, in the case of the downtown site, existing parking infrastructure can be reasonably utilized to meet parking needs. The general deployment of existing and new parking on each site is outlined, whether such parking is likely to be provided as surface or structure (above or below grade) parking as well as what role any new parking supply may offer as a parking resource that can be utilized to meet other area parking demands.

C. Establish Parking Usage Characteristics for Different Events

The utilization characteristics of the provided parking at each site has been assessed considering, in particular, the parking “halo” for each of the identified event categories and the related anticipated walk times that would be experienced by patrons walking, on average, between the Event Centre doors and parked vehicles in the parking facilities at each location. This information is used, particularly given the different parking contexts for the Innova Business Park/ Thunder Bay Airport sites compared to the Downtown/Waterfront site, in a high‐level and comparative assessment of the overall post‐event exit travel times that may be experienced by patrons at capacity events for each of the sites.

D. Specific Parking Considerations General commentary on specific parking related aspects of the Event Centre, such as the provision of barrier‐free parking, preferred parking (i.e. officials, dignitaries etc.) and parking for motorcoaches and shuttle buses, is also provided. This information is provided at a general level at this site selection stage to the extent that such matters are relevant to the relative performance of one site compared to another. Substantially more detailed information will be developed as part of the subsequent design development process and operational management plans for the selected site.

A comparison of parking related factors involved with each of the sites is summarized in the comparative evaluations outlined in Sections 5.4, 5.5 and 5.6.


5.3.2 Access and Traffic This assessment focusses upon identifying modifications required to the supporting area road infrastructure surrounding each of the three candidate sites to accommodate pre and post event travel demands. This includes a high level assessment of a) the suitability of local road / access infrastructure to accommodate event demands and b) improvements required to the broader area road network to appropriately provide for Event Centre access needs. Information provided by this high level analysis has been used in two ways. The first is to provide an understanding as to whether each site can – with a reasonable level of new infrastructure if necessary – support the Event Centre from a traffic perspective. The second is to provide general order of magnitude costing information for new improvements and infrastructure needs within the financial analyses undertaken for each site. An outline of the approach adopted in assessing the need for new roadway / access infrastructure is provided below.

Preliminary Traffic Assessment: Approach

‐ Analysis Design Periods Considered Capacity / large events are typically scheduled outside of the weekday traffic peak hours (i.e. weekday evenings after 6 pm, weekend days / evenings). Smaller more typical events are also usually scheduled outside of the weekday business hours, but can, particularly in the case of the conferences, be scheduled during the weekdays. Recognizing the above, two periods of activity have been considered from a traffic operations perspective reflecting the key design periods for the combination of event related traffic activity and prevailing general traffic levels on the area street systems. These are as follows: i. Pre‐Event Period

The weekday evening pre‐event arrival period that occurs just after the typical afternoon peak hour period represents the critical “overlap” time when general commuter traffic activity on the area street system remains relatively busy and when arrival pre‐evening event volumes at Event Centre are starting to increase.

ii. Post‐Event Period The key post‐event periods can occur either late evening on any day of the week or during the late afternoon period after a weekend daytime event. It is during these times that the ability of the local access system supporting the Event Centre parking areas will need to accommodate the most pronounced concentration of event related traffic as patrons exit the Event Centre at the end of an event. However, traffic activity on the area street system is typically much reduced during these periods compared to the weekday peak hour periods.

Traffic activity levels at the Event Centre are lower at other times relative to these two time periods and will not dictate the need for any improvements or modifications to existing road infrastructure beyond those identified through analysis of these two identified critical time periods.

‐ Methodology The following 4‐step approach has been adopted in developing an understanding of a) the ability of the area road systems surrounding each site to reasonably accommodate event related traffic activity before and after the largest events and b) related modifications that may be required to enable the area road system to do so.

A. Establish Area Traffic Activity Levels

Existing traffic activity information was obtained from the City of Thunder Bay at key intersections surrounding each of the candidate Event Centre locations. Weekday afternoon peak hour traffic activity levels were used directly in the analysis of pre‐event conditions and were adjusted (downward by 25 percent given that no data is available from the City for late evening and / or weekend periods), to reflect conditions during a typical post‐event period.

B. Establish Event Centre Pre and Post Event Changes Pre and post‐event traffic activity levels related to the Event Centre are outlined in Section 5.2 and are used in establishing traffic activity changes on the area street systems surrounding each of the three candidate sites. Preliminary traffic distribution patterns for each of the three sites have been assessed using the general distribution of population across Thunder Bay and considering the relative attraction of the various primary routes serving each site.

C. Review Area Intersection Operations with Event Demands Traffic operations analyses are undertaken at intersections in the vicinity of each of the potential candidate sites for the established design periods using the preliminary pre and post event traffic conditions. This information has been used to assist in identifying the need for capacity related area road improvements required to appropriately accommodate event related traffic demands for each candidate site.

D. Identification of Road / Access Improvements The need for roadway improvements / modifications to provide appropriate access facilities for each of the three candidate sites and to accommodate Event Centre traffic activity levels has been evaluated at a high level based upon the preliminary traffic operations analyses of pre and post‐event conditions. Desirable improvements are identified on a preliminary level for each of the three candidate sites to a) upgrade existing deteriorated infrastructure, b) provide necessary turn lanes at key site access locations and c) to best provide site access facilities and accommodate forecast Event Centre needs.

Roadway improvements identified for each of the three candidate sites is discussed in the comparative evaluations outlined in Sections 5.4.2, 5.5.2 and 5.6.2. Existing baseline traffic volumes and preliminary forecast Event Centre traffic volume assignments are outlined in the Appendix. Preliminary traffic operations summary information for each candidate site considering the identified area road improvements is also provided.


5.3.3 Post‐Event Travel Time Analysis

The overall time it takes for an event patron to leave each of the sites in a car, on average, following a major event has also been assessed at a high level as a relative measure of the overall patron travel / exit experience at each of the candidate Event Centre locations. This travel / exit time includes two components – the first is the pedestrian walk time it takes for a patron (or group of patrons) to leave the Event Centre and walk to their vehicle. The second component is the amount of time it takes for the same patron to leave the parking lot and enter the surrounding public street system after having entered their vehicle. This evaluation has been undertaken as an exploration of the trade‐offs in terms of travel experience that differentiate the Innova Business Park and Thunder Bay Airport sites, which both concentrate parking and traffic activity at the Event Centre, from the Downtown / Waterfront location which has a dispersed parking and traffic circumstance. This information has been used as part of the evaluation of the relative convenience of one site compared to another from a transportation perspective.


5.4 Analysis: Thunder Bay Airport Site

The Thunder Bay Airport site is located north of the air terminal building, south of Arthur Street West and to the west of Hawker Road – a road extending southwards from Arthur Street West into the northern areas of the airport lands.

5.4.1 Parking

Supply and Deployment

Parking for the site is planned to be accommodated on‐site in surface parking lots surrounding the Event Centre. In the order of 2,000 spaces are required to accommodate large events at the Thunder Bay Airport site. These spaces will be generally located to the north, east and west of the site within new surface parking areas located within 400 to 500 metres, or an 8 minute walk, of the Event Centre entrance. Since this site is a currently vacant, the surface parking areas would need to be constructed as part of the Event Centre construction. There would be few reasons for the parking to be used for other uses, due to the location of the site. The proposed parking areas supporting the Airport site is illustrated in Figure 10.

Figure 10 – Thunder Bay Airport Site – Parking Supply

Parking Distribution – Event Conditions

The parking area and associated walking distance from the Event Centre doors will vary based upon the type of event and the size of the attracted attendance. An evaluation of the extent of parking across the parking lots for the three main event categories considered is outlined graphically in Figures 11, 12 and 13 to provide an understanding of the relative proximity of parking to the Event Centre during event conditions. A summary is outlined is outlined below: Typical Event ‐ up to 1,200 vehicles ‐ 200 – 300 metres

(average 3 minute walk) Large Event ‐ up to 1,600 vehicles ‐ 200 – 400 metres

(average 5 minute walk) Major and Capacity Events ‐ 1,800 – 2,000 vehicles ‐ 200 – 500 metres

(average 6 minute walk)

The analysis outlined above indicates that the average walk to / from parking and the Event Centre for the 5 to 10 major and capacity events anticipated at the Event Centre is in the order of a 6 minutes. Events with lower attendances that are held on a more frequent basis (±50 typical events with 2,500 or less people and ± 25 to 30 larger events of up to 4,500 people) can be accommodated within an average walk of 5 minutes or less.

Figure 11 – Thunder Bay Airport Site – Parking Area for a Typical Event


Figure 12 – Thunder Bay Airport Site – Parking Area for a Large Event

Figure 13 ‐ Airport Site – Parking Area for a Major / Capacity Event

Parking & Related Vehicular Facility Considerations

‐ Accessible Parking The design arrangement of the Thunder Bay Airport site Event Centre plan and supporting parking areas offers considerable flexibility to enable accessible, barrier‐free parking for event attendees to be readily located close to the Event Centre entrance facilities in accordance with applicable City Zoning By‐Law and Provincial accessibility guidelines. The number and precise location of accessible parking spaces will be determined as part of the design development of the selected Event Centre location.

‐ Charter Bus , Vehicular Drop‐off, Taxi Stand Provisions need to be made as part of the Event Centre plan at the Airport to accommodate charter bus, taxis and passenger pick‐up / drop‐off activity before, after and during events. Provisions should also be made to accommodate charter bus parking needs. As is the case for accessible parking, the design arrangement of the Thunder Bay Airport Event Centre plan provides flexibility to provide pick‐up / drop‐off, taxi staging areas and charter bus parking facilities on the site and it is considered that appropriate facilities could be readily accommodated at an Event Centre at the Airport. Details of the facility arrangements will be determined as part of any subsequent design process for the Thunder Bay Airport site if selected. A dedicated passenger car / taxi pick‐up facility and taxi staging area should be incorporated into the ultimate design plan close to the main building entrance. This facility would allow vehicles to conveniently “loop” within the property and pick‐up / drop‐off people curb‐side at the Event Centre. The detailed assessment of the necessary size and configuration of these facilities will be undertaken as part of design development of the Event Centre should the Airport site be selected. A dedicated shuttle / transit bus facility should be provided close to the main building entrance and should be separate from other general use areas to provide unencumbered and convenient bus access. Appropriate access facilities will also need to be provided. A dedicated tour bus / motorcoach staging area with pedestrian waiting area could also be provided on‐site although this may not be ultimately necessary since patrons would, in most instances, be look to stage within the parking lot. Parking for tour bus / motorcoaches can be provided on the property given its size and the flexibility that this offers. Preliminary forecast assumptions indicate the potential for in the order of 5 tour buses to be at the Event Centre during the largest events in addition to team, show or other VIP tour buses and flexibility exists on the site to accommodate parking for this number of buses. Other events may attract a greater number of buses but would typically be for events with lesser attendances and reduced parking needs and, therefore, at times when the parking lot would not be fully occupied. Suitable parking areas would be determined as part of the detailed design development of the Event Centre should the Airport site be selected.

‐ Loading / Unloading Activity

Loading / unloading activity will be accommodated within the service facilities incorporated into the Event Centre. Additional facility exists at the Thunder Bay Airport site for supporting vehicles to stage on the site before or after load in / load out of events.

Parking & Related Vehicular Facilities: Summary Findings

In the order of 2,000 new surface parking spaces are required to be built at the Thunder Bay Airport site as part of the Event Centre development plan. Parking will be located close to the Event Centre with all 2,000 spaces being situated within 500 metres or a 7 minute walk of the main Event Centre entrance. The average walk time to parking from the Event Centre main entrance during capacity / major events (5,700 to 6,800 people) is 6 minutes. The average walk is 5 minutes or less for more typical events of 4,500 people or less. Flexibility is afforded by the Thunder Bay Airport Event Centre development plan to enable barrier‐free and charter bus parking to be provided on‐site as well as providing private vehicle, taxi, transit and motor‐coach pick‐up / drop‐off facilities that will be required as part of the Event Centre operational programme.


5.4.2 Traffic and Access

Site Access

Primary access to the Thunder Bay Airport Event Centre site will be provided via Hawker Road and a number of new driveways directly connecting to Arthur Street West. It is likely that one of the access driveways to Arthur Street West would be signalized to provide sufficient inbound and outbound left turn capacity. Given the location of the Airport site in the south‐western periphery of the central Thunder Bay area, the vast majority of event attendees will arrive and leave to / from the east using Arthur Street West to access the Event Centre from the Thunder Bay Expressway, Highway 61 and the areas of Fort William centred along Arthur Street West east of the Thunder Bay Expressway. The primary access routings serving the Thunder Bay Airport site and site access opportunities onto Hawker Road and Arthur Street West are illustrated in Figure 14.

Figure 14 – Thunder Bay Airport Site – Primary Access Routes

Road / Access Improvements

Road improvements will be necessary to accommodate the increase in traffic activity on Hawker Road and Arthur Street during the pre and post event periods. The concentration of traffic on Arthur Street West between the Event Centre and the Thunder Bay Expressway interchange, in particular, is a strong influencing factor in determining the need for improvements and a widening on Arthur Street West. The road improvements are illustrated in Figure 15 and are described in the following.

Figure 15 – Thunder Bay Airport Site – Road Improvements

Desirable Identified Area Road / Access Improvements

Arthur Street West It is desirable to widen Arthur Street West westwards from the Parkdale Boulevard / Hawker Road intersection across the site frontage from the current 2 lane cross‐section to 5 lanes to provide a) 2 travel lanes in each direction to better accommodate directional Event Centre volumes (up to 1,500 to 1,800 hourly vehicles arriving / leaving to and from the east) and b) a westbound left turn lane to provide a safe refuge for vehicles turning into the Event Centre to wait for an appropriate “gap” in the approaching eastbound traffic stream. It is not considered practical or reasonable to further widen Arthur Street West to provide 3 eastbound lanes given likely property constraints and the relatively infrequent number of times that peak demand levels will be experiences at the Event Centre for which such a widening would be considered.

Hawker Road

It is desirable to widen Hawker Road to provide a consistent 3 lane cross‐section from the easterly site limit to Arthur Street West to provide for outbound post‐event queuing activity to the Parkdale Boulevard traffic signal.

Site Access

A new signalized intersection is desirable at the easterly site access on Arthur Street West to provide appropriate levels of capacity for inbound (westbound) and outbound (northbound) left turns.

With the above road improvements, Event Centre traffic demands can be reasonably accommodated during the key pre and post‐event periods while maintaining acceptable traffic operations recognizing that some level of congestion is inevitable during the largest events due to the concentration of traffic activity to a confined and short‐lived period of time.


5.4.3 Post Event Travel Times

Analyses have been undertaken at the Thunder Bay Airport site to establish, at a high level, the length of time it may take patrons to exit the Event Centre, walk to their car and then leave the site and reach the surrounding area arterial street network after a major / capacity event. There are two components to this total travel time. The first is the time it takes a patron or group to walk from the Event Centre to their vehicle. The second is the time it takes for that car to travel through the parking lot and exit the property. Walk Component

The average walk time is, for the largest events, in the order of 6 minutes based upon the distribution of parking for the largest events outlined in Section 5.4.1 and taking into account that some vehicles will be parked closer to the entrance and others farther away.

Drive Component The average time it takes a car to leave the parking areas is variable but is largely governed by the exit capacity available from the Event Centre property and the time it takes for these portal intersections / lanes to process the exiting volumes (i.e. 1,500 cars within the hour following the end of the event for capacity events). It is anticipated – notwithstanding that there are in the order of 4 exit driveways provided onto Arthur Street West / Hawker Road providing exit capacity from the site itself for event traffic, that the overall exit times will be governed by the limitations on downstream capacity on the section of Arthur Street West situated between Parkdale Boulevard and Neebing Avenue where only two eastbound travel lanes can be practically provided. This provides a downstream capacity of in the order of 3,000 to 3,500 vehicles per hour in total compared to a demand volume of a little less than 1,500 vehicles (some motorists will be travelling west) over the same period. Based upon the above, it is estimated that the average vehicular exit travel time will be in the order of 20 minutes for the majority of patrons heading back towards Thunder Bay and the Thunder Bay Expressway recognizing that some motorists who are able to exit quickly following an event will experience a significantly shorter exit time while others, who get caught in the main exit crowd, will experience times that may be greater than this.

Combined Exit Time

Given the above, the combined exit time for motorists leaving the Thunder Bay Airport Event Centre site will be approximately ±26 minutes.

This is illustrated on Figure 16 and is reflective of a relatively constrained egress condition for the largest events that may occur at an Event Centre located at the Thunder Bay Airport site given the heavy reliance and concentration of traffic on Arthur Street West.

Figure 16 – Thunder Bay Airport Site – Large / Capacity Event Patron Exit Time Analysis


5.5 Analysis: Downtown/Waterfront Site

The potential Event Centre site within downtown Port Arthur is located on the parcel of land situated between Cumberland Street to the west, Water Street to the east, Camelot Street to the north and the Prince Arthur Hotel property / Van Norman Street to the south. The Downtown/Waterfront Event Centre site is situated, in contrast to the Innova Business Park and Thunder Bay Airport sites, within a developed urban centre and is, as such, located in proximity to existing on and off‐street parking infrastructure located across the downtown area. The site is also well situated relative to a number of transit routings connecting across Thunder Bay from the existing (and to be relocated) Water Street Transit Terminal that currently occupies a portion of the site. The seven bus routes that already serve the Water Street transit terminal provide a wide reaching, convenient, reliable and regularly scheduled transit travel alternative for Event Centre patrons living in many areas of Thunder Bay to travel to / from events at the Waterfront Event Centre candidate site. This increased transit ridership potential is reflected in the (reduced) traffic and parking demands forecasts for the Waterfront/Downtown site compared to the Innova Business Park and Thunder Bay Airport sites.

5.5.1 Parking

Parking circumstances for the Downtown/Waterfront site differ from the Innova Business Park and Thunder Bay Airport sites as a result of the site’s location relative to existing parking facilities and resources provided across the downtown Waterfront District that could be used – if available and sufficiently proximate to the Event Centre – to accommodate event related demands. As is typical in downtown settings, parking is provided across the Waterfront District area, and in the general vicinity of the Event Centre site, within a number of private and public off‐street lots as well as on the area street system. The use of existing parking infrastructure offers the potential to: optimize and increase the use of existing municipal parking facilities; reduce (or eliminate) the amount of new parking required to be built to support Event Centre operations; and distribute traffic demands across a number of separate parking facilities to reduce the concentration of traffic on a

small number of access routings and related congestion levels.

‐ Categories of Downtown Parking Parking in downtown Port Arthur can be categorized into three basic types of parking: private parking

‐ owned and operated by individual landowners supporting area businesses or land uses; off‐street public parking

‐ this includes municipal (Thunder Bay) owned and operated structured and surface parking lots on‐street public parking

‐ this includes municipal (Thunder Bay) operated parking provided on the area public street system.

‐ Basis for Assessment: Municipal Parking Compared to Private Parking Of the categories of parking situated across downtown Port Arthur, only the public parking supply was considered as “available” in the base parking supply evaluations for the Downtown/Waterfront site since this is the only parking that is managed / controlled by the City and can be relied upon as a public parking resource without third party involvement. Private parking (± 2,100 spaces within 800 metres of the Event Centre) has not, as such, been considered in the base availability evaluations undertaken as part of this assessment as a “worst case” analysis since, currently, there are no permissions in place to legally allow such parking to be utilized by the general public. The owners of the area private lots could, for instance if they so choose, restrict parking areas under their control during event conditions to prevent unauthorized parking activity. It is possible (and highly likely), however, that area parking owners may allow (and even welcome) event related parking to occur within a number of lots located across the downtown either through informal arrangements where parking activity occurs with or without payment or through a formal arrangement with the City or the Event Centre operator. In the latter case, the City / operator would enter into some form of agreement with the land‐owner to allow those spaces to be made available likely for some form of payment. We are aware, for instance, that offers have been made by a number of local business / land owners to allow the use of their private facilities for event related parking. This may provide – subject to detailed review and securing of any related operational agreements ‐ opportunity to provide in the order of up to 200 spaces across the downtown private parking facilities that would a) increase the supply of parking in the Event Centre vicinity and / or 2) offset the amount of new public parking required to appropriately support the Event Centre in this location should the Downtown / Waterfront site be selected. This is discussed further in Section 5.5.7 to 5.5.9

‐ Approach to Assessing Available Public Parking Supply Parking for the Event Centre would be – in the base parking analysis undertaken herein ‐ accommodated within the area public parking facilities located across the downtown including the municipal (publicly owned) on‐street and off‐street public parking facilities. The spaces that have been included in the evaluation of Event Centre parking needs are located within an approximate 800 metre (12 to 13 minute) walking distance of the Event Centre site. The process to evaluate parking availability has been completed based on the following 6 step process: completion of a downtown parking supply inventory; survey of public parking demands; assessment of parking availability during key periods: weekday daytime and weekday evening/weekends; comparison of public supply to event demands; consideration for new on‐site parking; and, evaluation of parking availability including the on‐site parking provision.

The detailed parking availability analysis is described in the following sections.


5.5.1.1 Parking Restrictions & Supply Inventory

The distribution of on and off‐street public parking across the downtown relative to the potential location for the Event Centre is an important consideration in assessing the utility and convenience of the public parking supply provided across the downtown. Public parking in the downtown is comprised of on and off‐street parking facilities. On‐street parking is currently prohibited along a number of sections of the area street system, restricted during specific time periods and / or may require payment (i.e. metered parking). Off‐street public parking typically requires payment. A summary of the area public parking supply restrictions provided across the downtown is illustrated in Figure 17. The relative walk distance to the various areas of downtown is, to assist in understanding how far away certain parking areas may be from the Event Centre, illustrated in Figure 18.

Figure 17 Downtown Parking Restrictions – Municipal Parking

Figure 18 ‐ Downtown Parking – Walking Distance to Parking

‐ Total Municipal Supply By Distance An inventory of the existing number of public parking spaces within the following walk distances is outlined in Figures 19a, 19b and 19c: ‐ 300 metres or a ± 5 minute walk ‐ 500 metres or a ± 8 to 9 minute walk; and, ‐ 800 metres or a ± 12 to 13 minute walk.

Walk times are calculated based upon a walk speed in the range of 1.0 to 1.2 metres / second, which is a typical walking speed range commonly used by municipalities in establishing, for instance, pedestrian crossing times at signalized intersections. There is a substantial amount of public parking supply in the downtown area within 800 metres of the potential Event Centre site. The following provides a summary breakdown of total parking supply by distance from the Event Centre:

1. there are ± 325 parking spaces (200 spaces on‐street, 125 spaces off‐street) located within a walk distance of

300 metres or a 5 minute walk from the Event Centre site. 2. there are ± 1,265 spaces (340 spaces on‐street, 925 spaces off‐street) located within a walk distance of 500

metres or an 8 – 9 minute walk from the Event Centre. 3. there are ± 1,775 spaces (450 spaces on‐street, 1,325 spaces off‐street) located within a walk distance of 800

metres or a 12 – 13 minute walk from the Event Centre


Figure 19a ‐ Downtown Parking – Walking Distance to Parking (300 metres, ±5 minute walk)

Figure 19b ‐ Downtown Parking – Walking Distance to Parking (500 metres, ±8 to 9 minute walk)

Figure 19c ‐ Downtown Parking – Walking Distance to Parking (800 metres, ±12 to 13 minute walk)

5.5.1.2 Existing Parking Demand Surveys

Parking for the Event Centre at the downtown candidate location is planned to be accommodated within a number of public parking facilities across the downtown. Unlike the Innova Business Park and Thunder Bay Airport sites, these spaces are not all located in one parking lot surrounding the Event Centre nor are reserved for the sole use of the Event Centre. They are also used – as is typical for municipal parking facilities ‐ by other users in the area throughout the day, evening and overnight periods. A series of parking demand surveys were undertaken by BA Group over the course of January 2012 to March 2012 within the area public (and, in fact, private also) parking facilities located across downtown Port Arthur. Surveys were undertaken during key periods of time when a) general downtown parking demands are at their greatest (i.e. weekday daytime) and b) when events may occur at the Event Centre (i.e. weekday / weekend daytimes and evenings) to determine the availability of parking that would be available for Event Centre use taking into account the current demands. These surveys included counts of parking utilization within on and off‐street parking facilities within each of the three walking distance categories adopted previously (300 metres, 500 metres and 800 metres) during the following times:

weekdays at 11:00 a.m., 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.; and, weekends at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m..


5.5.1.3 Existing Parking Demands

Recorded parking survey demand information has been used in determining the typical recurring peak demand levels across the downtown through a typical weekday as well as the relative levels of parking demand that occur during the weekday evening and weekend daytime / evening periods when Event Centre demands are likely to peak. A summary of the peak parking occupancies recorded across the public parking facilities located within 300, 500 and 800 metres of the potential Downtown/Waterfront Event Centre site is illustrated in Figure 20.

‐ Demand Characteristics

Parking in the downtown on and off‐street public parking lots typically peaks during the weekday daytime late morning periods. Occupancy levels during the weekday evening and weekend afternoon / evening periods (when large events are more likely to occur) are reduced in comparison and weekday end peak demand levels.

‐ Weekday Daytime: Key Times for Conferences and Family Shows Peak weekday utilization levels indicate that approximately 35 percent to 40 percent of the total parking supply within 800 metres of the site is in use during the busiest periods.

‐ Weekday Evening: Key Times for Larger Events

Parking demands during a weekday notably decrease from around 3:00 p.m. onwards presumably as employees working within the Downtown leave at the end of the working day and decrease to in the order of 20 to 25 percent occupancy range during the early evening period (6 p.m. onwards).

‐ Weekend Daytime / Evening: Key Times for Larger Events Weekend parking utilization levels range between 15 percent to 25 percent of the total available supply. These demand levels reflect typical weekend activity that is primarily related to recreational visits / retail activity to the downtown. The observed parking occupancy levels during the weekend are lower, notably, than even the weekday evening parking occupancy.

In each case, demands surveys indicate that there is substantial parking available within the public facilities located across the downtown. Prevailing demand levels are, notably, lower at times when event related demands may be at their greatest during the weekend / weekend evening and weekend daytime periods.

Figure 20 ‐ Downtown Parking – Public Parking Demand Surveys

5.5.1.4 Public Parking Available for Event Centre Use

The availability of parking during two key periods – the weekday daytime and weekend evening periods ‐ was analyzed to evaluate the ability for Event Centre parking demands to be reasonably accommodated within the available parking facilities within downtown Port Arthur. These periods of time reflect two basic conditions:

the time when area parking demands peak (weekday daytime) which coincides with times when conferences and

matinee family show performances may occur; and, the times when Event Centre parking demands may peak during larger events that typically occur during the early

evening (weekday or weekend) and weekend daytimes.


A summary of parking availability levels during these two conditions within each of the walk distance categories outlined earlier (300 metres, 500 metres and 800 metres) are illustrated in Figure 21a and 21b, by a breakdown of the available spaces in on‐street and off‐street facilities.

‐ Loss of Existing On‐Site Parking

The loss of the City parking lots located on the potential Event Centre site and the smaller parking lot located adjacent to the Hydro facility has been taken into account in the evaluation. In the order of 175 existing surface parking spaces will be lost from the area supply as a result of the construction of the Event Centre. Parking demands that are met within these lots have, however, been maintained and reallocated within the evaluation to other public parking facilities in the downtown area.

‐ Availability Parking availability in the Downtown area during the weekday afternoon period is categorized based upon the walk distance from the Event Centre (300 metres, 500 metres and 800 metres) as follows: Weekday Afternoon (Conferences / Family Shows) Within 300 metres (± 5 minute walk) ‐ approximately 140 public spaces Within 500 metres (± 8‐9 minute walk) ‐ approximately 700 public spaces Within 800 metres (± 12 to 13 minutes) ‐ approximately 1,185 public spaces

Parking availability in the downtown area on a weekday evening or weekend (daytime / evening) is less than the weekday daytime period leaving more spaces available for Event Centre use. Within 300 metres, in the order of 215 spaces are available. Weekday Evening / Weekend (Events of All Sizes) Within 300 metres (± 5 minute walk) ‐ approximately 215 public spaces Within 500 metres (± 8‐9 minute walk) ‐ approximately 1,045 public spaces Within 800 metres (±12 to 13 minutes) ‐ approximately 1,520 public spaces

There is, given the above, approximately 1,200 spaces available during the weekday daytime period to accommodate event demands that occur during those times while there is approximately 1,500 spaces available during the weekday evenings and weekends to accommodate demands related to the largest events that would occur at the Event Centre.

Figure 21a ‐ Downtown Parking – Public Parking Availability – Weekday Daytime

Figure 21b ‐ Downtown Parking – Public Parking Availability – Weekend Evening


5.5.1.5 Comparison of Available Supply to Peak Demands

A comparison of the available public parking supply within 800 metres (12 to 13 minute walk) of the potential Event Centre site to the forecast peak event demands is provided in Figure 22.

Figure 22 ‐ Comparison of Public Supply to Event Demands

The comparison of event demands versus available supply suggests that there is, in fact, sufficient public parking available to meet parking demands related to the majority of the events that may occur at the Event Centre within a reasonable walking distance from the Event Centre. Demands related to events of 4,500 people (large events) can, for instance, be accommodated within the 1,500 public spaces available within a 12 to 13 minute walk of the Event Centre during the key weekday / weekend evenings and weekend afternoons. However, there may be a number of occasions (5 to 10 times per year) during the largest capacity events where additional parking supply located close to the Event Centre would be highly desirable. A comparison of the peak demand levels anticipated at the Event Centre in the downtown context (taking into account increased transit usage) to the available supply during key event periods, suggests that in the order of 300 more parking spaces would be required to be reliably available for event patron use to accommodate capacity and major event demands within an 800 metre walk of the Event Centre.

5.5.1.6 New Parking Supply Needs

There are three methods that could be considered (together or separately) to provide the identified additional publicly accessible parking (300 spaces) required to meet Event Centre needs during the largest events should the Downtown/ Waterfront site be identified as the preferred location for the Event Centre. These include: i) provision of a level of underground parking on the Event Centre site; ii) utilize existing private parking in the downtown either through a management agreement with the City or

where the land owner undertakes to make that parking reliably available for event parking purposes; and iii) lease / purchase other property in the downtown and construct new surface or above‐grade parking structure.

The construction of below grade parking (option i) beneath the Event Centre is illustrated on Figure 23. In the order of 350 spaces could be incorporated within an underground parking level in the Event Centre development plan for the Downtown/Waterfront site. This would enable, while being the most expensive parking solution for the Downtown/Waterfront site, the required parking shortfall in publicly available parking in the downtown to be delivered without the City being required to assemble / acquire any further lands. This option has been incorporated in the detailed parking distribution analyses outlined in Section 5.5.1.7 as the base condition that can be delivered by the City without requiring third party involvement recognizing that other, less costly, options will be pursued as part of the detailed planning of the Event Centre should the Downtown/Waterfront site be selected. Figure 23 also shows an alternate parking solution that could be pursued by the City involving the construction of a less costly, 2‐level, 200 space above grade parking structure on lands (subject to land acquisition) in the immediate vicinity of the proposed Event Centre. This solution would, to provide the requisite 300 new publicly accessible parking spaces, also need to work together with the City entering into agreements with other area landowners to make a minimum of 100 (or more) private parking spaces available for event parking purposes across the downtown on reliable basis. Supply of the required 300 new public parking spaces on or near to the Event Centre site would provide the identified additional supply, which would offer conveniently located “prime” parking for use during not only the largest events (most likely as reserved, officials and dignitary parking) but for conference events and other smaller events that would benefit from having an on‐site parking resource to be able to utilize. Furthermore, the addition of a minimum of 300 spaces on or near to the Event Centre site will enable all event related parking demands, including for the largest events, to be met within 800 metres (12 to 13 minute walk) of the Event Centre. New Parking as a Downtown Resource It is important to note that while any new publicly accessible parking provided on or near to the Event Centre site would be occupied to varying degrees during events, it will remain available for substantial periods of time for use for other area parking purposes. Any new parking provided will, as such, add public parking supply to the area that can be used for general parking purposes including, for instance, event parking during programmed events at Prince Arthur’s Landing (i.e. Summer in the Parks, Blues Fest and other events), other general downtown parking needs and as a replacement for the parking facilities lost with construction of the Event Centre on the site itself.

Figure 23 ‐ On‐Site Underground Event Centre Parking


Use of Private Parking The use of private parking has not been relied upon in the base analyses undertaken as part of this assessment. However, it is likely, in reality, that private parking located across the downtown will be used, either informally or formally, for event parking purposes and would “improve” the Event Centre parking circumstance above that outlined in the analyses outlined in Section 5.5.1.7. In fact, we understand that a number of landowners in the downtown area have undertaken – in correspondence with the City – to allow existing, privately parking areas on their landholdings (with a parking supply of in the order of 200 or so spaces) to be used for event parking purposes. While not specifically addressed within the analyses outlined herein, the beneficial impacts of the use of available and existing private parking facilities in the downtown would be two‐fold and would: a) potentially reduce the amount of new public parking supply required which could result in cost savings relative

to the “worst‐case” solution in which an underground parking garage would be built on the Event Centre site (see the alternative option shown on Figure 23); and,

b) enabling parking event demands to be met closer to the Event Centre. It is important to note, given the above and when considering the ability of the Downtown/Waterfront site to support the Event Centre from a parking perspective that the likely use of private parking located across the downtown would “improve” the parking circumstance for the Event Centre above that outlined in the analyses outlined in Section 5.5.1.7. It also has the potential to reduce the costs associated with providing the requisite parking supply to support the Event Centre within a reasonable walking distance of the Waterfront site. This is discussed further in Section 5.5.1.8.

5.5.1.7 Parking Distribution – Event Conditions

The parking area and associated walking distance from the Event Centre doors will vary based upon the type of event and the size of the attracted attendance. An evaluation of the extent to which Event Centre parking demands would extend across the downtown area parking facilities for the three main event categories, as well as conference events, is outlined graphically in Figures 24a, 24b, 24c and 24d to provide an understanding of the relative proximity of parking to the Event Centre during event conditions. A summary is outlined below: Conference Event ‐ up to 500 vehicles ‐ 200 – 300 metres (average walk of 3 minutes) Typical Event ‐ up to 1,100 vehicles ‐ within 500 metres

(average 5 minute walk) Large Event ‐ up to 1,450 vehicles ‐ within 750 metres

(average 8 minute walk) Major and Capacity Events ‐ 1,800 – 2,000 vehicles ‐ within 800 metres

(average 10 minute walk)

The analysis outlined above indicates that the average walk to / from parking and the Event Centre for the 5 to 10 major and capacity events anticipated at the Event Centre on an annual basis is in the order of 10 minutes presuming that in the order of 300 parking spaces are located on or near to the Event Centre site.

Events with lower attendances that are held on a more frequent basis (± 50 typical events with 2,500 or less people and ± 25 to 30 larger events of up to 4,500 people) can be accommodated within an average walk of 8 minutes or less. The majority of parking activity related to conference type events can be accommodated within a ±5 minute walk (average walk of ±3 minutes) with much of the parking needs being met within the “new” parking facility located on or close to the Event Centre site.

5.5.1.8 Other Parking Arrangements – Private Parking

The parking evaluation outlined in Section 5.5.1.7 takes into consideration only the publicly available (and City owned) parking in the downtown area and within Prince Arthur’s Landing. However, as noted previously, there are a number (over 2,100 spaces) of private parking spaces located throughout the downtown area and property owners of these lots could allow (and even welcome) event related parking to occur within their lots either through: i) informal arrangements where parking activity occurs with or without payment; or ii) through a formal arrangement with the City or the Event Centre operator. In the latter case, the City / Event Centre operator would enter into some form of agreement with the land‐owner to allow those spaces to be made available likely for some form of payment. We understand, in fact, that offers have been made to the City by area landowners to make private parking available should the downtown site be selected as the preferred Event Centre location. While the related supplies have not been, included in the base parking analyses outlined herein it is noteworthy that in the order of 200 (or more) spaces could be (subject to review and agreements being secured) made available to supplement Event Centre parking supply in the downtown area. The practical and beneficial effect of a use of existing area private parking, of which there is a substantial supply, could be two‐fold depending upon supply decisions made as details are more fully understood. These are as follows:

‐ Firstly, it could enable a greater proportion of the parking required to support the Event Centre to be provided

closer to the site which would, in turn, reduce the walk distance to the outer parking areas that could, otherwise, be relied upon.

‐ Secondly, it may reduce the amount of new parking that may be required to enable Event Centre demands to be

appropriately met within a reasonable walking distance (for instance ‐ see the alternative parking solution outlined in Figure 23 and discussed in Section 5.5.1.6.

Decisions in this regard would be made, if the Downtown/Waterfront site is selected, as part of the design development of the Event Centre and at a time when firm commitments can be made and explored on a formal basis.


Figure 24a ‐ Event Centre Parking – Conference Event

Figure 24b ‐ Event Centre Parking – Typical Event

Figure 24c ‐ Event Centre Parking – Large Event

Figure 24d ‐ Event Centre Parking – Major/Capacity Event


5.5.1.9 Parking & Related Vehicular Facility Considerations

‐ Accessible Parking The use of an underground parking garage beneath the Downtown/Waterfront site Event Centre offers potential to locate accessible, barrier‐free parking for event attendees on‐site and readily accessible to / from the Event Centre in accordance with applicable City Zoning By‐Law and Provincial accessibility guidelines. Potential also exists, with an alternate off‐site parking solution, to a) continue to provide barrier‐free parking on‐site within a reduced underground facility or b) as close as possible off‐site within any new parking structure. Whatever parking solution is ultimately pursued, barrier‐free parking would be located as close as possible to the Event Centre and would appropriately provide for the needs of those patrons. The number and precise location of accessible parking spaces will be determined as part of the design development of the selected Event Centre location.

‐ Charter Bus, Vehicular Drop‐off, Taxi Stand Provisions need to be made as part of the Event Centre plan at the Downtown/Waterfront site to enable charter bus, taxis and private car passenger pick‐up / drop‐off activity before, after and during events in the Event Centre vicinity. Logical locations for designated zones within which each of these activities could occur include street frontages either in front of the Event Centre (subject to the needs of any on‐street transit terminal facility) of or along adjacent blocks on Cumberland Street and / or Camelot Street. These locations would logically be curb‐side on the identified roadway linkages and would provide logical zones where such activity can be reasonably accommodated. Longer stay charter bus parking during events (daytime or evening) would need to be located off‐site and possibly away from the main pick‐up / drop‐off zones. A suitable location(s) is required which cannot logically be one of the parking areas identified as being required to meet capacity / large event parking needs. For other events, a greater degree of flexibility is provided. The off‐site locations can be located some distance from the Event Centre if needed with the drivers getting a “call back” from their tour group or organizer alerting them to return to the pick‐up / drop‐off facilities at the appropriate time. Details of all of the above, will be worked through in further as part of the subsequent design work for the Downtown site if it is selected as the preferred site.

‐ Loading / Unloading Activity

Loading / unloading activity will be accommodated within the service facilities incorporated into the Event Centre. Supporting vehicles will need to stage / park away from the site before or after load in / load out of events given the on‐site size limitations of the Downtown/Waterfront site. A suitable location will be need to established, as required, as part of the subsequent design work for the Downtown/Waterfront site and as part of the ongoing management of the Event Centre if this site is selected as the preferred Event Centre location. Site pick‐up / drop‐off and related staging facilities are further described in Section 5.5.2.3.

5.5.1.10 Parking: Summary Findings

Parking circumstances for the Downtown / Waterfront candidate site differ from the Innova and Airport sites as a result of the site’s urban location and context relative to existing parking facilities and resources provided across downtown Port Arthur that could be used – if available and sufficiently proximate to the Event Centre – to accommodate event related demands.

‐ Public Parking Compared to Private Parking

There are three basic types of parking provided in the downtown area. These include private parking that supports local businesses and land uses, off‐street public parking and on‐street public parking. Only the public parking supply (on and off‐street) was considered as “available” in the base parking supply evaluations for the Downtown / Waterfront site since this is the only parking that is managed / controlled by the City and can be relied upon as a public parking resource without third party involvement. Private parking (of which there are ± 2,100 parking spaces of all types in the downtown area) could be made available by local landholders for parking purposes either through informal arrangements where parking activity occurs with or without payment or through a formal arrangement with the City or the Event Centre operator. In the latter case, the City / operator would enter into some form of agreement with the land‐owner to allow those spaces to be made available likely for some form of payment. We understand that the City of Thunder Bay has been approached by landowners of parking facilities in the downtown offering use of their lots to assist in supporting the Event Centre. In the order of 200 spaces have been offered for use. Decisions in this regard – which may provide additional parking close to the Event Centre ‐ will be determined if the Downtown / Waterfront site is selected as the preferred site and as part of the design development of an Event Centre on that site. The details of these arrangements would, of course, need to be finalized between the City and the property owners.

‐ Establishment of Existing Parking Inventory There are in the order of ± 1,775 public parking spaces (450 spaces on‐street, 1,325 spaces off‐street) located within a walk distance of 800 metres or a 12 – 13 minute walk from the Event Centre. BA Group undertook parking demand surveys across downtown Port Arthur between January 2012 to March 2012 to provide information regarding the number of parking spaces that were occupied over the course of a day / week and how many spaces would be available to help support the parking needs of the Event Centre.

‐ Parking Availability: Downtown Parking

During the weekday daytime period, approximately 40 percent of the public parking spaces in downtown Port Arthur were occupied. The balance of the spaces remained vacant even during the busiest times of the day from a general parking perspective. During the weekday / weekend evening and weekend periods, the utilization rates drop to approximately 25 percent of all provided parking. In the order of 1,200 parking spaces are available during the weekday daytime while a modestly greater supply is available during the weekday / weekend evening and weekend periods.

‐ Sufficiency of Downtown Parking and the Need for New Supply

A comparison of the anticipated peak event parking demands (1,800 spaces) versus available supply suggests that while there is, in fact, sufficient public parking available to meet parking demands related to the majority of the events that may occur at the Event Centre within a reasonable walking distance. There may be a number of occasions (5 to 10 times per year), however, during the largest capacity events when additional parking supply would be highly desirable. A comparison of the peak demand levels anticipated at the downtown Event Centre site to the available supply during key event periods, suggests that in the order of 300 more publicly available parking spaces would be required within 800 metres of the Event Centre to accommodate capacity and major event demands.


Parking supply solutions have been considered to provide the required additional 300 parking spaces either on‐site (within an underground parking garage) or off‐site (through construction of a new above‐grade structure and, potentially, use of area private parking for event parking purposes. New parking spaces provided on‐site or in the vicinity of the Downtown/Waterfront site would logically be used for Event Centre parking needs and would provide conveniently located parking for use during events of all sizes (conferences of up to 800 people to the largest events at the Event Centre of up to 6,800 people). New parking would also provide a general parking resource for the downtown that could augment the existing area supply and could be used to better provide for increased demands during events on Prince Arthur’s Landing (i.e. Summer in the Parks and Bluesfest).

With provision of the above new publicly available parking supply, Event Centre parking demands related to even the largest Event Centre functions and events can be met within 800 metres or a 12 to 13 minute walk from the Event Centre. The average walk to parking is in the order of 10 minutes. It is important to note that these events occur approximately ±5 to 10 times a year and in the evenings. Typical events and large events, which occur on a more frequent basis, will have parking available closer to the site. Use of Private Parking The use of private parking has not been relied upon in the base analyses undertaken as part of this assessment. However, it is likely, in reality, that private parking located across the downtown will be used, either informally or formally, for event parking purposes and would “improve” the Event Centre parking circumstance beyond that outlined above. The beneficial impacts of the use of available and existing private parking facilities in the downtown would be two‐fold and would a) potentially reduce the amount of new public parking supply required and reduce Event Centre related costs and b) enable event parking demands to be met closer to the Event Centre.

‐ Other Parking Considerations Flexibility is afforded by the Downtown/Waterfront Event Centre development plan to enable barrier‐free parking to be provided on‐site within the underground garage. Designated zones along sections of the street system surrounding the Event Centre could be adopted to provide locations where bus, charter bus (motorcoach), taxi and private car pick‐up / drop‐off activity can be accommodated close to the Event Centre. Off‐site charter bus and staged transport trucks parking facilities will need to be utilized to accommodate longer term parking needs for both vehicle types. Details will be determined as part of any subsequent design process should the Downtown/Waterfront site be selected.


5.5.2.1 Event Traffic Demand Characteristics

The Downtown/Waterfront Event Centre candidate is situated on the eastern side of downtown Port Arthur close to the Prince Arthur’s Landing waterfront and on the east of Water Street. The general area, and the site itself, are well connected from a vehicular perspective to other areas of Thunder Bay and the surrounding residential areas to the north, west and south. The transportation context of the Event Centre site within the downtown area and the event parking circumstance presents three key influencing factors from a transportation perspective. These are as follows: Traffic demands are modestly lower for the Downtown/Waterfront site compared to the Innova Business Park and

Thunder Bay Airport sites given the enhanced potential for event attendees to travel by transit given the level of transit service afforded to the downtown area.

Event Centre parking demands would be met in a distributed fashion across a number of parking facilities (on and

off‐street) around the downtown. This tends to disperse event traffic across the downtown before and after events rather than concentrating traffic on a limited number of access routings such as occurs at the Innova Business Park and the Thunder Bay Airport sites.

There is already an extensive road network in place supporting the downtown area providing numerous road

linkages to / from parking areas that can be used by event patrons. The number of routings available serving the downtown (i.e. Water Street, Cumberland Street, Court Street, Algoma Street, Pearl Street, Park Avenue, Red River Road, Camelot Street and so on) combined with the distribution of parking facilities tends to diminish the reliance placed upon any one access routing into or out from the downtown.

The combined effect of these three considerations, and particularly the use of multiple parking locations served by multiple and different road connections, serves to greatly disperse the majority of the pre and post‐event traffic activity across a broad area and onto a number of routing options. This has the effect of reducing event related traffic volumes at any one location (i.e. streets or intersections) on the downtown area before and after events. Figure 25 illustrates the area road context within the downtown, the location of the primary municipal parking facilities relied upon for Event Centre parking and the number of primary routing alternatives available to event patrons.


Figure 25 ‐ Downtown Site – Event Vehicular Travel Context

5.5.2.2 The Need for Area Road System Improvements

BA Group has undertaken a detailed review of prevailing traffic conditions across downtown area and the operational impacts of additional pre and post event related traffic activity to provide an understanding, a high level, of the need for any improvements / modifications to the existing area road network to enable event activity to be appropriately accommodated. The distribution of traffic activity across downtown has meant that no general area road improvements or modifications will be necessary to accommodate the increase in traffic activity during the pre and post event periods. Volume changes on the various elements of the area road system are, for the most part, relatively modest and can, based upon the analyses undertaken as part of this site selection process, be managed within the context of the existing road system.

5.5.2.3 Event Centre Vehicular Facilities: Access Access to the Event Centre itself and related supporting facilities will be provided from the street system surrounding the site. Figure 26 provides a schematic and high level overview of the various Event Centre related vehicular facilities and their potential location relative to the Event Centre. Figure 26 – Schematic Arrangement of Event Centre Related Vehicular Facilities

‐ Closure of Van Norman Street The current Event Centre plan also identifies the closure of Van Normal Street as a formal road right‐of‐way south of the Prince Arthur Hotel driveway to enable construction of the Event Centre and conferencing component on the property. There are no other access facilities on Van Norman Street that would be affected by the closure given that the existing public parking lot and bus terminal entrances are to be eliminated with redevelopment of the property.

‐ On Site Parking and Loading Access to the building loading / servicing facilities and, potentially, an underground parking garage situated beneath the Event Centre (if this parking solution is pursued) is required onto the street system. It would consider the context surrounding the site and would respond to the grading considerations of the property (Water Street is significantly lower than Cumberland Street), the desired locations for pedestrian entrances to the Event Center and conference facilities as well as the design needs of the event arena and seating facilities. The illustrative Event Centre site plan concept shows such access provided onto Water Street towards the northern end of the site. The entrance facilities will be designed to provide “flat” access to the arena floor for service vehicles and to accommodate the access requirements of large semi‐trailer vehicles that would be required – on occasion ‐ to load / unload at the Event Centre. Suitable public parking entrance facilities would also be provided if an underground parking solution is pursued on‐site.

Potential


‐ Water Street Bus Terminal Relocation Construction of the Event Centre on the existing Water Street bus terminal will require alternative facilities to be provided within downtown Port Arthur to replace the terminal. It is anticipated that a likely solution would be to adopt an on‐street bus “hub” solution as the City of Thunder Bay did when relocating the former Brodie Street Transit Terminal in Fort William to the street system surrounding City Hall. A preliminary concept could focus the transit hub bus stop facilities on Cumberland Street potentially in front of the Event Centre. Buses providing service on the 7 routes that currently serve downtown Port Arthur would circulate to / from the hub using the downtown area road system. It is anticipated that bus terminal related facilities (waiting area, driver conveniences, ticketing facility and Thunder Bay Transit offices) would be integrated into the Event Centre plan if the Downtown/Waterfront site is selected. The location of the relocated bus terminal bus stops to the Event Centre, as outlined above, and the potential to integrate bus terminal facilities into the Event Centre plan is highly transit supportive initiative and one that would promote, with other operational and management incentives, transit use for event related travel.

‐ Other Supporting Vehicular Facilities: Pick‐Up / Drop‐Off & Taxis There will also need to be a number of formalized curb space areas where Event Centre private vehicle, taxi and motorcoach / shuttle bus pick‐up / drop‐off activity would be focussed. Modifications and changes to the existing on‐street parking and stopping regulations would be required to provide for such facilities. Specific area (i.e. curb length) would be required for charter and shuttle bus pick‐up / drop‐off, taxi pick‐up / drop‐off and staging (i.e. taxi rank) and where private vehicles may be allowed to load or unload passengers. These facilities would logically be accommodated on sections of street near to the Event Centre likely on Cumberland Street (east or west of the site) and / or Camelot Street. The operation of these facilities will be actively managed during large events to ensure their successful operation and to best accommodate event related activity. Details of this operational management plan would be developed in detail as part of the Event Centre design process if the Downtown/Waterfront site is selected as preferred site.


Analyses have been undertaken at the Downtown/Waterfront Event Centre site to establish, at a high level and for major / capacity events, the length of time it may take patrons to leave the Event Centre, walk to their parked cars located in the variety of parking facilities situated across downtown Port Arthur and then leave those lots and enter the surrounding area arterial street network. There are two components to this total travel time. The first is the time it takes a patron or group to walk from the Event Centre to their vehicle. The second is the time it takes for that car to travel through the parking lot that a car maybe parked within and then exit onto the area road system. The walk and drive context of the Downtown/Waterfront Event Centre site differs from that of the Innova Business Park and Thunder Bay Airport sites in that for large events, patrons will, for the most part, be required to walk further on the downtown area street system between their car and the Event Centre but will, however, spend less time exiting through the parking controls and driveways of the area parking facilities to begin their trip home because of the dispersed nature of the parking and the less concentrated traffic condition. For the Innova Business Park and Thunder Bay Airport sites patrons would, for larger events, typically spend more time exiting the site via the available access points onto the area street system given the concentration of traffic on fewer routes. A review of the overall exit time is described below: ‐ Walk Component

The average walk time is, for the largest events, in the order of 10 minutes based upon the distribution of parking across the downtown for the largest events and taking into account that some vehicles will be parked closer to the entrance and others farther away.

‐ Drive Component

The average time it takes a car to leave the various parking facilities – the most significant being the North Core Parkade (±720 spaces), the parking lots within Prince Arthur’s Landing on the east side of Water Street (combined supply of 540 spaces) and on‐street facilities (±340 spaces) will vary and is largely governed by the exit capacity available from those facilities. The time it takes to leave the largest lots (i.e. the North Core Parkade) will be longer compared the smaller off‐street or on‐street parking facilities from which motorists will be able to exit almost immediately having arrived back at their vehicle. It is noteworthy that, even for the larger lots, that the distribution of event parking across a number of area facilities and the number of exit facilities provided at those lots, will moderate traffic demands as well as the resulting exit facility vehicular loadings. It is anticipated, for instance, that it may take in the order of 20 to 30 minutes for all motorists to exit the North Core Parkade (presuming the City operates a “fast” pay‐on‐entry or similar payment system). Based upon the above, it is estimated that the average vehicular exit travel time will be in the order of 10 minutes for the majority of patrons leaving the Event Centre and parking across the downtown and recognizing that some motorists who are able to exit quickly following an event will experience a significantly shorter exit time while others, who parked in the larger facilities, may experience times that may be greater than this.


‐ Combined Exit Time Given the above, the combined exit time for motorists leaving the Downtown/Waterfront Event Centre site is anticipated to be in the order of ±20 minutes. This is illustrated on Figure 27 and is reflective of the longer walk times that patrons will experience during larger events and a relatively straight‐forward exit circumstance from the parking lots / facility they parked within.

Figure 27 ‐ Downtown Site – Large / Capacity Event Patron Exit Time Analysis

5.6 Innova Business Park Site

The Innova Business Park site is located in the northeast quadrant of the Thunder Bay Expressway and Harbour Expressway interchange within the Business Park. The site is currently vacant. Access to the various land parcels within Innova Business Park is currently provided via a system of public streets extending from Golf Links Road, the Harbour Expressway and Oliver Road. Central Avenue forms the primary access routing into the Park from Golf Links Road and provides connections to an internal road “loop” formed by Innovation Drive and Premier Way. Innovation Drive forms the northern and eastern boundaries of the candidate Event Centre site and parking areas.

5.6.1 Parking

Supply and Deployment

The provision of parking at the Innova Business Park site is similar to the Airport site in that new surface lots will need to be constructed to accommodate parking demands of the Event Centre. In the order of 2,000 spaces are required and will be located to the northwest, north east sides of the site. All of the parking spaces will be accessed from the Innovation Drive / Premier Way roadway “loop” and be located on parcels where pedestrians will be able to access parking without crossing the adjacent public road system.. Parking would, for the most part, be utilized only for Event Centre users with little opportunity for it to also serve other complimentary uses given the location of the Innova Business Park site. The proposed parking areas supporting the Innova Business Park site are illustrated below in Figure 28.

Figure 28 ‐ Innova Business Park Site – Parking Supply


Parking Distribution – Event Conditions

The parking area used for parking purposes and the distances that cars are parked from the Event Centre doors will vary based upon the type of event and the size of the attracted attendance. An evaluation of the extent of parking across the parking lots for the three main event categories considered is outlined graphically in Figure 29, 30 and 31 to provide an understanding of the relative proximity of parking to the Event Centre during event conditions. A summary is outlined is outlined below: Typical Event ‐ up to 1,200 vehicles ‐ 200 – 250 metres

(average 3 minute walk) Large Event ‐ up to 1,600 vehicles ‐ 300 metres

(average 4 minute walk) Major and Capacity Events ‐ 1,800 – 2,000 vehicles ‐ 400 metres

(average 5 minute walk) The analysis outlined above indicates that the average walk to / from parking and the Event Centre during the 5 to 10 major and capacity events anticipated at the Event Centre is in the order of 5 minutes. Events with lower attendances that are held on a more frequent basis (±50 typical events with 2,500 or less people and ±25 to 30 larger events of up to 4,500 people) can be accommodated within an average walk of 4 minutes or less.

Figure 29 ‐ Innova Business Park Site – Parking Area for a Typical Event

Figure 30 ‐ Innova Business Park Site – Parking Area for a Large Event

Figure 31 ‐ Innova Business Park Site – Parking Area for a Major / Capacity Event


Parking & Related Vehicular Facility Considerations

‐ Accessible Parking The design arrangement of the Innova Business Park site Event Centre plan and supporting parking areas offers considerable flexibility to enable accessible, barrier‐free parking for event attendees to be readily located close to the Event Centre entrance facilities in accordance with applicable City Zoning By‐Law and Provincial accessibility guidelines. The number and precise location of accessible parking spaces will be determined as part of the design development of the selected Event Centre location.

‐ Charter Bus, Vehicular Drop‐off, Taxi Stand Provisions need to be made as part of the Innova Business Park Event Centre plan to accommodate charter bus, taxis and passenger pick‐up / drop‐off activity before, after and during events. Provisions should also be made to accommodate charter bus parking needs. As is the case for accessible parking, the design arrangement of the Innova Business Park Event Centre plan provides flexibility to provide pick‐up / drop‐off, taxi staging areas and charter bus parking facilities on the site and it is considered that appropriate facilities could be readily accommodated at an Event Centre within Innova Business Park. Related details would be refined as part of the subsequent design process for the Event Centre should the Innova Business Park site be selected as the preferred location. A dedicated passenger car / taxi pick‐up facility and taxi staging area should be incorporated into the ultimate design plan close to the main building entrance. This facility would allow vehicles to conveniently “loop” within the property and pick‐up / drop‐off people curb‐side at the Event Centre. The detailed assessment of the necessary size and configuration of these facilities will be undertaken as part of design development of the Event Centre should the Innova Business Park site be selected. A dedicated shuttle / transit bus facility should be provided close to the main building entrance and should be separate from other general use areas to provide unencumbered and convenient bus access. Appropriate access facilities will also need to be provided. A dedicated tour bus / motorcoach staging area with pedestrian waiting area could also be provided on‐site although this may not be ultimately necessary since patrons would, in most instances, be look to stage within the parking lot. Parking for tour bus / motorcoaches can be provided on the property given its size and the flexibility that this offers. Preliminary forecast assumptions indicate the potential for in the order of 5 tour buses to be at the Event Centre during the largest events in addition to team, show or other VIP tour buses and flexibility exists on the site to accommodate parking for this number of buses. Other events may attract a greater number of buses but would typically be for events with lesser attendances and reduced parking needs and, therefore, at times when the parking lot would not be fully occupied. Suitable parking areas would be determined as part of the detailed design development of the Event Centre should the Innova Business Park site be selected.

‐ Loading / Unloading Activity Loading / unloading activity will be accommodated within the service facilities incorporated into the Event Centre. Additional facility exists at the Innova Business Park site for supporting vehicles to stage on the site before or after load in / load out of events.

Parking: Summary Findings

The site is located within the Innova Business Park, in northeast quadrant of the Thunder Bay Expressway and Harbour Expressway interchange. The site is currently vacant and would be accessed from Innovation Drive and the other public road connections that serve the Innova Business Park from Golf Links Road, the Harbour Expressway and Oliver Road.

Parking for the Event Centre will be built within new surface parking lots surrounding the Event Centre. In the order of 2,000 parking spaces are required at the Innova Business Park site to meet the demands of major / capacity events at the Event Centre. Parking will be located close to the Event Centre with all parking provided within approximately 400 metres or a 5 to 6 minute walk of the main Event Centre entrance. The average walk time to parking from the Event Centre main entrance during capacity / major events (5,700 to 6,800 people) is 5 minutes. The average walk is 4 minutes or less for more typical, and substantially more frequent, events of 4,500 people or less. Flexibility is afforded within the Innova Business Park Event Centre development plan to enable barrier‐free and charter bus parking to be provided on‐site close to the Event Centre entrance as well as providing private vehicle, taxi, transit and motor‐coach pick‐up / drop‐off facilities that will be required as part of the Event Centre operational programme.


Site Access

Primary access to the Innova Business Park Event Centre site will be provided via Innovation Drive / Premier Way and the connections these public roads provide, together with Central Avenue and Burwood Road, to Golf Links Road, the Harbour Expressway and Oliver Road. The primary access routings serving the Innova Business Park site and the site access opportunities provided onto Golf Links Road, Oliver Road, the Harbour Expressway and the Thunder Bay Expressway are illustrated in Figure 32.

Figure 32 ‐ Innova Business Park Site – Access Routes


Road / Access Improvements Road and intersection improvements will be necessary to accommodate the increase in traffic activity on the streets within Innova Business Park and the surrounding street system during the pre and post event periods. The road improvements are illustrated in Figure 33 and are described below. Please note that the schedule of road / intersection improvements identified take into account that the City of Thunder Bay is to widen Golf Links Road from its current basic 2 lane cross‐section 5 lanes from the Harbour Expressway northwards. This widening is scheduled to occur regardless of the chosen location of the Event Centre and offsets (reduces) area road improvement costs that would, without the City’s planned widening, fall to the Event Centre to construct.

Figure 33 – Innova Business Site – Road / Access Improvements

Desirable Identified Area Road / Access Improvements Golf Links Road

Golf Links Road is planned to be widened by the City of Thunder Bay from the Harbour Expressway northwards. We understand that Golf Links Road is to be widened to 4 / 5 lanes between the Harbour Expressway and Oliver Road and that a traffic signal is proposed at its intersection with Central Avenue. Additional turn lanes are provided at intersections. Construction work is scheduled to be complete in 3 phases and will proceed irrespective of any decisions made with respect to the Event Centre.

Central Avenue Central Avenue is currently a basic two lane road that runs westwards from Golf Links Road and provides the primary access linkage into Innova Business Park. Central Avenue does not currently connect to the Thunder Bay Expressway. Central Avenue is required to be reconstructed (given its current poor condition) and widened to provide a basic 4 lane roadway facility and is also proposed to be extended to a new, highly desirable, intersection with the Thunder Bay Expressway.

Innovation Drive / Premier Way

Innovation Drive and Premier Way are both 2 lane public streets that extend southwards as a “loop” from Central Avenue to provide access to the various development parcels that currently form Innova Business Park. Both of these roads will provide direct access to the Event Centre and the supporting parking lots and will be heavily used by Event Centre traffic. Both Innovation Drive and Premier Way are required to be reconstructed given their current (poor) condition and are to be widened to 3 lanes to provide for direct access to the parking lots and sufficient travel lanes to appropriately accommodate post‐event queuing activity as people leave the Event Centre towards Central Avenue.

New Thunder Bay Expressway Intersection – Central Avenue

A new, all moves signalized intersection is highly desirable onto the Thunder Bay Expressway at Central Avenue and should be pursued with the Ministry of Transportation for Ontario (MTO) if the Innova Business Park site is selected as the preferred Event Centre site. This intersection is between 700 and 800 metres from the Oliver Road and Harbour Expressway interchanges and would offer direct and high quality access into Innova Business Park and to the Event Centre. New turn lanes would be required (northbound right turn and southbound left turn lanes) in accordance with MTO design standards should this access be permitted by the MTO. Approval of a new intersection onto the Thunder Bay Expressway will need to be approved by the MTO and would remove the need to i) improve / modify both of the Oliver Road or Harbour Expressway interchanges and ii) further improve (beyond the City’s plans) the Oliver Road and Harbour Expressway intersections with Golf Links Road to accommodate Event Centre related traffic. Should approval not be provided for the intersection, access to the Event Centre would be focussed more heavily on Golf Links Road and would require a series of improvements – above that identified herein ‐ to accommodate event related demands.

With the above road improvements, Event Centre demands can be reasonably accommodated during the key pre‐ and post‐event periods while maintaining acceptable traffic operations at the area intersections recognizing that some level of congestion is inevitable during the largest events due to the concentration of traffic activity to a confined and short‐lived period of time.



Analyses have been undertaken at the Innova Business Park site to establish, at a high level, the length of time it may take patrons to exit the Event Centre, walk to their car and then leave the site and reach the surrounding area arterial street network for major / capacity events. There are two components to this total travel time. The first is the time it takes a patron or group to walk from the Event Centre to their vehicle. The second is the time it takes for that car to travel through the parking lot and exit the property. Walk Component The average walk time is, for the largest events, in the order of 5 minutes based upon the distribution of parking for the largest event and taking into account that some vehicles will be parked closer to the entrance and others farther away. Drive Component The average time it takes a car to leave the parking areas is variable but is largely governed by the exit capacity available on the Central Avenue and other connections (i.e. driveways onto Golf Links Road and Harbour Expressway) from Innova Business Park onto the surrounding street / highway system and the time it takes for these portal intersections / accesses to process the exiting volumes (i.e. 1,500 cars within the hour following the end of the event for capacity events). Based upon the above, it is estimated that the average vehicular exit travel time will be in the order of 10 minutes for the majority of patrons heading across Thunder Bay using the Thunder Bay Expressway, the Harbour Expressway, Oliver Road and Golf Links Road recognizing that some motorists who are able to exit quickly following an event will experience a significantly shorter exit time while others, who get caught in the main exit crowd, will experience times that may be greater than this. Combined Exit Time Given the above, the combined exit time for motorists leaving the Innova Business Park Event Centre site will be approximately ± 15 to 16 minutes. This is illustrated on Figure 34 and is reflective of a relatively constrained egress condition for the largest events that may occur at an Event Centre located at the Innova Business Park site given the reliance and concentration of traffic on Central Avenue towards Golf Links Road and Thunder Bay Expressway.

Figure 34 – Innova Site – Exit Time


6.0 AN ESTIMATE OF PROBABLE PROJECT COSTS

6.1 General Comments

The overall Project Cost was developed in consultation with EllisDon Construction Ltd. and Tom Jones Corp. Both firms have a history of working together, most notably on the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre project. EllisDon is one of Canada’s most experienced firms in constructing mid‐size spectator facilities and, working with Tom Jones Corp. is able to fine tune the pricing to reflect the unique situation in Northern Ontario. The development of a Project Cost is complicated when the start of construction is undetermined. For the purposes of this report the estimate of Project Cost for this Feasibility Study assumes that: The delivery process will be Design/Build where the construction can start prior to be completion of the architectural

and engineering drawings, Design of the Event Centre will start in 2013 with pre‐construction (site preparation, demolition) starting in 2014, The project will open in 2016. Escalation of 3% should be added for each year the opening date is delayed.

The actual start of construction will be determined by project funding availability and future approvals by City Council.

The estimate of Project Costs is based on conceptual drawings and includes the following: An estimate of construction cost based on unit (square footage and per seat) costs. A design contingency of 5% has been added to the construction cost recognizing the conceptual nature of the

drawings. A further construction contingency of 5% has been added based on site/construction unknowns. These are identified in the costing spreadsheet as a single 10% contingency.

An allowance of $3,000,000 has been identified for FF&E (fixtures, fittings and equipment). The largest single component in the FF&E budget is $1,000,000 for a scoreboard.

An allowance of $800,000 for public art, approximately 1% of the total project cost and consistent with the City’s public art policy.

Both the Downtown/Waterfront and Innova Business Park sites have features that add significantly to the cost of the overall development. Specifically: Innova Business Park The business park was designed for light industrial use. All roads within the site will need to be upgraded and

widened. Access to the site is, in spite of its adjacency to Thunder Bay Expressway, Harbour Expressway, and Golf Links Road,

restricted. New access points will need to be added and existing ones upgraded. The preferred location for the Event Centre conflicts with an existing buried storm sewer trunk line easement and this

will need to be relocated or adjusted. The site has varying levels of muskeg and for the very large parking area this will need to be removed to a depth of

one meter, with new fill brought in. The development of a large parking area will require upgrading to storm water retention along with significantly

improved on‐site lighting. The geotechnical characteristics of the site will require that the building and the floor slab areas be piled. The Innova

Park concept design is appropriate for a large flat site but its overall footprint size adds to the extent of piling required.

Downtown/Waterfront The downtown site has a layer of bedrock generally running 4 – 7 feet below the surface. This will require expensive

excavation although there will be some reduction in foundation costs. The Consulting Team is recommending that additional parking be constructed. One option being priced is for a level of

parking under the building. This will provide 350 stalls but will require excavation of the bedrock for virtually all of the parking level. This option was illustrated in Open House #2 held on April 11th.

As an alternate to developing parking under the building, the Consulting Team is proposing a stand‐alone 200 stall parking structure on land immediately adjacent to the Event Centre.

The existing Camelot Street Hydro Substation will need to be decommissioned. While this is being planned for over the longer term by Thunder Bay Hydro, the development of the site for the Event Centre will require the work to be completed earlier, and this will result in addition costs to Thunder Bay Hydro. The full cost for the removal of the substation has not been included in the estimate although the increased cost for advancing the decommissioning date has. A contingency of $2,000,000 has been provided to specifically cover costs associated with rescheduling of the substation replacement.

The current transit terminal on Water Street will need to be relocated although recent discussions with Transit confirm that a station similar to the one in front of City Hall is an acceptable alternate. This will be incorporated into the Cumberland side of the Event Centre and priced as part of the project.

The pedestrian extension of Van Norman Street east from Cumberland Street will be priced to Water Street as part of the base building. The extension beyond Water Street has been included as a separate line item in the costing spreadsheet. Demolition of the existing pedestrian bridge has also been included in the cost of the new Van Norman Pedestrian Extension.


6.2 Innova Business Park Pricing The following is an outline of the main pricing components of the Innova Business Park pricing: Upgrading of roads and intersections outside of the Innova Business Park property $964,000 Upgrading/widening of public roads within the business park including Central Avenue, Premier Way and Innovation Drive

$4,175,000

Site infrastructure upgrades and modifications $3,150,000 On‐site at‐grade parking and access from Innovation Drive $10,000,000 Landscaping including sidewalks $750,000 Special foundation work including piling $3,419,000 New Event Centre based

$74,915,000

Sub Total as a Design/Build cost where architectural and engineering fees are included $93,373,000Design/Construction contingency of 10% $9,337,000 Fixtures, fittings and equipment allowance including scoreboard $3,000,000 Public art allowance $800,000 TOTAL PROJECT COST $106,510,000

6.3 Downtown/Waterfront Pricing The following is an outline of the main pricing components of the Downtown/Waterfront pricing. The design presented at the second Open House indicated a parking level under the building. The extent of bedrock on site makes this option extremely expensive and as a result, the Consulting Team is also providing a cost allowance for a new 200‐stall parking structure in close proximity to the site. The decommissioning of the Camelot Street Substation will be a future negotiation between the City and TBay Hydro. The removal cost of the substation is outside of the construction cost estimate and as a result, does not have a design/construction contingency. The conceptual phase of the design has resulted in a range for the infrastructure pricing. Cost with 200‐stall

parking structureRECOMMENDED

Cost with underground parking

NOT RECOMMENDED Demolition of existing buildings on site with the exception of the Camelot Street Hydro Substation

$100,000 $100,000

Demolition of existing buildings off site for the parking structure $200,000 Acquisition of land for the parking structure plus demolition $370,000 Blasting / removal of bedrock $6,000,000 Blasting / removal of additional bedrock / underground parking $28,003,000 New Event Centre based on a design/build delivery where architectural and engineering fees are included in the pricing

$70,592,000 $70,592,000

Site infrastructure upgrades and modifications $1,980,500 $1,980,500 Landscaping including plazas and sidewalks $250,000 $250,000 Pedestrian bridge over Water Street $3,250,000 $3,250,000 Stand‐alone 200‐stall parking structure $6,000,000 Sub Total $88,742,500 $104,175,500Design/Construction contingency of 10% $8,874,500 $10,417,500 Fixtures, fittings and equipment allowance including scoreboard $3,000,000 $3,000,000 Public art allowance $800,000 $800,000 Allowance for advancing existing schedule to relocate Camelot Street Hydro Substation and underground services

$2,000,000 $2,000,000

TOTAL PROJECT COST $103,417,000 $120,393,000


The development of the Project Costs for both sites has been significantly impacted by the nature of those sites. For example:

Innova Business Park The cost of the actual building at $74,334,000 is more costly than the average event centre because of the bearing strength of

the site. An allowance of $3,419,000 has been provided for placing the foundation on piles. The overall cost of parking at the site is costly for two reasons. The first is because of the need to accommodate a relatively

large number of cars since almost all spectators will be driving or driven to the site. The second is because this large parking area needs to be constructed on a site that will require removal of the muskeg and replacement with roughly 1m of new fill.

There is a storm sewer trunk line running under the building which will need to be relocated. There is significant infrastructure upgrading associated with this site including major upgrading of the road system within Innova Business Park as well as exits to adjoining roadways and expressways. Total infrastructure improvements and modifications are estimated in excess of $9 million plus contingencies.

Downtown/Waterfront As with the Innova Business Park design the actual building at $76,592,000 is more costly than the average centre because of

site conditions. In this case though there is a layer of bedrock roughly 6 feet below the surface. The pricing has assumed blasting and removal of an average of 10 feet of this material at a cost of $6,000,000 plus contingencies.

The Consulting Team has recommended from the beginning of the project, provision for additional parking on or near the site. Pricing for both an underground parking level and a stand‐alone 200‐stall parking structure have been developed. The Consulting Team is suggesting a stand‐alone parking structure due to the expense of excavating additional bedrock. A cost of $6,570,000 has been allotted for a new two‐level 200‐stall basic parking structure.

An allowance of $2,000,000 has been made for advancing the decommissioning and removal by Thunder Bay Hydro of the Camelot Street Substation.

6.4 Moving Forward on Pricing This Phase 2 Feasibility Study report provides an estimate of probable costs based on the development of conceptual building designs for the Innova Business Park and Downtown/Waterfront. The pricing is important in illustrating that the two sites most favoured by the community have additional costs associated with them. This applies to all of the original sites being considered by Council. Issues of bedrock, poor soils, and high water tables are part of the reality of Thunder Bay. Looking for an alternate site that does not have these issues is in all likelihood one that would offer very little positive economic benefit. Moving forward is about bringing a greater level of firmness to both the design and the pricing. Phase 2 has been about evaluating three different sites from a variety of perspectives and ultimately identifying the Downtown/Waterfront site as the preferred location. This needs to be followed by a Phase 3 Detailed Design/Pricing Report that would: More accurately determine the infrastructure improvements for the site, Determine through additional testing the exact location of bedrock, Develop in more detail the overall configuration and design of the building, Develop more detail in terms of an adjacent parking structure, Bring a higher level of cost estimating to the project based on more detailed design drawings. The Phase 3 Detailed Design/Pricing Report would include the following consultants: The architectural, traffic/parking, infrastructure, and environmental team involved in Phase 2. This would maintain

continuity and provide the most efficient means of developing a higher level of detail. A structural engineering firm with experience in both long span structures and the unique requirements of event

centres. Main structural focus areas include the roof structure, foundation/excavation, and integrated floor levels. A mechanical engineering firm with experience in designing air‐handling systems for large performance‐oriented

spaces. An electrical engineering firm with a background in event centres specifically for show power, trade show, and

electronics/communication. A costing consultant. This can be either a quantity surveyor or a construction estimator. It is critical that the City have an accurate assessment of the overall project costs when applying for provincial and federal funding. An investment in a well‐developed Phase 3 detailed design and pricing effort will provide the level of comfort the City needs if it decides to move forward with this project.


7 OPERATIONAL ASSESSMENT 7.1 Introduction

Background The City of Thunder Bay is considering the development of a new Events Centre, a facility that will consist of a Spectator Arena with approximately 5,700 fixed seats, and a conference / meeting facility containing approximately 50,000 square feet of gross floor area (comprising a banquet room, meeting rooms, circulation space and lobbies).

7.1.1 Facility Components

For the purpose of assessing the operational implications of the Event Centre, PwC has assumed that the facility will contain the following elements:

Spectator Arena 5,700 fixed seats;

The main tenant of the facility will either be Lakehead University (“LU”) and Lakehead University Hockey (“LUH”) who will program an assumed 20 events into the facility per year (Scenario A), or a potential American Hockey League (“AHL”) or Ontario Hockey League (“OHL”) hockey franchise that will play approximately 41 games per year in the arena (Scenario B);

With LU/LUH as the main tenant, a total of 12 luxury suites are assumed, while with an AHL / OHL franchise serving as the building’s lead tenant, a total of 24 luxury suites (included in the Estimate of Probable Project Costs in Section 6.0);

The facility will contain approximately 750 “Club Seats” (i.e., a special seating section containing wider seats with priority access to “club areas”, including restaurants, merchandise areas and lounges as well as priority access to event tickets); and

The facility will contain an approximate 5,000 square foot restaurant with both street and arena concourse access.

Conference Component

Approximately 50,000 square feet of gross floor area with direct access onto the arena floor;

A banquet room of approximately 12,000 square feet (sub‐divisible into smaller spaces);

Meetings rooms of approximately 13,000 square feet (also sub‐divisible into smaller spaces);

Circulation space of approximately 13,000 square feet, space which can also be functionally used as conference and exhibition space; and

Back‐of‐house space of 12,000 square feet (including administrative space, support spaces, kitchens, storage, back of house, circulation, etc.).

7.2 Operating Assumptions – Spectator Arena

Base Assumptions In assessing how the 5,700‐seat Spectator Arena component of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre could potentially operate, PwC developed a multi‐year proforma cash flow model to depict the potential operations of this facility. In producing this model, PwC had regard to the design and amenity features proposed to be included within this building component by CEI Architecture, as well as make assumptions regarding how the facility would be programmed to accommodate lead tenants, recreational ice users as well as concerts, family shows and other special events and building rentals. In deriving the multi‐year proforma cash flow model, PwC benchmarked actual operations of comparable facilities, and identified a range of estimates and assumptions for facility use, revenue and operating expenditures that are concluded to be appropriate for the Thunder Bay market. As such, projected facility operations are considered to be at the lower end of a supportable range of facility use, revenue and operating expenses, which we believe could be bettered by effective management, marketing and facility positioning. Building Size For the purpose of this assessment, we have assumed that the Spectator Arena would have a total capacity of 5,700 fixed seats. In addition, it is assumed that the Spectator Arena would contain many of the amenities and other “revenue generating features” common to new / recently built facilities including private suites, club‐seat areas, in‐house restaurants, enhanced concessions / food and beverage operations, etc. In addition, it is also assumed that the facility would be able to sell naming rights as well as secure other venue “sponsorships” (including “pouring rights” and other similar‐type sponsorships). For the purpose of this assessment, it has been assumed that all revenues attributable to these features would accrue to the benefit of the building (as opposed to the benefit of the lead tenant, whether LU / LUH or a potential AHL / OHL team), similar to the arrangements structured at most other newly developed arenas. In reviewing and estimating the Spectator Arena’s development and operating economics, we identified a number of base assumptions and hypotheses. Such assumptions deal with a hypothetical calendar of events, and certain revenue and operating expense assumptions. Such assumptions and hypotheses are discussed below. Inflation All dollar measures are in current Canadian dollars, with an allowance for general expense inflation of 3.0% per annum, and an allowance for utilities expense inflation of 4.0% per annum. Facility revenue is projected to grow 3.0% per annum.

Calendar of Events The calendar of events, event days and attendance levels for the Spectator Arena component of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre, for an average year of Facility operations is summarized in Figure 1, following. Per discussions with Lakehead University Hockey, LUH indicated a willingness for LU and LUH to program up to 40 dates per year in the Spectator Arena, an amount which would be similar to the number of dates programmed by an AHL or OHL team.


Including these potential dates programmed by LU / LUH or by an AHL / OHL team, some 92 (Scenario A) to 93 (Scenario B) event days, covering 82 to 83 separate events are assumed:

40 LU / LUH programmed events or 41 AHL / OHL hockey games (including an assumed two pre‐season and an average of 39 regular / playoff games per season);

eight concerts; eight family shows; ten other sporting events; five other entertainment events; and five multi‐day trade and consumer shows and six other rentals.

Figure 1 ‐ Thunder Bay Event Centre – Spectator Arena Calendar of Events

Note: 1. LU / LUH programming assumed to include 20 Lakehead University Hockey home games per season, as well as 20 single day rentals for Lakehead

University varsity sport spectator events (including basketball, volleyball, etc.)., and other rentals (for convocations, meetings, assemblies, etc.). Attendance figures are only for LUH games.

Source: PwC

In addition, it is assumed that the Spectator Arena would be available for use by minor and youth organizations on a regular basis throughout the winter season (approximately September 1 through April 30), including minor hockey (boys and girls), adult hockey, the Thunder Bay North Stars, etc. It is also assumed that the ice would be removed between May 1 and July 31, during which time the Spectator Arena could be utilized for a broad range of floor events. During August, it is presumed that the ice would be reinstalled and that the Spectator Arena would be used for various hockey camps, training camps and other ice uses.

Lead Tenant It is assumed that LU / LUH or a potential AHL / OHL team will serve as the main tenant in the building. Per our discussions with LUH officials, we have assumed that LUH and LU would program a total of 40 events in the facility, attracting an average of 2,750 fans to approximately 20 LUH home games (the remaining 20 event days would be single day rentals for other LU varsity sports teams like basketball and volleyball, and other rentals including convocations, meetings, assemblies, etc.). In Scenario B, we have assumed that a potential AHL / OHL team would play a total of 41 home games (two exhibition games and 39 regular season and / or playoff games) and attract an average of 4,500 fans per game. It is worth noting that while the OHL plays a 36 game home schedule while the AHL plays a 41 game home schedule; for the purpose of this assessment, we have assumed the average of these two home schedules, or 39 games (excluding exhibition games).

It has been further assumed that any lead tenant would pay a percentage of their gross ticket revenue for the right to utilize the facility. In addition, the Lead Tenant would be entitled to receive a share of the net revenue generated from concessions (including private suite catering) during its home games, as well as a proportion of advertising revenues (excluding revenue from building sponsorships). Assuming allowances for complimentary tickets and average realizable ticket prices, it is estimated that LU / LUH would pay some $62,700 per year in rent from LUH games and a further $100,000 from 20 single day event rentals (at a flat rate of $5,000 per day), while an AHL / OHL team would pay some $258,400 per year in rent.

Concerts Similar to other 5,000+‐seat venues in Ontario which have been built since approximately 1998, it is envisioned that the Spectator Arena would be successful in securing some concert dates per year. Thunder Bay is assumed to be similar to sports and entertainment venues located in markets like Sault Ste. Marie and Kingston, wherein there exists a relative absence of competing venues and markets and in the immediate area (as opposed to markets like Oshawa, Brampton, Mississauga, Barrie and Windsor which are thought to be negatively impacted by competing venues located in larger markets like Toronto and Detroit).

While assuming that the Spectator Arena would be able to secure events, it should be noted, however, that the market for live entertainment is ever changing and during some periods of time, there may be a larger number of touring acts / events which would play within a 6,000‐capacity venue (assuming floor seating); as such the number of concerts which the Spectator Arena could attract will fluctuate, perhaps materially, from year to year.

We have assumed that the Spectator Arena would annually attract eight concerts, with these shows attracting some 5,500 fans per event, on average (including floor seats). The Spectator Arena would be paid a combination of a percentage of ticket revenue plus a sharing in merchandise sales; for the purpose of this assessment, it is assumed that building rent would be based of a percentage of ticket revenue, or some $156,800 per year.

Acts that have recently played in mid‐sized venues include:

Justin Bieber Carrie Underwood Celtic Thunder Sugarland American Idol Live KISS Hedley Blue Rodeo Barenaked Ladies Great Big Sea Sarah Brightman Michael Buble Elton John Bryan Adams Jeff Dunham

Family Shows Similar to concerts, it is presumed that the Spectator Arena would be successful in securing a number of family shows, including circuses, “Dora”, the “Wiggles”, “Lord of the Dance”, “So You Think You Can Dance”, “Disney Playhouse”, Cirque du Soleil, etc. We have assumed that eight such events would be held annually, with the arena paid a combination of a percentage of ticket revenue plus a sharing in merchandise sales; for the purpose of this assessment, it is assumed that building rent would be based of a percentage of ticket revenue, or some $39,900 per year.

Other Sporting Events It has similarly been assumed that the Spectator Arena would be successful in securing a number of non‐LU / LUH or non‐AHL / OHL sporting events, including NHL exhibition games, “OHL Top Prospects Games”, exhibition games by Canada’s various National hockey teams (whether men’s, women’s, etc.), curling events (provincial championships or professional bonspiels), professional and amateur figure skating, exhibition basketball (including Harlem Globetrotters), lacrosse, etc. We have assumed that ten such events would be held annually, with the arena paid a combination of a percentage of ticket revenue plus a sharing in merchandise sales; for the purpose of this assessment, it is assumed that building rent would be based of a percentage of ticket revenue, or some $85,500 per year.

Other Entertainment Finally, it has been assumed that the Spectator Arena would be successful in securing a number of other entertainment events, including “WWE Wrestling”, MMA, “SuperDogs”, monster trucks, motocross, rodeos, etc. We have assumed that five such events would be held annually, with the arena paid a combination of a percentage of ticket revenue plus a sharing in merchandise sales; for the purpose of this assessment, it is assumed that building rent would be based of a percentage of ticket revenue, or some $23,800 per year.

LU / LUH1 AHL / OHL LU / LUH1 AHL / OHL LU / LUH1 AHL / OHL LU / LUH1 AHL / OHL

Lead Tenant 40 41 2,750 4,500 55,000 182,500 24.1% 78.1%Concerts 8 8 5,500 5,500 44,000 44,000 96.5% 96.5%Family Shows 8 8 3,500 3,500 28,000 28,000 61.4% 61.4%Other Sports 10 10 4,500 4,500 45,000 45,000 78.9% 78.9%Other Entertainment 5 5 4,000 4,000 20,000 20,000 70.2% 70.2%Trade & Consumer Shows / Day Rentals 21 21 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a

TOTALS 92 93 2,700 4,440 192,000 319,500

Event Days Average Attendance Annual Attendance % of Capacity


Trade & Consumer sShows / Single Day Facility Rentals Lastly, it has been assumed that the Spectator Arena would be made available for multi‐day rentals, including rentals for trade and consumer shows, for community events, religious and cultural gatherings, for corporate fundraisers, film shoots, etc., both in conjunction with the adjoining conference centre, as well as independently of it We have assumed that five, three‐day trade and consumer shows (home & garden shows, bridal shows, outdoor shows, mining expositions, First Nations festivals, etc.) could be brought into the facility, and that there would be six single day events programmed into the arena (including college / university commencement ceremonies, job fairs, religious gatherings, etc). For the purpose of this assessment, it is assumed that building rent would be based on a flat fee and generate some $120,000 per year.

Event Summary Figure 2, following, summarizes the projected event calendar for the Spectator Arena component of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre against select other OHL venues. Based on the foregoing, it is estimated that a new 5,700‐seat facility could potentially attract between 92 and 93 events / event days annually, depending on whether the facility’s lead tenant is LU / LUH or an AHL / OHL hockey team. Total revenue from facility events is estimated to range from almost $588,700 (Scenario A) to $684,400 annually.

Figure 2 Thunder Bay Event Centre – Comparison of Spectator Arena Calendar of Events against Comparable Facilities

Notes:

1. K-Rock Centre event information is for the 12-month period ended December, 31, 2010. In 2011, the K-Rock Centre reported 126 total events, including 40 Kingston Frontenac games and 86 other events (concerts, family shows, trade and consumer shows, etc., and community rentals).

2. Essar Centre event information is for the 12-month period ended December 31, 2009 and 2010. 3. GM Centre event information is for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2009. In 2010, the GM Centre reported 81 total events with total

attendance of more than 226,000 people. 4. WFCU Centre event information is for the period March 2009 through January 2010.

Source: PwC, City of Windsor, City of Kingston, City of Sault Ste. Marie, City of Oshawa, Global Spectrum, SMG.

7.2.1 Other revenue

Concessions / Food & Beverage Revenues from food and beverage operations, including concessions and suite catering, are expected to flow from the sale of food, beverage and other goods at Spectator Arena events. Concession revenues are dependent upon the total number of visitors to the facility over the course of an operating year. Major facility tenants are assumed to share in this lucrative revenue source, and in this regard, we have assumed a 50 / 50 split of net revenues between the Arena and LU / LUH or the Arena and an AHL / OHL team during their events; the facility is assumed to retain 100% of net concession revenue generated from all other events.

Concession revenues are based on “per cap” spending of $5.00 for general admission, $10.00 for club seat holders, and $20.00 for private suites guests. On an overall basis, per cap spending is projected to average $5.30 to $5.50. All “per caps” are gross spending amounts; at other new OHL facilities we understand these to range upwards to $8.00 per person. Based on comparable facilities, we have estimated a 75% cost of sales ratio to account for concession operating costs (including salaries) and food and beverage purchases. Costs associated with suite hosts / hostesses are carried as part of the operating expenses of this facility.

Under Scenario A, some $220,200 in net income is projected for the Arena, with an additional $34,400 accruing to the benefit of LU / LUH; under Scenario B, $318,100 in net income is projected for the Arena, with an additional $113,100 accruing to the benefit of an AHL / OHL team.

Merchandise Revenue In addition to food and beverage sales, it is also assumed that the Spectator Arena would benefit from the sale of merchandise during events and AHL / OHL games and concerts and other events (no merchandise revenue is assumed be generated for the facility during LU / LUH programmed events). Based on industry average per caps of $2.50 during AHL / OHL games and higher amounts at concerts and other special events, some $34,300 (Scenario A, from concerts and other non‐LU / LUH events)) to $57,100 (Scenario B) could be generated for the facility (no income from the sale of merchandise at LU / LUH events has been assumed).

Suites License Revenue The proposed Spectator Arena is assumed to include 12 private suites under Scenario A and 24 suites under Scenario B. In each scenario, three “founders suites” are assumed to be included within this total and provided to the facility operator, to the Spectator Arena’s naming right’s holder, and to the lead tenant at no cost. The remaining suites are projected to generate substantial revenue through their yearly rental. Their annual license fee and projected take‐up will be directly dependent upon the number of events that take place in the Facility.

We have assumed an average annual per suite rental rate of $10,000 under Scenario and $12,500 under Scenario B (with the difference in cost directly related to the number and type of anticipated dates being programmed by each lead tenant). Prices quoted herein represent suite license fees only, and thus exclude ticket prices. Based on industry standards, it is estimated that 80% of these suites could be leased. Based on the pricing information of comparable suites in similar type venues, it is estimated that revenue from suite licensing from could range from some $59,500 (Scenario A) to $180,600 (Scenario B) annually.

Club Seats License Revenue Club seats are reserved seating areas within a spectator arena, generally providing the spectator with greater proximity and better sight lines to the playing surface, a location straddling / near centre ice or alternatively in an end zone over‐looking the visitor’s net, admission into a restricted access lounge, in‐seat food and beverage service and a higher quality seat. Revenues represent the fees captured to allow the purchaser to secure access to these seats to any event staged at the facility.

We have forecast a price of $200 per club seat, with this fee representing the seat license fee only, and thus excludes ticket prices. Based on our analysis, it is estimated that approximately 125 (Scenario A) to 200 (Scenario B) seats could potentially be occupied at these prices, yielding some $21,300 (Scenario A) to $39,800 annually to the Facility.

Advertising Advertising revenue will flow from the sale of signage in the concourses, on scoreboards, fascia or other locations inside and outside the facility. Advertising revenue will also vary depending on the arrangements made with the spectator arena’s various tenants. We have estimated a number of streams of advertising revenue including in‐stadium advertising, concourse advertising, main scoreboard, etc.

In‐stadium advertising includes both back‐lits and electronic positions located on balconies and other exposed walls within the arena’s seating area. Scoreboard advertising relates to revenue generated from various advertisements placed around the arena’s scoreboard(s) and on its digital displays. Dasherboard and on‐ice logos represent advertisements placed on the rink boards and on various locations within the ice surface. Finally concourse advertising relates to the various signage positions within the arena’s concourses, including entrances into the seating area (including posters, back‐lits and scrolling signage).

In total, we have estimated advertising to total almost $110,000 (Scenario A) to almost $300,000 per year, with this income subject to a “cost of sale” (equal to 15%) and sharing with the lead tenant (generally, advertising able to be seen

WFCU Centre

2010 2011 2009 2010 2009 2010 Windsor4LU / LUH AHL / OHL

Lead Tenant 37 40 38 34 20 n/a 47 40 41Concerts 19 n/a 9 7 1 n/a 4 8 8Family Shows 14 n/a 3 4 8 n/a 3 8 8Other Sports 5 n/a 2 12 10 n/a 2 10 10Other Entertainment 9 n/a 14 16 14 n/a 5 5 5Trade & Consumer Shows 21 n/a 13 25 n/a n/a 0 21 21

Total 105 126 79 98 53 81 61 92 93

Thunder Bay Events CentreK‐Rock Centre Kingston1 Essar Centre, SSM2 GM Centre, Oshawa3


by spectators while sitting in their seats accrues mostly to the benefit of the team, while advertising in other areas of the arena are shared). In total, net advertising revenue to the Arena is estimate to range between $42,200 (Scenario A) and $96,600 (Scenario B) per year.

Naming rights and Other Sponsorships Naming Rights are the right to name a piece of property, either tangible property or an event, usually granted in exchange for financial considerations. Institutions like schools, places of worship and hospitals have a tradition of granting donors the right to name facilities in exchange for such financial contributions. Securing the naming rights for arenas, stadia, theatres, and other public gathering places is seen by companies as a form of advertising and naming rights deals worth millions of dollars have been made.

Companies / sectors which have traditionally sponsored sports facilities (including financial services, automotive, transportation, technology, energy and beer companies) are currently undergoing fundamental change which has forced them to reduce their marketing budgets. Compounding this are current economic concerns which have included a volatile stock market, major currency fluctuations, challenges within Ontario’s manufacturing and auto sectors, the Canadian and U.S. economic slowdown / recession, etc. According to Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal, “the naming rights market tumbled well before the economic slowdown in the U.S.”. For those facilities which are currently seeking to attract naming sponsors, these sources further indicate that marketing representatives continue to meet with interested companies; however, the sales cycle is considerably longer and values will be tied more directly to “return on investment”.

Previously “branding” used to be the prime motivation (i.e., being associated with the building, the facility’s tenants, etc.); increasingly, corporations are looking at the strategic value of being associated with a building / team and with a particular geographic area, and how that relationship can help further the overall corporate direction of the company, particularly with respect to growing its business.

Generally, the value which an entity will attach to a venue will be dependent upon two principal factors:

the philanthropic / sense of belonging / linkage to the local community which the naming sponsor / benefactor has to the local area, community, facility etc.; and

the marketing / strategic value of the facility to the entity’s business.

Valuing naming rights associated with the latter are relatively straightforward, and will generally be a function of the “number of eyes” and “number of ears” who see / hear the name of the entity which sponsored the facility. As such, the greater the number of times a venue is likely to be referenced, the higher the calibre of sport team(s) that plays within a building, and the larger the market those teams play within, the greater will be the value of that sponsorship. Alternatively, the former is more difficult to value, given that it plays on the emotional sensitivity and philanthropic attachment of individuals to the area.

Figure 3, following, summarizes the total and annual naming right values of various Canadian sports stadiums and arenas.

It should be noted that in certain instances, the values quoted include sponsorships of various properties, not solely the stadium. For example, the Bank of Montreal’s sponsorship of BMO Field includes the stadium itself along with the logoing of the lead tenant’s jersey, and certain other properties including the Air Canada Centre, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors. As such, the $24.0 million sponsorship figure needs to be interpreted with caution (the allocation of this sponsorship to the building is $10.0 million, or $1.0 million per year).

Of interest are the following: With the exception of the John Labatt Centre, most OHL arenas have sold naming rights for approximately $1.5

million to $2.0 million; In most instances, naming rights are paid in equal annual installments; and Apart from major facilities housing preeminent professional teams, most facilities in Canada generate annual

proceeds from naming rights of less than $500,000 per year.

Figure 3 ‐ Value of Naming Rights at Various Canadian Hockey League Arenas and other Stadia

Notes: 1. Total sponsorship provided by BMO is estimated at $24.0 million with this amount allocated to the Team, the Team's jerseys, the stadium and other related properties. The assumed figure for the stadium is $10.0 million.

2. Figures are a combination of Canadian and US dollars (most CHL arenas are listed in Canadian dollars)

Source: Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal, PwC.

Figure 4, following, identifies trends in the annual value of naming rights since approximately 1998, and shows that, on average, current naming rights in Canada for mid‐sized venues could approximate some $150,000 to $200,000 per year (or $1.5 million to $2.0 million over a 10 year term).

Based on our review, we project that naming rights for the Spectator Arena component of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre could approximate the industry average of between $1.5 million (Scenario A) to $2.0 million (Scenario B) for a 10‐year term, and payable in equal annual installments (i.e., $150,000 to $200,000 per year).

BUILDING NAME CITY NAMING RIGHTS SOLD TO PRICE TERMAVG. ANNUAL

VALUETENANT(S) Expiration

Canadian Hockey League Arenas

John Labatt Centre London Labatt Breweries $3,500,000 10 $350,000 London Knights 2012Hershey Centre Mississauga Hershey Food Corp $1,900,000 10 $190,000 St. Michael's Majors 2007WFCU Centre Windsor Windsor Family Credit Union $1,750,000 10 $175,000 Windsor Spitfires 2018K‐Rock Centre Kingston K‐Rock FM $1,700,000 10 $170,000 Kingston Frontenacs 2017General Motors Centre Oshawa General Motors of Canada $1,650,000 10 $165,000 Oshawa Generals 2016Essar Centre Sault Ste. Marie Essar Steel Algoma Inc. $1,500,000 10 $150,000 Soo Greyhounds 2018Sleeman Centre Guelph Sleeman Breweries $1,100,000 13 $84,615 Guelph Storm 2020Powerade Centre Brampton Coca‐Cola Canada n/a 10 n/a Brampton Battalion 2015Urbandale Centre Ottawa Urbandale Construction n/a 1 n/a Ottawa 67's 2010Credit Union Centre Saskatoon Saskatoon Credit Union, et. al. $1,600,000 10 $160,000 Saskatoon Blades 2013Interior Savings Centre Kamloops Interior Savings $1,060,000 10 $106,000 Kamloops Blazers 2015Colisee Pepsi Quebec City PepsiCo. $985,545 10 $98,555 Quebec Ramparts 2009Mile One Stadium St. John's n/a $634,115 10 $63,412 former St. John's Fog Devils 2010Enmax Centrum Red Deer Enmax Corp. n/a 6 n/a Red Deer Rebels 2008Prospera Place Chilliwack Prospera n/a 10 n/a Chilliwack Chiefs 2014

American Hockey League / Other Minor League Hockey Arenas

MTS Centre Winnipeg Manitoba Telecom Services $5,900,000 10 $590,000 Manitoba Moose 2015Ricoh Coliseum Toronto Ricoh Corporation $4,800,000 10 $480,000 Toronto Marlies 2013Save‐on‐Foods Memorial Centre Victoria Save‐on‐Foods $1,000,000 10 $100,000 Victoria Salmon Kings 2014

National Hockey League Arenas

Bell Centre Montreal BCE Inc. $63,940,000 20 $3,197,000 Montreal Canadiens 2023Air Canada Centre Toronto ACE Aviation Holdings Inc. $30,397,191 20 $1,519,860 Toronto Maple Leafs, 2019Pengrowth Saddledome Calgary Pengrowth Management Ltd. $20,000,000 20 $1,000,000 Calgary Flames, Calgary 2016Scotiabank Place Ottawa Scotiabank $17,562,821 20 $878,141 Ottawa Senators 2016General Motors Place Vancouver General Motors Corp. $16,887,328 20 $844,366 Vancouver Canucks 2015Rexall Place Edmonton Katz Group Inc. n/a 10 n/a Edmonton Oilers 2013

Other Professional Sport Stadiums

BMO Field Toronto Bank of Montreal $24,000,000 10 $2,400,000 Toronto Football Club 2016Rogers Centre Toronto Rogers Communications $18,000,000 10 $1,800,000 Toronto Blue Jays, Toronto 2014Saputo Stadium Montreal Saputo $7,000,000 n/a n/a USL Montreal Impact n/aMosaic Stadium at Taylor Field Regina The Mosaic Co. $3,567,000 10 $356,700 Saskatchewan Roughriders / 2015Canad Inns Stadium Winnipeg Canad Corp. of Manitoba $1,750,000 10 $175,000 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 2010Telus Field Edmonton Telus Corp. $1,200,000 10 $120,000 Edmonton Cracker Jacks 2009CanWest Global Park Winnipeg CanWest Global Communications $1,100,000 25 $44,000 Winnipeg Goldeyes 2023Rexall Centre Toronto Katz Group Canada n/a n/a n/a ATP Tennis Masters n/a


Figure 4 ‐ Naming Rights Value Trends for Mid‐Sized Canadian Arenas (excludes Budweiser Gardens transaction)

Source: Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal, PwC.

Other sponsorships include beverage and product exclusivity contracts, including “pouring rights’” for the facility. Pouring rights can be sold to soft drink, alcoholic beverage and bottled water companies. In addition, “platinum” sponsorships can also be sold, which such sponsors being able to affix their logo to various building components or otherwise become associated with the facility. Based on industry practices, such other sponsorships could provide an additional $100,000 (Scenario A) to $175,000 (Scenario B) to the Arena.

In each instance, a 15% cost of sale / commission has been assumed, yielding net proceeds to the Spectator Arena component of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre from the sale of naming rights and other sponsorships of between $212,500 (Scenario A) and $320,000 (Scenario B) per year.

Ticket Surcharge A ticket surcharge of $2.00, added to the price of each ticket, has been assumed. This revenue has been generated by many other comparable facilities, including the WFCU Centre in Windsor, and is generally collected to fund a capital reserve account to “preserve the long‐term maintenance and improvement of the arena”, in addition to helping support facility operations and annual debt repayment obligations. In calculating the amount of this surcharge, we have assumed that all event attendees (whether paid or having received complimentary tickets), would be assessed this levy. In total, between $384,000 (Scenario A) and $639,000 (Scenario B) is estimated to be collected.

Box Office Revenue Most facilities charge a “convenience fee” for ordering tickets. Based on comparable information, it is assumed that between $67,500 (Scenario A) and $87,000 (Scenario B) could be generated from this source.

Ice Rentals As noted above, it is assumed that the Arena would be available for use by minor and youth organizations on a semi‐regular basis throughout the winter season (approximately September 1 through April 30), including minor hockey (boys and girls), adult hockey, the Thunder Bay North Stars, etc. It is also assumed that the ice would be removed between May 1 and July 31, during which time the Arena could be utilized for a broad range of floor events. During August, it is presumed that the ice would be reinstalled and that the Arena would be used for various hockey camps, training camps and other ice uses.

Assuming ice utilization rates approximating 25% of available prime time hours (at $175 per hour) and 20% of available non‐prime time hours (at $125 per hour), some $99,500 in total ice rental revenue could be generated.

Location‐Dependent Revenue

Restaurant Revenue The Spectator Arena component of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre is envisioned to include a restaurant measuring approximately 5,000 square feet. Depending on the location ultimately chosen by the City for this facility, the restaurant could operate year‐round (as will be described in the section dealing with economic impact, it is probable that such a restaurant would be more viable if the Facility is located in the Downtown / Waterfront location than at the Innova Park location); in addition, the restaurant could also provide on‐site food preparation and catering to the Spectator Arena’s private suites, as well as meet the food and beverage / catering needs of the adjoining Conference Centre.

For the purpose of this assessment, it is assumed that a third party may be willing to lease the restaurant space, operating a full‐service restaurant out of this space, as well as serving as the food and beverage provider / caterer to the Spectator Arena’s private suites and adjoining conference centre. Rent is estimated to approximate $15.00 per square foot (plus percent rent which has not been included as part of this analysis), or $75,000 per year. The likelihood of such a third party leasing the restaurant space is assumed to be substantially greater if the Events Centre is developed at the Downtown / Waterfront location.

Parking Revenue As envisioned, a 200‐space parking structure is to be built in proximity to the Events Centre if the facility is located at the Downtown / Waterfront location, while a 2,000‐space surface parking area is to be provided surrounding the Events Centre if the facility is to be built in the Innova Business Park. Assuming parking revenue only from the Spectator Arena component of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre, gross revenue could range from approximately $96,500 (Scenario A) to $105,200 (Scenario B) at the 200‐space parking structure near the Downtown / Waterfront location, to between $204,800 (Scenario A) and $340,800 (Scenario B) for the surface lot at Innova Business Park. These estimates are based on the following assumptions:

Under Scenario A, some 50 parking spaces are assumed to be reserved for Events Centre management, suite holders and team officials, whereas under Scenario B, some 75 parking space are assumed to be reserved.

For the Downtown / Waterfront location, the remaining 125 (Scenario B) to 150 (Scenario A) parking spaces are assumed to be fully utilized at each anticipated event at an event flat rate of $5.00 per vehicle. During non‐event times, the parking structure is assumed to generate revenue at a rate approximately equal to that realized by the North Core Parkade.

For the Innova Business Park location, utilization of the remaining 1,925 (Scenario B) to 1,950 (Scenario A) parking spaces are assumed to be utilized based on projected attendance, an assumed 80% of attendees coming by private automobile and parking in the surface lot, with an average vehicle occupancy of 3.0 persons per car and an event flat rate of $5.00 per vehicle.

Finally, in both scenarios, a discount of 20% is factored in to account for potential variances.

The costs to operate each parking structure / lot have been estimated based on actual operating costs at comparable city facilities and are estimated to range between $100,000 (Downtown / Waterfront) to $250,000 (Innova Business Park) annually. In the case of the 200‐space structure near the Downtown / Waterfront site, its operating costs were based on the costs associated with operating the North Core Parkade and South Core Parkade and include allowances for salaries, benefits, building and equipment maintenance and repairs, hydro, insurance, inspections, snow clearing, security, taxes and capital allocations. In the case of the 2,000‐space surface lot at the Innova Business Park site, operating costs have similarly been based on the costs associated with operating surface parking lots in the city and include allowances for salaries, benefits, lot and equipment maintenance and repairs, hydro, insurance, inspections, snow clearing, security, landscaping, taxes and capital allocations.

$0

$50,000

$100,000

$150,000

$200,000

$250,000

$300,000

$350,000

$400,000

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

CHL Arenas Trend Forecast


In summary, the 200‐space lot next to the Downtown / Waterfront site is estimated to achieve almost breakeven operations, realizing a slight operating shortfall of $3,500 under Scenario B and a small operating surplus of $5,200 under Scenario A. In comparison, the 2,000‐space surface lot next to the Innova Business Park site is estimated to realize an operating shortfall of $45,200 (Scenario A) to an operating surplus of $90,800.

It should be noted, however, that the ability of the Innova Business Park parking lot to generate revenue outside of events staged at the Event Centre is assumed to be minimal, whereas the Downtown / Waterfront parking lot is likely able to generate additional revenue for other municipal lots in its vicinity. A discussion of such potential is included in the following section detailing the economic benefits of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre.

Figure 5 ‐ Thunder Bay Events Centre Spectator Arena – Estimate of Event Parking Revenue

Source: PwC

Gross Operating Revenue Based on the foregoing, the gross operating revenue for the 5,700‐seat Spectator Arena component of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre, excluding parking revenue, is estimated to range between $1.805 million (Scenario A) and $2.597 million (Scenario B). At this level of projected operating revenue, the Spectator Arena would appear to reasonably compare a number of other 5,000 to 6,500 seat venues recently built in Ontario.

Figure 6 ‐ Thunder Bay Event Centre Spectator Arena – Gross Operating Revenue1

Notes: 1. WFCU Centre financial information includes operating revenue from three community ice facilities. 2 Essar Centre financial information is for the 12-month period ended December 31, 2010. 3. K-Rock Centre financial information is for the 12-month period ended December 31, 2011 and compares

to 2010 gross income of $2.65 million. The Approved budget forecast for 2012 is $2.78 million. 4. GM Centre financial information is for the 12-month period ended December 31, 2011.

Source: PwC, City of Windsor, City Operating Expenses Expenses have been divided into the following categories for comparison with operating information from other facilities, including personnel costs, operations and maintenance, marketing, utilities, insurance, and other. Operating expense assumptions are primarily derived from operating pro‐forma estimates from comparable facilities. A portion of the venue’s operating costs associated with special events (including security and electrical and mechanical set‐up / tear‐down) are assumed to be reimbursed by the event sponsor.

Personnel Costs Personnel costs will be incurred in all aspects of arena operations including arena management, administration, facility operations, marketing and maintenance. With the exception of certain specific event costs, which are assumed to be charged back to the arena user or allocated as part of the “Operations, Maintenance and Repairs” budget, this category is inclusive of all personnel employed by the Spectator Arena.

A total staff compliment of some 30 to 40 individuals (comprising approximately 15 to 25 FTE’s) is assumed, with these individuals comprising the following positions:

General manager; Administrative assistant; Finance Manager; Marketing Coordinator; Marketing Assistant;

LU AHL / OHL LU AHL / OHL

Total Parking Spaces 200 200 2,000 2,000Reserved spaces 50 75 50 75Net available 150 125 1,950 1,925

Gross Parking Revenue $105,200 $96,500 $204,800 $340,800Operating Costs $100,000 $100,000 $250,000 $250,000Net Income $5,200 ($3,500) ($45,200) $90,800

Downtown / Waterfront Innova Business Park

LU / LUH AHL / OHL

FACILITY REVENUES

Lead tenant use 162,700$ 258,400$ Other events 426,000 426,000 Net concession revenue 220,200 318,100 Net merchandise revenue 34,300 57,100 Net advertising 42,200 96,600 Sponsorships 212,500 320,000 Suites license revenue 59,500 180,600 Club seat license revenue 21,300 39,800 Ticket surcharge 384,000 639,000 Box office revenue 67,500 87,000 Ice rental revenue 99,500 99,500 Restaurant lease 75,000 75,000

Total Revenues 1,804,700$ 2,597,100$

COMPARATIVE FACILITIESWFCU Centre, WindsorEssar Centre, Sault Ste. MarieK‐Rock Centre, KingstonGM Centre, Oshawa

$3,074,524$1,809,955$2,141,001$2,995,868


Event Services Manager; Director of Operations / Lead Hand; Facility Maintenance Crew; Facility Maintenance Crew / Event Operations support (part‐time); Box Office Manager; Customer Service Representatives / Booking Agents (part‐time); and Suite Hosts / Hostesses / Guest Services personnel (part‐time).

Based on the foregoing, total Spectator Arena personnel costs are estimated at between $940,000 (Scenario A) to $1.210 million (Scenario B) per year, including benefits. This compares to costs incurred at facilities like the K‐Rock Centre ($775,000 in 2009) and Essar Centre ($900,000 in 2010).

Utilities Utility Costs encompass all costs related to heating, electricity, gas, water / sewer, etc. These costs are primarily driven by the amount of enclosed space within the arena, facility usage, as well as the energy efficiency of the building. Utility costs will represent a significant annual operating expense given the need to light the arena during events, refrigerate the building and keep the ice at an acceptable temperature, and operate the scoreboard. Also, as utility prices continue to increase, this operating expense may become more significant in future years.

Based on the comparable facility benchmarks, we have estimated utility costs to range between $456,000 (Scenario A) and $570,000 per year. This estimate compares to current costs at the K‐Rock Centre (approximately $460,000 in 2009) and at the Essar Centre ($370,000 in 2010).

Operations, Maintenance and Repairs Operations, maintenance and repair costs include various materials, equipment and services needed for the daily operation and upkeep of the arena. Potential costs include supplies, equipment, plumbing and electrical services, security, etc. These costs will be primarily driven by building usage and visits, with supplies, equipment and various service contracts required to upkeep and run the arena representing the majority of these costs.

Based on our comparable facility benchmarks, we estimate building operations and maintenance to range between $262,500 (Scenario A) and $400,000 (Scenario B) per year.

Marketing The projected marketing budget is assumed to cover all costs associated with attracting events to the arena, and to secure advertising and other sources of revenue. We have allocated $150,000 to cover out‐of‐pocket marketing expenses including memberships, travel, advertising and promotions and other expenses related to marketing the arena and attracting events. Marketing salaries have been accounted for in the projection of Personnel Costs, above.

Insurance Insurance costs are allocated to cover building and liability insurance. A benchmark value for insurance was not easily determinable from operating statements of comparable facilities based on the fact that some of these arenas are generally included in the insurance coverage purchased by the municipality. For the purpose of this assessment, it is assumed that additional insurance costs could approximate $100,000 per year.

Other Miscellaneous Expenses The value for “Other Miscellaneous Expenses” of between $260,000 and $325,000 was deemed reasonable through comparisons with various other arenas. This expense category is a reserve for those expenses not accounted for elsewhere, as well as those unforeseen expenses that are inevitably incurred during the Facility’s operations. Sample miscellaneous costs include travel, training, staff uniforms (normally required twice yearly), office expenses, activity expenses, and box office expenses.

Event Costs While a number of event‐related costs can be passed back through to the user, a number are generally absorbed by and thus are the responsibility of the facility to fund. Based on a review of other facilities, an allowance of $150,000 has been assumed.

Capital Reserve A Capital Reserve allowance has been estimated, using practice adopted in other arena facilities, and is based on a yearly allocation of $200,000, and subject to annual inflation of 3%. A capital reserve represents a specific reserve set up to account for future capital improvements or repairs.

Management Fee Finally, a Management Fee of $150,000 is assumed. This management fee represents a fee paid to a professional facility management organization / company (rather than the facility being operated by the City) who would then be responsible for the day‐to‐day management, operations, programming and marketing of Facility. For greater clarity, this cost represents the fee paid to a third party management company for access to its company‐wide resources, knowledge and industry‐specific insights, best practices and contacts (it excludes direct salary and benefits, marketing and other costs which are direct operating charges to the facility and have been estimated above).

This fee compares to the $128,000 paid to the operators of the K‐Rock Centre in Kingston in 2009. In some cases, including Sault Ste. Marie and Guelph, the city operates the facility and thus such costs are not applicable. One consideration for the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre would be to enter into a partnership with the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium to operate and / or program the Events Centre, or alternatively, enter into a management contract to have a third party manage and / or program both facilities.

Gross Operating Expenses Based on the foregoing, gross operating expenses for the 5,700‐seat Spectator Arena component of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre are estimated to range between $2.669 million and $3.255 million (Figure 7, following). At this level of projected operating expense (projected to 2015), the proposed Spectator Facility compares with that incurred by both the K‐Rock Centre and Essar Centre; however it is projected to have lower operating expenses compared to Windsor (whose operations include expenses incurred in the operation of three community ice pads).


Figure 7 ‐ Thunder Bay Event Centre Spectator Arena –Operating Expenses

Notes: 1 WFCU Centre financial information includes operating revenue from three community ice facilities. 2. Essar Centre financial information is for the 12-month period ended December 31, 2010 and does not

pay management fees to a third party facility manager. 3. K-Rock Centre financial information is for the 12-month period ended December 31, 2011. Projected

costs for 2011 were estimated at more than $2.1 million; the shortfall is attributed by facility management as due to a lower number of events than originally projected.

4. GM Centre financial information is for the 12-month period ended December 31, 2010.


Summary of Operations Figures 8 (Scenario A) and 9 (Scenario B), following, provide a summary of the potential cash flows for a new 5,700‐seat Spectator Arena component of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre. As noted below, under Scenario A (where LU / LUH serves as the lead tenant), arena revenues, excluding parking, are projected to range from $1.805 million in Year 1, growing to $1.985 million by Year 5. Operating expenses under Scenario A, prior to capital reserves and management fees, are estimated at $2.319 million in Year 1, yielding a net operating loss of approximately $513,800. Including capital reserves and management fees, the Spectator Arena component of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre is projected to realize a net operating loss of approximately $863,800. Throughout the duration of the forecast period, the Spectator Arena is projected to realize an operating loss, increasing to a projected $1.079 million by Year 5.

Figure 8 ‐ Projected Operations ‐ Thunder Bay Event Centre Spectator Arena (Scenario A)

Source: PwC

Under Scenario B (where the lead tenant is an AHL or OHL team), arena revenues, excluding parking, are projected to range from $2.597 million in Year 1, growing to $2.846 million by Year 5. Operating expenses under Scenario B, prior to capital reserves and management fees, are estimated at $2.905 million in Year 1, yielding a net operating loss of approximately $307,900. Including capital reserves and management fees, the Spectator Arena component of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre is projected to realize a net operating loss of approximately $657,900. Throughout the duration of the forecast period, the Spectator Arena is projected to realize an operating loss, increasing to a projected $892,500 by Year 5.

LU / LUH AHL / OHL

FACILITY EXPENSES

Personnel costs 940,000$ 1,210,000$ Utilities 456,000 570,000 Operations, maintenance & repairs 262,500 400,000 Marketing 150,000 150,000 Insurance 100,000 100,000 Other miscellaneous expenses 260,000 325,000 Event costs 150,000 150,000 Capital reserve 200,000 200,000 Management fee 150,000 150,000

Total Expenses 2,668,500$ 3,255,000$

COMPARATIVE FACILITIESWFCU Centre, WindsorEssar Centre, Sault Ste. MarieK‐Rock Centre, KingstonGM Centre, Oshawa $3,529,016

$3,086,628$2,261,383$1,822,228

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

FACILITY REVENUES

Lead tenant use 162,700$ 167,600$ 172,600$ 177,800$ 183,100$ Other events 426,000 438,800 452,000 465,600 479,600 Net concession revenue 220,200 226,800 233,600 240,600 247,800 Net merchandise revenue 34,300 35,300 36,400 37,500 38,600 Net advertising 42,200 43,500 44,800 46,100 47,500 Sponsorships 212,500 212,500 212,500 212,500 212,500 Suites license revenue 59,500 59,500 59,500 59,500 59,500 Club seat license revenue 21,300 21,300 21,300 21,300 21,300 Ticket surcharge 384,000 395,500 407,400 419,600 432,200 Box office revenue 67,500 69,500 71,600 73,700 75,900 Ice rental revenue 99,500 102,500 105,600 108,800 112,100 Restaurant lease 75,000 75,000 75,000 75,000 75,000

Total Revenues 1,804,700$ 1,847,800$ 1,892,300$ 1,938,000$ 1,985,100$

FACILITY EXPENSES

Personnel costs 940,000$ 968,200$ 997,200$ 1,027,100$ 1,057,900$ Utilities 456,000 474,200 493,200 512,900 533,400 Operations, maintenance & repairs 262,500 273,000 283,900 295,300 307,100 Marketing 150,000 156,000 162,200 168,700 175,400 Insurance 100,000 104,000 108,200 112,500 117,000 Other miscellaneous expenses 260,000 270,400 281,200 292,400 304,100 Event costs 150,000 156,000 162,200 168,700 175,400

Total Expenses 2,318,500$ 2,401,800$ 2,488,100$ 2,577,600$ 2,670,300$

Net Cash Flow Before Capital Reserves / Management Fees (513,800)$ (554,000)$ (595,800)$ (639,600)$ (685,200)$

Management fee 150,000 154,500 159,100 163,900 168,800 Capital reserve 200,000$ 206,000$ 212,200$ 218,600$ 225,200$

NET CASH FLOW (863,800)$ (914,500)$ (967,100)$ (1,022,100)$ (1,079,200)$


Figure 9

Projected Operations ‐ Thunder Bay Event Centre Spectator Arena (Scenario B – AHL/OHL as lead tenant)

Source: PwC The foregoing compares with facilities like: the GM Centre in Oshawa, which realized an operating loss of some $533,000 in 2010 (the projected outcome for

2011 is for an operating shortfall of approximately $300,000); the Essar Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, which realized an operating loss of some $478,000 in 2010; the K‐Rock Centre in Kingston, which generated an operating surplus of almost $420,000 in 2011 (pre‐reserve fund

contribution; the K‐Rock Centre has also generated operating surpluses of more than $511,000 in 2010 and of almost $700,000 in 2009);

the John Labatt Centre in London which generated an operating surplus of almost $730,000 in fiscal 2011; and Fort Williams Gardens, which requires operating support from the City of Thunder Bay of approximately $600,000

annually. It should be noted that this annual operating subsidy excludes management fees and annual allocations for capital reserves; on a direct comparison basis, the proposed Spectator Arena would require annual operating support of some $307,900 (Scenario B) to $513,800 (Scenario A), excluding management fees and capital reserves.

A comparison of the Spectator Arena component of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre against other Ontario OHL venues is contained in Figure 10, following.

Figure 10 Comparison of Projected Operations

Notes: 1 Essar Centre financial information is for the 12-month period ended December 31, 2010 2. GM Centre financial information is for the 12-month period ended December 31, 2010. 3. K-Rock Centre financial information is for the 12-month period ended December 31, 2011 4. John Labatt Centre financial information is for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011


Figure 11, following, summarizes the projected operations of the Spectator Arena component of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre by location. As noted, locational dependent revenues are concluded to include parking as well as the rental revenue associated with the presence of a 5,000 square foot restaurant. In summary, the Spectator Arena component of the Events Centre is projected to projected to realize a net operating deficit ranging between $661,400 and $858,600 at the Downtown / Waterfront location (with this range dependent upon the nature of the lead tenant), whereas at Innova Business Park, the net operating deficit is projected to range between $642,100 and $984,000. It should again be noted, however, that in the case of the Downtown / Waterfront site, additional parking revenue at other municipal lots will likely be possible whereas at the Innova Business Park location, additional revenue from parking is not felt to be likely. Estimates of additional parking revenue are outlined in the following section dealing with economic benefits.

Figure 11 – Comparison of Projected Operations by Facility Location

Note: excludes parking revenue during non-Spectator Arena times Source: PwC


FACILITY REVENUES

AHL / OHL rental income 258,400$ 266,200$ 274,200$ 282,400$ 290,900$ Other events 426,000 438,800 452,000 465,600 479,600 Net concession revenue 318,100 327,600 337,400 347,500 357,900 Net merchandise revenue 57,100 58,800 60,600 62,400 64,300 Net advertising 96,600 99,500 102,500 105,600 108,800 Sponsorships 320,000 320,000 320,000 320,000 320,000 Suites license revenue 180,600 180,600 180,600 180,600 180,600 Club seats license revenue 39,800 39,800 39,800 39,800 39,800 Ticket surcharge 639,000 658,200 677,900 698,200 719,100 Box office revenue 87,000 89,600 92,300 95,100 98,000 Ice rental revenue 99,500 102,500 105,600 108,800 112,100 Restaurant lease 75,000 75,000 75,000 75,000 75,000

Total Revenues 2,597,100$ 2,656,600$ 2,717,900$ 2,781,000$ 2,846,100$

FACILITY EXPENSES

Personnel costs 1,210,000$ 1,246,300$ 1,283,700$ 1,322,200$ 1,361,900$ Utilities 570,000 592,800 616,500 641,200 666,800 Operations, maintenance & repairs 400,000 416,000 432,600 449,900 467,900 Marketing 150,000 156,000 162,200 168,700 175,400 Insurance 100,000 104,000 108,200 112,500 117,000 Other miscellaneous expenses 325,000 338,000 351,500 365,600 380,200 Event costs 150,000 156,000 162,200 168,700 175,400

Total Expenses 2,905,000$ 3,009,100$ 3,116,900$ 3,228,800$ 3,344,600$


Management fee 150,000 154,500 159,100 163,900 168,800 Capital reserve 200,000$ 206,000$ 212,200$ 218,600$ 225,200$

NET CASH FLOW (657,900)$ (713,000)$ (770,300)$ (830,300)$ (892,500)$

LU / LUH AHL / OHL

Operating Revenue $1,804,700 $2,597,100 $1,809,955 $2,995,868 $2,141,001 $5,680,900Operating Expenses $2,668,500 $3,255,000 $2,288,108 $3,529,016 $1,722,228 $4,951,400

Net Operations ($863,800) ($657,900) ($478,153) ($533,148) $418,773 $729,500

Kingston LondonOshawaThunder Bay Events Centre Sault Ste.

Marie

LU / LUH AHL / OHL LU / LUH AHL / OHL

Operating Revenue (excluding restaurant rental income) $1,729,700 $2,522,100 $1,729,700 $2,522,100Operating Expenses $2,668,500 $3,255,000 $2,668,500 $3,255,000Restaurant Rental Income $75,000 $75,000 ‐‐ ‐‐Net Parking Income $5,200 ($3,500) ($45,200) $90,800

Net Operating Position ($858,600) ($661,400) ($984,000) ($642,100)



7.3 Operating Assumptions – Conference Component

Base Assumptions In assessing the how the Conference Centre component of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre could operate, PwC developed a multi‐year proforma cash flow model to depict the potential operations this facility. In producing this model, PwC had regard to the design and amenity features proposed to be included within this building component by CEI Architecture, as well as make assumptions regarding how the facility would be programmed to accommodate conferences, meetings, trade shows and other special events and building rentals. Building Size For the purpose of this assessment, it is assumed that the Conference Centre would contain some 50,000 square feet of gross floor area and be provided with direct access onto the adjoining Spectator Arena floor. The Conference Centre would include the following rooms / components: A banquet room of approximately 12,000 square feet (sub‐divisible into smaller spaces); Meetings rooms of approximately 13,000 square feet (also sub‐divisible into smaller spaces); Circulation and lobby space of approximately 13,000 square feet, space which can also be functionally used as

conference and exhibition space; and Back‐of‐house space of 12,000 square feet (including administrative space, support spaces, kitchens, storage, back of

house, circulation, etc.). In addition to serving as a rental venue for meetings, conferences, trade shows, weddings, special events and other uses, it is assumed that the Conference Centre would utilize the in‐house restaurant for hot food service preparation. In addition, it is assumed that the Conference Centre would be able to sell naming rights as well as secure other advertising revenue. For the purpose of this assessment, it has been assumed that all such revenue would accrue to the benefit of the building. In reviewing and estimating the Conference Centre’s development and operating economics, we identified a number of base assumptions and hypotheses. Such assumptions deal with a hypothetical calendar of events, and certain revenue and operating expense assumptions. Such assumptions and hypotheses are discussed below. Inflation All dollar measures are in current Canadian dollars, with an allowance for general expense inflation of 3.0% per annum, and an allowance for utilities expense inflation of 4.0% per annum; revenue is projected to grow 3.0% per annum.

Operating Revenue The primary sources of revenue for the Conference Centre component includes building rent, food service, contract service and other revenue. For the purpose of this analysis, no parking revenue has been assumed for either of the proposed locations of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre (Innova Business Park or the Downtown / Waterfront site). Assumptions regarding individual revenue components are based on a review of comparable facilities and industry data. Facility Rent Building rental revenue is assumed to include charges for the leasing of various facility spaces for event activities (whether the entire complex, meeting rooms, banquet room, etc.). Estimated rental revenues are based on the number of events projected to be booked at the facility on an annual basis, by event category, as well as on an assumed rate structure based, in part, on rates currently being charged in Thunder Bay. In total, some 180 total events, covering approximately 326 event days, are projected for the Conference Centre. This event profile is estimated to be comprised of six convention and trade shows (some of which could utilize the adjoining arena floor), six public / consumer shows (some of which could also utilize the adjoining arena floor), approximately 144

meetings, banquets and receptions (approximately 12 events per month), and approximately 24 other events (approximately two per month). Figure 12 ‐ Thunder Bay Event Centre – Conference Centre utilization and revenue schedule

Source: PwC Based on discussions with local event planners, other industry representatives and based on a review of facilities in other markets, this event profile is assumed to constitute an appropriate target mix for the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre. Among the type of events / conferences / meetings which could be attracted to the new Events Centre are:

First Nations meetings, conferences, trade shows and conventions; Meetings, conferences, trade shows and / or conventions related the mining industry; Meetings, conferences, trade shows and / or conventions related to the health care industry; Meetings and conferences related to post‐secondary education, Meetings and conferences staged by municipal, provincial or federal government departments and / or dealing with

public sector issues (whether from a governance, health care, tourism, economic development, education, public finance, etc. perspective);

Meetings, receptions and banquets sponsored by local community groups, business associations, non‐profit groups, etc. (including annual general meetings, regular board meetings, fundraising events, etc.);

Trade and consumer shows (boat shows, home and garden shows, outdoor shows, wedding shows, craft shows, health and wellness expos, etc.); and

Private rentals for weddings, receptions, banquets, etc.

In preparing the above prospective profile of events, it is noted that some events will likely migrate from existing conference and meeting facilities already present in the city of Thunder Bay, given the newness of the proposed Conference Centre component of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre. However, as was expressed through multiple consultations completed as part of this assignment, a larger facility than currently exists in the city was strongly felt to be required, in order to attract new events to the city, as well as to accommodate the growing space requirements of events currently taking place in the community (this opinion was generally echoed in conversations with event planners).

Food Service Revenue Food service revenue will be generated from the catering of various food and beverage items. As noted, the Events Centre is assumed to include an approximate 5,000 square foot restaurant that would service both arena patrons and Conference Centre events and function attendees. As the restaurant is assumed to operate through a third party (under an operating lease), we have assumed that where catering is required, the restaurant operator will supply all food and beverage (plus staff); in exchange the Conference Centre will be paid for the space rental at its standard rental rate (generally, when catering is provided at functions, facility rental fees are waived or greatly reduced; for the purpose of assessment we have assumed that payment for the space rental will be made by the restaurant operator).

# of Events# of Event

DaysUtilization

DaysBallroom

Meeting Rooms

Circulation

Convention / Trade Shows 6 15 30 $98,000Public / Consumer Shows 6 15 26 $84,500Meetings / Banquets / Receptions 144 200 220 $165,000Other Events 24 30 50 $81,300

Total 180 260 326 $428,800

REVENUEEVENT PROFILE FACILITY RENTAL RATES

$2,000 $750 $500


Contract Service and Other Revenue Contract service and other revenue consists of charges to event management and exhibitors for event‐related services, including electrical hook‐ups and other utilities, leasing of equipment, providing cleaning and security services, providing IT services, advertising and other miscellaneous services. Estimated service and equipment revenue is based on comparable facility financial data and estimates of the number of events, and estimated at approximately $484,500 per year.

Sponsorship and Advertising Revenue Similar to the Spectator Arena component of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre, it is envisioned that naming and other sponsorships could be secured for the Conference Centre component. Based on industry practices, we estimate that such additional sponsorships, including advertising, could provide an additional $125,000 in revenue for the Conference Centre; netting an anticipated 15% cost of sales / commission, net proceeds to the Conference Centre of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre from sponsorships and advertising could generate approximately $106,300 per year.

Gross Operating Revenue Based on the foregoing, the gross operating revenue for the 50,000 square foot Conference Centre component of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre is estimated to approximate some $1.020 million per year, growing to approximately $1.137 million by its fifth year of operations.

Figure 11 ‐ Thunder Bay Event Centre Conference Centre – Gross Operating Revenue

Source: PwC

Operating Expenses Expenses have similarly been divided into the following categories for comparison with operating information from other facilities, including personnel costs, operations and maintenance, marketing, utilities, insurance, and other. Operating expense assumptions are primarily derived from operating pro‐forma estimates from comparable facilities.

Personnel Costs Personnel costs are assumed for overall facility management, operations, marketing and maintenance. Because of the dual purpose of the Thunder Bay Events Centre, is it assumed that a portion of salary and benefit costs could be shared between the Spectator Arena and Conference Centre component, yielding a requirement for slightly fewer staff for the overall Facility than would normally be expected with two separate and independently operated facilities.

Total personnel costs for the Conference Centre component are estimated at approximately $650,000 per year, including benefits. In deriving this estimate, positions were assumed for:

Facility manager; Administrative assistant; Finance assistant; Marketing Assistant; Event Services Manager; and Facility Maintenance Crew (shared with Spectator Arena).

Utilities Utility Costs encompass all costs related to heating, electricity, gas, water / waste water, etc., and are estimated at approximately $160,000 per year. Operations, Maintenance and Repairs Operations, maintenance and repair costs include various materials, equipment and services needed for the daily operation and upkeep of the Conference Centre component. Similar to the Spectator Arena component, these costs will be primarily driven by building usage, with supplies, equipment and various service contracts required to upkeep and run the arena representing the majority of these costs. Operations, maintenance and repair costs are estimated at $175,000 annually. Marketing The projected marketing budget is assumed to cover all costs associated with attracting conferences, events, trade shows, etc. to the Conference Centre, and to secure advertising and other sources of revenue. An allowance of $75,000 per year has been assumed to cover out‐of‐pocket marketing expenses including memberships, travel, advertising and promotions and other expenses related to marketing the Conference Centre and attracting events. Insurance Insurance costs are allocated to cover building and liability insurance. An allowance of $100,000 per year has been assumed for the purpose of this assessment. Other Miscellaneous Expenses An allowance of “Other Miscellaneous Expenses” $200,000 has been included to account for a reserve for those expenses not accounted for elsewhere, as well as those unforeseen expenses that are inevitably incurred during the Facility’s operations. Sample miscellaneous costs include travel, training, staff uniforms, office expenses and other activity expenses.

Capital Reserve A Capital Reserve allowance has been estimated, using practice adopted in other arena facilities, and is based on a yearly allocation of $100,000, and subject to annual inflation of 3%. Capital reserve represents a fund set up to account for future capital improvements or repairs. Management Fee Finally, a Management Fee of $100,000 has been assumed. This management fee is to be paid to a professional facility management organization / company responsible for the management of Conference Centre on behalf of the City.


FACILITY REVENUES

Convention / Trade Shows 98,000$ 100,900$ 103,900$ 107,000$ 110,200$ Public / Consumer Shows 84,500 87,000 89,600 92,300 95,100 Meetings / Banquets / Receptions 165,000 170,000 175,100 180,400 185,800 Other Events 81,300 83,700 86,200 88,800 91,500 Food Service ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ Contract Services & Other 484,500 499,000 514,000 529,400 545,300 Sponsorships & Advertising 106,300 106,900 107,500 108,200 108,900

Total Revenues 1,019,600$ 1,047,500$ 1,076,300$ 1,106,100$ 1,136,800$


Gross Operating Expenses Based on the foregoing, operating expenses for the Conference Centre component of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre, excluding management fees and capital reserve allowances, are estimated at $1.360 million (Figure 14, following). Including these latter two items, overall operating expenses are estimated at $1.560 million, increasing to more than $1.763 million by the facility’s fifth year of operations.

Figure 14 ‐ Thunder Bay Event Centre Conference Centre – Gross Operating Expenses

Source: PwC

7.3.1 Summary of Operations Figure 15, following, provides a summary of the projected cash flow for the 50,000 square foot Conference Centre component of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre. As noted below, Conference Centre revenues are projected to range from $1.020 million in Year 1, growing to some $1.137million by Year 5. Operating expenses prior to capital reserves and management fees, are estimated at some $1.360 million in Year 1, yielding a net operating loss of approximately $340,400. Including capital reserves and management fees, the Conference Centre component of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre is projected to realize a net operating loss of $540,400 per year. Throughout the duration of the forecast period, the Conference Centre component is projected to realize an operating loss, increasing to a projected $626,500 by Year 5.

Figure 15 ‐ Projected Operations – Thunder Bay Event Centre Conference Centre Source: PwC


FACILITY EXPENSES

Personnel Costs 650,000$ 669,500$ 689,600$ 710,300$ 731,600$ Utilities 160,000 166,400 173,100 180,000 187,200 Operations, Maintenance, Repairs 175,000 180,300 185,700 191,300 197,000 Marketing 75,000 77,300 79,600 82,000 84,500 Insurance 100,000 103,000 106,100 109,300 112,600 Other Misc Expenses 200,000 206,000 212,200 218,600 225,200

Total Operating Expenses 1,360,000$ 1,402,500$ 1,446,300$ 1,491,500$ 1,538,100$

Management Fee 100,000$ 103,000$ 106,100$ 109,300$ 112,600$ Capital Reserve 100,000 103,000 106,100 109,300 112,600

Total Expenses 1,560,000$ 1,608,500$ 1,658,500$ 1,710,100$ 1,763,300$


FACILITY REVENUES

Convention / Trade Shows 98,000$ 100,900$ 103,900$ 107,000$ 110,200$ Public / Consumer Shows 84,500 87,000 89,600 92,300 95,100 Meetings / Banquets / Receptions 165,000 170,000 175,100 180,400 185,800 Other Events 81,300 83,700 86,200 88,800 91,500 Food Service ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ Contract Services & Other 484,500 499,000 514,000 529,400 545,300 Sponsorships & Advertising 106,300 106,900 107,500 108,200 108,900

Total Revenues 1,019,600$ 1,047,500$ 1,076,300$ 1,106,100$ 1,136,800$

FACILITY EXPENSES

Personnel Costs 650,000$ 669,500$ 689,600$ 710,300$ 731,600$ Utilities 160,000 166,400 173,100 180,000 187,200 Operations, Maintenance, Repairs 175,000 180,300 185,700 191,300 197,000 Marketing 75,000 77,300 79,600 82,000 84,500 Insurance 100,000 103,000 106,100 109,300 112,600 Other Misc Expenses 200,000 206,000 212,200 218,600 225,200


Management Fee 100,000$ 103,000$ 106,100$ 109,300$ 112,600$ Capital Reserve 100,000 103,000 106,100 109,300 112,600

NET CASH FLOW (540,400)$ (561,000)$ (582,200)$ (604,000)$ (626,500)$


7.4 Consolidated Operations Figures 16 (Scenario A, where LU / LUH serves as the lead tenant of the Spectator Arena component of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre) and 17 (Scenario B, where an American Hockey League or Ontario Hockey League franchise serves as the Spectator Arena’s lead tenant), following, summarize the projected operations of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre.

Under both operating scenarios, the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre is projected to incur an operating loss for each prospective year of operations, with this loss range ranging from approximately $648,300 per year where the lead tenant is an AHL / OHL team, to some $854,200 annually where LU / LUH serves as the Spectator Arena’s lead tenant. By the Facility’s fifth year of operations, these losses are projected to range between $899,800 and $1.087 million. Included building management fees and capital reserve allowances, the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre is estimated to require $1.198 million to $1.404 million in annual support of the City of Thunder Bay.

Figure 16 ‐ Projected Operations – Thunder Bay Event Centre (Scenario A – LU/LUH as lead tenant) Note: excludes parking revenue Source: PwC Finally, Figure 18, following, summarizes the consolidated operations of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre by location. As noted above, locational dependent revenues are concluded to include parking as well as the rental revenue associated with the presence of a 5,000 square foot restaurant. In summary, the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre is projected to projected to realize a net operating deficit ranging between $1.202 million and $1.399 million at the Downtown / Waterfront location (with this range dependent upon the nature of the lead tenant), whereas at Innova Business Park, the net operating deficit is projected to range between $1.183 million and $1.524 million, including management fees and capital reserves. It should again be noted that in the case of the Downtown / Waterfront site, additional parking revenue at other municipal lots will likely be possible whereas at the Innova Business Park location, additional revenue from parking is not felt to be likely. Estimates of additional parking revenue are outlined in the following section dealing with economic benefits.

Figure 17 ‐ Projected Operations – Thunder Bay Event Centre (Scenario B – AHL/OHL as lead tenant) Note: excludes parking revenue

Source: PwC Figure 18 ‐ Comparison of Projected Operations by Facility Location Note: excludes parking revenue during non-Spectator Arena times Source: PwC


FACILITY REVENUES

Spectator Arena 1,804,700$ 1,847,800$ 1,892,300$ 1,938,000$ 1,985,100$ Conference Centre 1,019,600$ 1,047,500$ 1,076,300$ 1,106,100$ 1,136,800$

Total Revenues 2,824,300$ 2,895,300$ 2,968,600$ 3,044,100$ 3,121,900$

FACILITY EXPENSES



Net Cash Flow Before Capital Reserves / Management Fees (854,200)$ (909,000)$ (965,800)$ (1,025,000)$ (1,086,500)$

Management Fee 250,000$ 257,500$ 265,200$ 273,200$ 281,400$ Capital Reserve 300,000$ 309,000$ 318,300$ 327,900$ 337,800$

NET CASH FLOW (1,404,200)$ (1,475,500)$ (1,549,300)$ (1,626,100)$ (1,705,700)$

LU / LUH AHL / OHL LU / LUH AHL / OHL

Operating Revenue (excluding restaurant rental income) $2,749,300 $3,541,700 $2,749,300 $3,541,700Operating Expenses $4,228,500 $4,815,000 $4,228,500 $4,815,000Restaurant Rental Income $75,000 $75,000 ‐‐ ‐‐Net Parking Income $5,200 ($3,500) ($45,200) $90,800

Net Operating Position ($1,399,000) ($1,201,800) ($1,524,400) ($1,182,500)



FACILITY REVENUES


Total Revenues 3,616,700$ 3,704,100$ 3,794,200$ 3,887,100$ 3,982,900$

FACILITY EXPENSES




Management Fee 250,000$ 257,500$ 265,200$ 273,200$ 281,400$ Capital Reserve 300,000$ 309,000$ 318,300$ 327,900$ 337,800$

NET CASH FLOW (1,198,300)$ (1,274,000)$ (1,352,500)$ (1,434,300)$ (1,519,000)$


8. ASSESSMENT OF ECONOMIC BENEFITS 8.1 Introduction

Background The City of Thunder Bay is considering the development of a new Events Centre, a facility that will consist of a spectator arena with approximately 5,700 fixed seats, and a conference / meeting facility containing approximately 50,000 square feet of gross floor area (including a banquet room, meeting rooms, circulation space and lobbies).

8.1.1 Facility components For the purpose of assessing the economic benefits and operational implications of the Events Centre, PwC has assumed that the facility will contain the following elements:

Spectator Arena 5,700 fixed seats;

The main tenant of the facility will either be Lakehead University (“LU”) and Lakehead University Hockey (LUH) who will program an assumed 20 events into the facility per year (Scenario A), or a potential American Hockey League (“AHL”) or Ontario Hockey League (“OHL”) hockey franchise that will play approximately 41 games per year in the arena (Scenario B);

With LU as the main tenant, a total of 12 luxury suites are assumed, while with an AHL / OHL franchise serving as the building’s lead tenant, a total of 24 luxury suites are assumed;

The facility will contain approximately 750 “Club Seats” (i.e., a special seating section containing wider seats with priority access to “club areas”, including restaurants, merchandise areas and lounges as well as priority access to event tickets); and

The facility will contain an approximate 5,000 square foot restaurant with both street and arena concourse access.

Conference Component

Approximately 50,000 square feet of gross floor area with direct access onto the arena floor, comprised of the following uses:

A banquet room of approximately 12,000 square feet (sub‐divisible into smaller spaces);

Meetings rooms of approximately 13,000 square feet (also sub‐divisible into smaller spaces);

Circulation and lobby space of approximately 13,000 square feet, space which can also be functionally used as conference and exhibition space; and

Back‐of‐house space of 12,000 square feet (including administrative space, support spaces, kitchens, storage, back of house, circulation, etc.).

8.1.2 Project Costs

Per preliminary costing information provided by EllisDon Construction Ltd. and Tom Jones Corp., the estimated cost, inclusive of hard construction costs, design and engineering fees, contingencies, parking costs and building furnishings, fixtures and equipment is estimated to range between $106.1 million and $106.5 million, depending on the location of the facility. A summary of the Project’s cost, by location, is included in Figure 1, following.

Figure 1 ‐ Thunder Bay Events Centre Project Costs

Note 1 Cost associated with a Downtown Port Arthur location include an allowance (inclusive of land and construction costs) for a 200-space above grade parking structure Source: EllisDon Construction Ltd., Tom Jones Corp., CEI Architecture

8.1.3 About Economic Impact

Economic impacts are generally defined as changes to an economy as a result of a development, undertaking or activity. As such, economic impacts measure changes in the size and structure of a jurisdiction’s economy when goods and services are purchased using money generated from outside a region, or as the result of an infusion of capital for the construction of a new facility or service. Almost all activities can generate economic impact; however in its strictest sense, activities and expenditures which result in “new” spending are the types of activities which local officials most greatly desire. In evaluating and quantifying the economic impact of a facility, service, program offering, etc., four types of impacts are typically reviewed: Direct Economic Impacts: refer to the total expenditures on goods and services, including wages and salaries, for

the construction of a proposed development, the operations of a facility or service, the staging of an event, etc.

Indirect Economic Impacts: refer to the purchase of goods and services needed to then produce the goods and services that are directly purchased in support of the construction of the proposed facility, the operation of that facility or service, the staging of the event, etc. Indirect impacts therefore measure the magnitude of interactions with other businesses which supply the necessary materials and services, which lead to indirect demand for goods and services from other industries.

Induced Impact: refer to the impact of personal expenditures by people who have been paid wages and salaries for the construction or in the operations of the facility or service, the staging of the event, etc., as well as for the production of indirect goods and services.

Associated Economic Impacts: refer to the spin‐off impacts generated by the construction of the facility, the operations of the facility or service, the staging of the event, etc., including spending by visitors, conference delegates and tourists. For example, the spending by non‐residents could be considered an associated impact.

In quantifying the economic impact of a facility, event or service, four types of impact are generally quantified: Spending Impact: commonly referred to as GDP impact, it measures the impacts resulting from the purchase of

goods and services;

Employment Impacts: the increases in employment resulting from the purchase of goods and services;

Income Impacts: the increases in personal income resulting from increases in employment; and

Downtown1 Innova Park

Project design and construction 79,942,000$ 74,334,000$

Parking 6,200,000 10,000,000

Infrastructure 6,731,000 9,039,000

FF&E / Public Art 3,800,000 3,800,000

Contingency 9,074,000 9,337,000

Land acquisition (for parking structure) 370,000 ‐‐

TOTAL 106,117,000$ 106,510,000$


Tax Impact: the amount of tax revenue government agencies could be inferred to generate from the construction of a facility, the operations of a facility or event, consumer spending, new employment income, etc. (inclusive of property taxes, income taxes, sales taxes, etc.).

In an attempt to assess the economic benefits associated with the construction and operation of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre, PwC utilized the following assumptions:

Total facility development costs are estimated to range between $106.1 million (Downtown / Waterfront) and $106.5 million (Innova Business Park);

Operating costs for the Spectator Arena and Conference Centre components were based on the proforma cash flow estimates included in the Operational Assessment section of this Report; and

Statistics Canada Input‐Output multipliers were utilized to quantify the various impacts associated with the construction and operation of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre.

8.2 Construction Impacts

8.2.1 Spending Impact

As noted above, the assumed cost of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre is projected to cost in the range of $106.1 million (Downtown / Waterfront) and $106.5 million (Innova Business Park), including hard construction costs, soft costs (fees paid to architects, engineers, etc.), building fit‐out (furniture, fixtures and equipment, “FF&E”), project indirects, site infrastructure, parking and contingencies. After allowing for land acquisition and taxes paid on material inputs, the estimated expenditure for assessing economic impact is calculated to range between $101.9 million (Downtown / Waterfront) and $102.6 million (Innova Business Park).

The construction of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre will have a major impact and will generate a number of economic benefits, ranging from direct construction employment, GDP impacts both locally (where goods are secured from local vendors) and abroad, as well as tax revenue impacts to government (sales taxes associated with the purchase of goods and services, as well as income tax from the wages paid to the various construction employees and service providers).

Labour costs associated with major expense items were estimated and Statistics Canada Input‐Output multipliers were utilized to identify the indirect impacts associated with these various expenditures. Based on this review, the Total Development Impact, including indirect economic impacts of construction, consulting, FF&E purchases, etc. associated with the construction of the Thunder Bay Events Centre is estimated to range between $148.3 million (Downtown / Waterfront) and $149.4 million (Innova Business Park).

Figure 2 ‐ Direct and Indirect Spending Impacts – Thunder Bay Events Centre

Source: PwC

8.2.2 Employment Income Impact In developing the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre, it is estimated that the various construction workers, consultants and other advisors involved in pre‐opening activities will be paid approximately $54.0 million (Downtown / Waterfront) to $54.4 million (Innova Business Park) in total salaries and wages. Utilizing Input‐Output multipliers obtained from Statistics Canada to identify the indirect impact, the Total Income Impact is estimated to range between $79.0 million (Downtown / Waterfront) and $79.6 million (Innova Business Park), including indirect impacts from workers employed to produce the goods and services needed to construct the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre.

Figure 3 ‐ Direct and Indirect Employment Income Impacts – Thunder Bay Events Centre

Source: PwC

8.2.3 Employment Impact

Utilizing total employment multipliers from Statistics Canada, it is concluded that the construction of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre could directly generate between 750 and 755 person years of direct employment and give rise to a Total Employment Impact of between 1,120 (Downtown / Waterfront) and 1,130 (Innova Business Park) person years of employment (the reader should note that “person years of employment” does not necessarily translate directly into the “number of jobs created”, as a number of part‐time positions could result; when added together, these part‐time positions combine to make the equivalent of one full year of employment for one person).

Figure 4 ‐ Direct and Indirect Employment Impacts – Thunder Bay Events Centre

Source: PwC

Thunder Bay Events Centre ‐ Construction DOWNTOWN INNOVA PARK

Expenditures on Buildings, Land and Site Services $101,911,600 $102,649,200 Indirect Spending $46,387,800 $46,723,200

Total Expenditures Attributable to Construction $148,299,400 $149,372,400


Direct Income $54,031,900 $54,436,300 Indirect Income $24,931,600 $25,118,200

Total Income Attributable to Construction $78,963,500 $79,554,500


Direct Jobs 750 755 Indirect Jobs Created 370 375

Total Jobs Attributable to Construction 1,120 1,130


8.2.4 Tax Impacts The construction of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre is projected to generate significant revenue to each level of government, including provincial sales taxes generated from the purchase of goods used to construct the facility, and federal and provincial income taxes paid to workers retained to physically construct the venue. Municipal revenues, including building permit revenues, have not been estimated as part of this analysis, and thus would represent an additional benefit to the community. Overall, the construction of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre is estimated to generate between $9.8 million and $9.9 million in federal and between $7.4 million and $7.5 million in provincial taxes. In total, some $17.2 million (Downtown / Waterfront) and $17.4 million (Innova Park) in federal and provincial tax revenue is projected to be generated through the construction of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre. Figure 5 ‐ Direct Tax Impacts – Thunder Bay Events Centre

Source: PwC

8.3 Operational Impacts

8.3.1 Spending Impact Once the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre has been constructed, its operations are similarly projected to give rise to a series of economic impacts. As summarized in Figure 6, following, it is projected that the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre would incur total operating expenses in its initial year of operations of between $7.4 million (assuming LU / LUH serves as the Facility’s lead tenant) and $11.5 million (assuming an AHL / OHL team serves as the Facility’s lead tenant. These expenditures are comprised of: direct operating expenditures for each of the Spectator Arena and Conference Centre components of the Facility; the operations of an assumed AHL / OHL team (the operations of LU / LUH are assumed to be similar to what is

currently being incurred and therefore would not result in any net new economic impact); direct food and beverage purchases from the Spectator Arena’s concession operations as well as the from operations

of the in‐house restaurant, including Conference Centre catering (it should be noted that such expenditures will likely only be possible with the siting of the Events Centre at the Downtown / Waterfront location);

capital repairs; and project management fees.

Figure 6 – Thunder Bay Events Centre – Operational Spending

Source: PwC

This range of direct expenditure will give rise to a series of indirect impacts, including spending and employment impacts generated as a result of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre’s purchases. For example, the Facility’s purchase of materials and supplies from local distributors / merchants would require those store owners / suppliers to purchase goods and services (and employ workers) in order to produce / obtain the materials needed to fill the Event Centre’s order. Utilizing input‐output multipliers generated by Statistics Canada for Ontario for various expenditure categories, it is estimated that the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre’s annual value‐added impact (direct plus indirect impacts only) resulting from its annual expenditure of between $7.4 million and $11.5 million will range between $10.8 million (where LU / LUH serves as the Spectator Arena’s lead tenant) and $16.8 million (where an AHL / OHL team serves as the Facility’s lead tenant) annually.

LU / LUH as AHL / OHL aslead tenant lead tenant

Spectator Arena $2,318,500 $2,905,000Conference Centre $1,360,000 $1,360,000AHL / OHL Team ‐‐ $3,000,000Concession Operations $763,800 $1,303,100Restaurant Operations (restaurant / catering) $2,375,000 $2,375,000Management Fees $250,000 $250,000Capital Reserves $300,000 $300,000

Total Operating Expenditures $7,367,300 $11,493,100


Federal $9,809,000 $9,881,000 Provincial $7,423,000 $7,476,000

Total Taxes Attributable to Construction $17,232,000 $17,357,000


Figure 7 ‐ Direct and Indirect Spending Impacts – Thunder Bay Events Centre Source: PwC

8.3.2 Employment Income Impact

Income impacts measure the total earned salaries and wages generated in the broader economy as a result of an increase in employment. As noted below, the direct employment impact of the Thunder Bay Events Centre (assumed for the operation of the Spectator Arena and Conference Centre components, including concession and restaurant operations but excluding the operations of an assumed AHL / OHL team) is estimated at some 70 to 80 person years of employment, with these individuals being paid some $3.2 million to $3.7 million in annual salaries and wages. Utilizing similar input‐output multipliers published by Statistics Canada for Ontario, it is estimated that the annual employment income impact (direct plus indirect impacts only) of the Thunder Bay Events Centre will range between $4.6 million (where LU / LUH serves as the lead tenant) and $5.4 million (where an AHL / OHL team serves as the venue’s lead tenant) annually.

Figure 8 ‐ Direct and Indirect Employment Income Impacts – Thunder Bay Events Centre Source: PwC

8.3.3 Employment Impact

The direct spending and employment supported by the Thunder Bay Events Centre is estimated to directly sustain approximately 70 to 80 person years of employment (i.e., full‐time equivalents), including working employed directly by the Events Centre and its various food and beverage / concessions workers. This direct spending and employment is concluded to give rise to increases in employment as a direct result of the purchase of goods and services. Based on Statistics Canada Input‐Output multipliers, it is estimated that an additional 195 to 295 person years of employment will be indirectly supported by the Events Centre, yielding a total employment impact of between 265 (where LU / LUH serves as the lead tenant) and 380 person years of employment (where an AHL / OHL team serves as the venue’s lead tenant) annually.

Figure 9 ‐ Direct and Indirect Employment Impacts – Thunder Bay Events Centre Source: PwC

8.3.4 Tax Impacts The operations of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre is projected to generate significant annual revenue to each senior level of government, including federal and provincial sales taxes generated from the sale of concessions and event tickets, in addition to federal and provincial income taxes paid to workers. For the purpose of this assessment no direct revenue from the operations of the Arena has been assumed to accrue from the operations of the Events Centre (as it has been assumed that the Arena would be declared a Municipal Capital Facility in order to exempt the facility from property taxes).

Overall, the operations of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre are estimated to generate some $1.8 million to $2.5 million annually for the federal government and between $1.6 million and $2.1 million in annual revenue for the Province of Ontario. In total, some $3.4 million (where LU / LUH serves as the lead tenant) and $4.6 million (where an AHL / OHL team serves as the venue’s lead tenant) in federal and provincial tax revenue is projected to be annually generated from the operations of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre.

Figure 10 ‐ Direct Tax Impacts – Thunder Bay Events Centre

Source: PwC

Thunder Bay Events Centre ‐ OperationsLU / LUH AS

LEAD TENANTAHL / OHL AS LEAD

TENANT

Direct Spending $7,367,300 $11,493,100 Indirect Spending $3,446,200 $5,300,800

Total Expenditures Attributable to Operations $10,813,500 $16,793,800



TENANT

Direct Income $3,159,400 $3,699,100 Indirect Income $1,475,800 $1,727,800

Total Income Attributable to Operations $4,635,200 $5,426,900



TENANT

Direct Jobs 70 80 Indirect Jobs Created 195 295

Total Jobs Attributable to Operations 265 380



TENANT

Federal $1,771,800 $2,518,000 Provincial $1,594,200 $2,121,000

Total Taxes Attributable to Operations $3,366,000 $4,639,000


8.4 Associated Impacts In addition to the above presented economic benefits directly associated with the construction and operation of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre, a number of social and other benefits could be expected to accrue from the siting and operation of this Facility. These associated benefits include:

Sport event hosting; Increased spending by visitors attending events / conferences held at the Events Centre; and Incremental investment / economic development impacts

8.4.1 Sport and event hosting Sport tourism is one of the fastest growing tourism market segments in North America, with over 200,000 sporting events happening annually in Canada. The Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance (“CSTA”) notes that sport tourism generated some $3.6 billion in spending in Canada in 2010, an 8.8% increase over comparable 2008 figures and some 50% greater than 2004. The foregoing compares to a 0.7% decline in overall tourism growth and further supports sport tourism’s trend of being one of the fastest growing industry segments within Canada’s tourism industry. According to the CSTA, sport is a major industry and a reason that people travel both domestically and internationally; moreover, it is an essential element in the growth and development of civic pride, sport development and increased sport participation.

With the development and siting of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre, it is noted that a number of potential events could be attracted to the facility; these events include sporting events, concerts, family shows, trade shows and conferences, aboriginal conferences and cultural celebrations, as well as potential local, regional, provincial, national and international events and competitions, including hockey, curling, figure skating, basketball, volleyball, wrestling, gymnastics, cheerleading, indoor track and field events / competitions, and other events. Depending on the nature and size of the event attracted to the Events Centre, its economic impact could be significant.

By way of example, the Essar Centre in Sault Ste. Marie recently hosted the CARHA Hockey World Cup. The Canadian Adult Recreational Hockey Association organizes its “world cup” every four years in a select Canadian city, and is an event that attracts participants from all across Canada, the United States, and Europe. In March 2012, over 120 teams travelled to Sault Ste. Marie for this week long event, labelled the "Olympics" of adult recreational hockey (reported to be the largest international adult recreational hockey tournament in the world).

According to the City of Sault Ste. Marie, “While there has been, and will continue to be, an annual cost to operate the Essar Centre, it is important to note the many social and economic benefits to the community”. The Essar Centre is the flagship facility for marketing sport tournaments in Sault Ste. Marie; in addition, the Essar Centre is easily converted to convention mode. The economic benefits of a single three‐day convention with 2,500 out‐of‐town visitors is reported at $1.125 million, while a three‐day tournament with 40 teams generates up to $360,000 in economic benefits to the community. The Essar Centre is reported as being an important tool in increasing local quality of life and helping to attract new residents to the community1.

Numerous other communities have realized similar benefits, whether from hosting events such as major curling tournaments (Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Dominion Ontario Tankard, BDO Grand Slam of Curling, Tim Horton’s Brier, etc.), figure skating competitions (Skate Canada, Canadian Figure Skating Championships), volleyball (world league qualifiers), as well as National Hockey League and National Basketball Association pre‐season exhibition games, IIHF World Junior Championship pre‐competition games, etc.

With the development of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre, it is anticipated that these and similar events would also be staged within this building. Moreover, the probability of Thunder Bay securing such events, particularly events with higher profile, would not be possible without the presence of the Events Centre.

1 City of Sault Ste. Marie, 2009 and 2010 Essar Centre Annual Report.

8.4.2 Increased Visitor Spending As alluded to above, the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre and the events / conferences staged therein, could attract a large number of visitors to the Thunder Bay region. Depending on the nature of the event, significant spending impacts could be imparted; additionally increased room night demand could be generated as a result of increased visitation to the Thunder Bay area.

According to the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, total visitation to the Thunder Bay region has declined in recent years, from 612,000 total visits in 2006, to approximately 527,000 visits in 2009 (Figure 11, following).

Figure 11 ‐ Regional Tourism Profile – Person Visits by Origin, Thunder Bay (000’s)

Source: Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture & Sport, Regional Tourism Profile, 2009

On average, visitors to Thunder Bay spend between $87.53 (same day visitors) and $99.08 (overnight visitors) per day while in Thunder Bay; overall the average visitor to Thunder Bay spent almost $243 while in the city (Figure 12, following). Compared to other Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas, visitors to Thunder Bay in 2009 spent more, on average, in this area than did visitors to any other Ontario CMA (Figure 13, following).

Figure 12 ‐ Regional Tourism Profile – Average Visitor Spending, Thunder Bay (2009)


Figure 13 ‐ Regional Tourism Profile – Average Visitor Spending, Ontario CMAs (2009)


Total Overnight Total Overnight Total Overnight Total Overnight Total Overnight

2006 612 320 401 195 34 25 172 95 5 42007 447 265 245 137 39 27 156 95 7 72008 586 357 396 226 39 39 143 86 8 72009 527 286 367 178 31 31 125 72 4 4

YearTOTAL Ontario Other Canada U.S. Overseas

Total OntarioOther

CanadaU.S. Overseas

Average per person 242.54 237.27 360.49 220.86 453.81Average per person per overnight visit 373.21 383.60 360.49 346.96 478.53Average per person per night 99.08 103.74 97.23 88.02 116.67Average per person per same‐day visit 87.53 98.89 0.00 47.06 32.86

Hamilton Kitchener London Oshawa OttawaSt.

CatharinesSudbury Toronto Windsor

Thunder Bay

Average per person 72 92 96 61 206 148 180 208 110 243Average per person per overnight visit 147 160 168 128 328 257 221 415 185 373Average per person per night 60 60 70 55 103 125 81 121 80 99Average per person per same‐day visit 43 57 63 34 83 72 119 76 81 88


Such spending is generally allocated to the following areas:

private transportation rental; accommodations; food and beverage (including at restaurants, bars and concessions); entertainment and recreation; and spending on retail goods and services.

As noted in the operational assessment, some 180 total events, covering approximately total 326 event days and attracting some 24,400 non‐local delegate days, are projected for the Conference Centre component of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre, while some 92 to 93 events are projected to annually utilize the Spectator Arena component. By attracting such events to the community, it is noted that the Events Centre may help stabilize and enhance visitation to Thunder Bay in the future. In this regard, and assuming per visitor spending figures approximately those of the general visitor population to Thunder Bay in 2009, more than $6.1 million could be directly infused into the local economy on an annual basis (with the spending allocated to accommodation, food & beverages, retail, and entertainment spending).

8.4.3 Incremental Investment A final associated impact relates to incremental investment that could arise from the establishment of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre in downtown Port Arthur or in the Innova Business Park, its ability to attract thousands of users / patrons / visitors on an annual basis, and its ability to facilitate the redevelopment / attraction of ancillary uses to the surrounding lands.

Literature on the economic impact of sports and entertainment / conference facilities generally shows that there can be a positive correlation between the siting of such facilities and corresponding future investments in residential, retail / entertainment and other commercial development; additional evidence suggests that this investment has helped energize city cores, broaden a municipality’s tax base and create attractive and pedestrian‐friendly neighbourhoods. Canadian examples often citied include downtown London, where the John Labatt Centre partly assisted in revitalizing an area of the city’s downtown core (where it has been noted that there was a 40% increase in the area’s housing stock, office and retail vacancies fell, rental rates improved and building permit activity increased significantly). Other examples include:

In Kingston, where the number of new business that have located in the downtown core of the city has increased in every year since the opening of the K‐Rock Centre (28 new business in 2008, 17 in 2009, 40 in 2010, 25 in 2011 and 19 in the first half of 2012). In addition, three separate pre‐event surveys of K‐Rock Centre patrons in 2008 indicated that, on average, 48% of respondents ate in a restaurant prior to attending an event, and of those, 65% ate in a restaurant located in the city’s downtown core.

In Oshawa, where the downtown commercial vacancy rate decreased from 21% in 2006 to approximately 11% in early 2011 and where 83% of all building permits, by value, issued in downtown Oshawa since 1994 where issued between 2006 and 2011 (roughly $540 million). Moreover, the GM Centre is cited for producing economic spin‐offs in this area, attracting non‐residents to the city, and for driving the “night time economy”.

In Guelph, where investments made in the City’s downtown “cultural infrastructure” (including the Sleeman Centre, River Run Theatre and Market Square development) has been proven to draw people to the district, generate higher property values, support enhanced retail economies and provide associated returns from an enhanced tax base.

The ability to positively influence development is not, however, exclusively limited to facilities located in a city’s central core; rather sports, recreation and conference facilities have been used by other jurisdictions to help stimulate economic development in more suburban locations, including facilities located in Barrie Ontario, and Wilkes‐Barre / Scranton Pennsylvania. With respect to the Barrie Molson Centre, this facility was built on a greenfield site just east of Highway 400 in the southern section of the city of Barrie. At the time of its development in 1994 and 1995, the lands around the facility were mostly unimproved. With the development of the city, this area has evolved into a major retail node,

focused along Highway 400 (in this regard, the development of the surrounding area is felt to be due more to traditional market forces brought about by significant residential and commercial development and a location on a major highway than with respect to the siting of the Barrie Molson Centre in this location).

In the latter example (i.e., Wilkes‐Barre / Scranton Pennsylvania), the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza (home of the AHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins) has generally been viewed as a catalyst for significant additional development which has taken place around this facility. Prior to this building’s construction, the surrounding area was generally characterized as comprising “some of the most worthless property in northeastern Pennsylvania”. Since the venue’s development, the area is reported to be one of the busiest retail districts in the region, with a number of hotels, restaurants and retail developments having been completed since the arena’s opening in 1999. It is also worth noting that the success which this facility and region have enjoyed is also due, in part, to its location in a growing regional economy (the Wilkes‐Barre / Scranton area comprises the third largest market in Pennsylvania with a total population of some 14 million people within a 100‐mile radius).

While numerous other examples exist which speak to the positive impacts which new and / or enhanced sports, entertainment and conference facilities have had on their surrounding areas and in influencing development (including, in addition to those noted above, the K‐Rock Centre in Kingston, the Essar Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, the Sleeman Centre in Guelph, as well as facilities located in Grand Rapids Michigan and Columbus Ohio), there are numerous examples where little or no spin‐off development impact has occurred or could be directly or indirectly linked to the presence of the facility. In order to maximize the possibility that such positive spin‐off developments will occur, it is generally concluded that local economic conditions and supportive planning and development policies will be required. In this regard, and in order to maximize the possibility of ancillary development occurring, it has been suggested that cities need to implement / utilize certain planning and development tools / levers in order to help facilitate such complementary development, including establishing “community improvement zones” in the area surrounding the site, and enacting policies / programs to stimulate development. Based on our experiences, the ability of a facility to foster positive development in its vicinity is directly dependent upon how the facility is positioned as part of a broader economic development strategy.

In addition, it is generally concluded that such zones must be large enough to house both the facility, and facilitate the attraction / preservation of a critical mass of commercial / retail / entertainment space (including restaurants / cafes, sports boutiques, fashion boutiques, music stores, specialty food shops, cinemas, plazas, etc.). In greenfield sites, this amount of critical mass will need to be “created”, whereas in more urban locations, this amount of critical mass is likely already present.

With respect to the two locations under consideration for the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre, we note the following.

Innova Business Park

Innova Business Park was established in the late 1990’s with the vision that it would be a comprehensive development and act as a community focal point for a wide variety of business opportunities. It is comprised of approximately 71 acres of municipally‐owned lands that are designated and zoned for industrial and business park uses. The lands have frontage on the Thunder Bay Expressway (Trans‐Canada Highway), the Harbour Expressway, Golf Links Road and Central Avenue and are located close to international transportation arteries, including port, airport and rail.


Figure 14 ‐ Innova Business Park

Source: Google Earth

In developing this business park, a number of sectors and activities were identified as having future economic significance for the lands including the forestry industry (including secondary processing), university‐ and college‐related activities, pollution abatement controls / procedures, mining services, metal fabricating, small business, consumer electronics, plastics, printing, regional warehousing, regional service centres, medical / geriatric care and tourism.

In developing the lands, priority projects were identified as those which achieved the following objectives:

result in a future net increase in job creation for the City; bring a new type of industry to the community or assist in the diversification of the local economy; are within a target group identified in the City’s Strategic Plan; support the expansion and growth of existing businesses; provide a service to other firms within the business park; and / or act as a catalyst to the development of the business park in a manner consistent with the above principles.

To date, two of the 47 lots created within the Innova Business Park have been developed, while a third was recently sold for the development of a professional / technical office.

Currently, the area is under review by the City as part of a wider area study seeking to prepare a comprehensive and synergistic economic development and land use plan (the “Golf Links Road / Junot Avenue Corridor Study” undertaken by the IBI Group). In considering the implications for the Innova Business Park, IBI reviewed four alternative land use options, including:

one premised on larger format retail uses (Option 1); one which included the Events Centre with some ancillary commercial uses, in addition to prestige and general

industrial uses (Option 2); one which included a Mining Centre of Excellence and mining related industries, among other uses (Option 3); and one which included the Events Centre, the Mining Centre of Excellence and mining related industries, among other

uses (Option 4).

In reviewing these four alternative land use options, IBI Group recommended against Option 1. While acknowledging that major recreation and entertainment facilities can generate positive economic impacts within a community, IBI felt that industry sectors like natural resources, mining, health care and the knowledge sector will generate higher levels of employment, income and taxes, and as such, recommended that the City maintain the Innova Business Park lands for employment purposes and pursue Option 3 (i.e., a cluster of mining‐related businesses plus a Mining Centre of Excellence).

In discussions with IBI Group, the presence of the Events Centre within Innova Business Park was felt to constitute a potential viable use; however ensuring safety and compatibility between industrial users (i.e., those with truck traffic and heavy machinery) and patrons of the Events Centre could constitute a challenge with both Option 2 and Option 4.

In our view, the ability of the Events Centre to spawn development, at least in the short‐term, is concluded to be minimal. This opinion is based on the following observations:

While benefiting from a large expanse of developable property, the site itself is relatively isolated and the amount of land that has been developed since the park’s inception has been slow due in part to a downturn in the resource sector.

Uses which a facility like an Events Centre could potentially attract (primarily supportive commercial, including restaurants, ancillary retail, service commercial uses, etc.) are not of themselves “destination” developments / uses (i.e., uses which will by themselves attract potential patrons regardless of their location) and as such will require a critical mass (including businesses, residents and similar commercial uses) within the immediate area in order to be enticed to a location (and thus allow them to generate and attract customers during non‐event times).

Currently there does not exist a critical mass of uses within and immediately surrounding Innova Business Park. As such, any use which the Events Centre could attract would need to rely principally on Events Centre patrons to be viable. While many event days are projected for the Facility (including 92 to 93 Spectator Arena events and up to 180 Conference Centre events), the nature of such events will likely prove to be insufficient on their own to attract new supportive commercial uses to the area immediately surrounding the Events Centre. Such a situation will likely continue until such time as when Innova Park experiences more development.

While IBI do not dismiss the concept of locating the Events Centre within this area, we note that the mandate of Innova Business Park is not specifically focused on the attraction of entertainment and related complementary uses, but rather on the attraction of employment uses, and in particular on uses and employment related to the mining, natural resources, health care and knowledge industries. Given this intended focus, Innova Business Park is concluded to lack the required economic and supportive planning and development policies that are generally considered to be required in order to allow an events centre to stimulate development.

The ability of the Events Centre to be a complementary and supportive use within Innova Business Park is likely to be greater in the longer term. In this regard, it is felt that by working in conjunction with the attraction of employment uses and in particular the siting of a Mining Centre of Excellence land mining related industries, the Events Centre could be a facilitative use in the build‐out of Innova Business Park:

The Events Centre, in conjunction with the future build‐out of Innova Business Park, could assist in the attraction of supportive uses that could also serve as amenity developments within the business park, and thereby assist with the attraction of additional employment uses (including, for example, restaurants, ancillary retail uses, etc.); and

The Events Centre could be used synergistically with mining related businesses / research facilities, providing the Centre and those enterprises which locate within Innova Business Park with meeting, conference and banquet facilities.

Overall, the spin‐off development potential of the Events Centre within Innova Business Park is viewed as being low in the short term and potentially larger (but not guaranteed) over the longer term.


Downtown/Waterfront The second location under consideration for the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre is within downtown Port Arthur, and specifically on the block bordering North Water Street to the east, Van Norman Street to the south, Cumberland Street The second location under consideration for the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre is within downtown Port Arthur, and specifically on the block bordering North Water Street to the east, Van Norman Street to the south, Cumberland Street North to the west and Camelot Street to the north (Figure 15, following).

Figure 15 – Downtown/Waterfront site

Source: Google Earth

The Downtown/Waterfront site is located within an existing built‐up area identified by the City of Thunder Bay as the city’s “Entertainment District”. While the age of the existing building stock is mostly older and contains a number of historic structures, the downtown Port Arthur area contains a number of facilities viewed as complementary from an entertainment perspective, including the Thunder Bay Charity Casino, the Magnus Theatre, art galleries and Prince Arthur’s Landing, the city’s Lake Superior waterfront park redevelopment project located immediately across Water Street to the east. Prince Arthur’s Landing and Marina Park are home to the City’s annual Blues Festival, a three‐day outdoor music festival held each July attracting thousands of patrons. In addition, the area includes a number of specialty retail shops, as well as a number of restaurants and night clubs, uses which also are complementary to an Events Centre. The area immediately surrounding the planned Event Centre site contains the Prince Arthur Hotel, a 120‐room hotel built in 1911. While having undergone a number of cosmetic and room improvements in recent years, discussions with hotel management and the hotel’s owner indicate that additional improvements will be forthcoming. A recently announced 4‐star hotel is also proposed to be developed near the planned Events Centre in Prince Arthur’s Landing. Street‐front retail along Cumberland Street North, opposite the Prince Arthur Hotel (between Red River Road and Van Norman Street) is mostly vacant; street‐front retail further south along Cumberland Street North and west along Red River Road is mostly occupied with some new tenants having moved into the area (for example, the Foundry restaurant).

The Downtown/Waterfront site is better positioned to impart positive impacts on the surrounding area in the short term compared to the Innova Business Park location. This opinion is based on the following observations: The site is located within an identified “arts and entertainment precinct” within the City of Thunder Bay and benefits

from a range of complementary uses within a relatively compact urban area. Unlike the Innova Park location, a critical mass of uses already exists which presently supports a range of day time and evening uses.

Similar to recently built facilities in Sault Ste. Marie, Kingston, Oshawa, Guelph and London, the planned Events Centre would have the potential to assist in enhancing the prospects of a number of existing businesses, including restaurants, bars and specialty retail shops. Longer term, the presence of the Events Centre could have the ability to introduce more people to the downtown Port Arthur area, creating a more viable urban retail environment, and potentially facilitating additional investment (similar to London, Oshawa and Kingston).

Unlike the Innova Business Park location, the Downtown / Waterfront site would provide Event Centre patrons and event attendees with a range of existing retail, food, beverage and leisure opportunities. Combined with the dispersed parking model, the area of influence could reach many blocks from the location of the Events Centre (it is noted that in each of London and Kingston, location and parking issues were initially seen as critical obstacles to the success of each municipality’s new facility; published reports, however, indicate that parking and traffic concerns were not an impediment to the overall success of the venue and that a number of businesses benefited from the circulation of people between the cars and the venue).

Under a dispersed parking model, area parking lots, including the City’s 720‐space North Core Street Parkade would benefit from the added utilization. Assuming that this facility averaged 50% occupancy for the 51 to 72 spectator events projected to be staged at the Events Centre (20 LUH hockey games or 41 AHL / OHL games, plus eight concerts, eight family shows, ten other sporting events and five other entertainment events), the City could potentially realize an additional $91,800 to $129,600 in revenue from this parkade (assuming an event parking rate of $5.00 per car).

Given the number of underutilized buildings, the siting of the Events Centre could spawn their redevelopment (it should be noted that during consultations undertaken as part of this assignment, two parties approached our Study Team, indicating a desire to invest in existing underutilized buildings if the Events Centre were to be located on the Downtown / Waterfront site).

The ability of the Events Centre to be complementary and supportive of economic development within downtown Port Arthur over the longer terms is assumed to be similarly as strong, assuming the Facility is able to continue to attract the range of events, concerts, conferences and trade shows, etc. as projected: By frequently bringing individuals into the downtown Port Arthur area, residents, tourists and event attendees

would continue to the introduced and reintroduced to area, helping existing merchants, improving business metrics and potentially facilitating additional investment.

With improving business metrics, the economic development prospects within the downtown Port Arthur area could be significantly enhanced, and serve to promote civic pride and function as a strategic advantage in the competitive domain of hosting sports, entertainment, conference and meeting events.

Overall, the spin‐off development potential of the Events Centre located within downtown Port Arthur is viewed as being higher in the short term and equally as large (but still not guaranteed) over the longer term compared to the Innova Business Park location.


8.4 Summary A number of positive economic benefits are generally presumed to accrue within the City of Thunder Bay as a result of the construction and operation of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre. These impacts include:

During construction

$148.3 million to $149.4 million in direct and indirect spending; $79.0 million to $79.6 million in employment income growth; 1,120 to 1,130 person years of employment; and $17.2 million to $17.4 million in direct tax revenue to the federal and provincial governments.

During operations

$10.8 million to $16.8 million annually in direct and indirect spending; $4.6 million to $5.4 million annually in employment income growth; 265 to 380 person years of employment annually; $3.4 million to $4.6 million annually in direct tax revenue to the federal and provincial governments; $6.1 million in new visitor spending; and $91,800 to $129,600 in additional parking revenue.

Figure 16 ‐ Summary of Projected One Time and Annual Impacts – Thunder Bay Events Centre

Source:PwC

Over the first five years of operation, excluding construction impacts, the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre is projected to impact significant economic benefits on the community / region, including: $56.8 million to $88.3 million in direct and indirect spending; $24.2million to $28.4 million in employment income growth; 1,325 to 1,900 person years of employment; $17.9 million to $24.2 million in direct tax revenue to the federal and provincial governments; $32.1 million in new visitor spending; and $0.5 million to $0.7 million in additional parking revenue.

In addition to the above presented economic benefits directly associated with the construction and operation of the planned Thunder Bay Events Centre, a number of social and other benefits could be expected to accrue from the siting and operation of this Facility. These associated benefits include: Sport event hosting; Increased spending by visitors attending events / conferences held at the Events Centre; and Incremental investment / economic development impacts.

From a location perspective, it is estimated that the ability of the Innova Park site to positively influence development within its environs in the short term is limited, principally given the lack of a critical mass of uses in the immediate area. Longer terms, its growth inducing prospects are felt to be greater. By comparison, the Downtown/Waterfront site is concluded to be better positioned to impart positive impacts on the surrounding area in both the short and longer term compared to the Innova Business Park location.

ONE-TIME IMPACTS

Spending $148.3 million to $149.4 million

Employment Income $79.0 million to $79.6 million

Jobs 1,120 FTE to 1,130 FTE

Federal / Provincial Tax Revenue $17.2 million to $17.4 million

ANNUAL IMPACTS



Jobs 265 FTE to 380 FTE


Visitor Spending

Additional Parking Revenue (Downtown / Waterfront only) $91,800 to $129,600

5-YEAR CUMULATIVE IMPACT



Jobs 1,325 FTE to 1,900 FTE


Visitor Spending

Additional Parking Revenue (Downtown / Waterfront only) $0.5 million to $0.7 million

Economic Impact

$6.1 million

$32.1 million


9. RECOMMENDATIONS

The residents of Thunder Bay appear to be solidly in support of a new Event Centre providing it is affordable, and is a catalyst for economic growth of the City and region. As mentioned in previous sections of this report, the primary point of discussion is siting. Even those who advocate a plebiscite appear to generally support the project and feel that the fundamental question is location. The City of Thunder Bay is prepared to move forward on this project subject to the identification and participation of funding partners. The discussion regarding return on that investment has, from the very beginning, been a key one. The first priority in the City’s Phase 2 Request for Proposals identified economic impact as central to the site selection process. The Consulting Team identified economic impact as a key element in their Site Evaluation Matrix and this was supported consistently through the open house process. The composition of the matrix recognized that while economic impact was important, other objectives such as vision, access, complimentary benefits, parking and cost impact were also important in building community support for the process. The recommendation of a site by the Consulting Team based on both economic impact and a multi‐faceted Site Evaluation Matrix appears to be a process residents can support. Recommendation #1 ‐ Build the new Event Centre on the Downtown/Waterfront site The Consulting Team is recommending that the new Thunder Bay Event Centre be located on the Downtown/Waterfront site for the following reasons: The site scored higher in the Site Evaluation Matrix, earning a score of 79.7 compared to 62.9 for the Innova Business

Park site. There is general consensus within the City that the North Ward is the entertainment district or precinct. An event centre can be a “transformative” project providing an opportunity for continuing the renewal of historic

downtown Port Arthur. There are many recent precedents in both Canada and the United States supporting this view. The extent of transformation at Innova Business Park is less, without a vision, and at odds with both the Official Plan and the original intent of the business park.

The relationship between Prince Arthur’s Landing and the Event Centre will create a unique synergy unlike anything in Canada. This will result in that desirable situation with the whole being greater than the sum of the parts.

The Consulting Team is also recommending that the architectural design of the new Event Centre have a modern contemporary look, similar in approach to Prince Arthur’s Landing. The scale of the building and the height of the building faces, especially along Cumberland Street, should be sensitive to the surrounding buildings and use building materials similarly sensitive to the surrounding historic context.

Recommendation #2 – Size the Event Centre to suit the market The Event Centre should be as flexible and multipurpose as possible. Previous studies support a fixed spectator seating capacity of at least 5,200‐5,400 while discussions with the local hospitality industry point to a flat floor area capable of accommodating banquets of 1,000 people. The Consulting Team is recommending: The Spectator Bowl have a fixed seating capacity of 5,700 seats including those seats dedicated to private boxes, The Spectator Bowl have 24 private boxes on a separate level of the building, The Conference Centre have a Banquet Hall capable of accommodating 1,000, The Conference Centre have a dividable Meeting Room with an area of at least 12,000 square feet, The Spectator Bowl and Conference Centre have the ability to function as a single integrated unit, or as two separate

facilities functioning simultaneously without compromise, Van Norman Street between Cumberland and Water Street be a pedestrian street and continue east beyond Water

Street to connect downtown Port Arthur with Prince Arthur’s Landing, A commercial/restaurant space be incorporated into the Event Centre, The whole development take advantage of the spectacular setting with Prince Arthur’s Landing, and views of Lake

Superior and the Sleeping Giant.

Recommendation #3 – Integrate an Transit Station The Consulting Team met with Thunder Bay Transit regarding the relocation of the existing Water Street Transit Station. Based on those discussions and preliminary work done by Transit there was general agreement that the most appropriate approach to replacing the existing station would include the following: Provide bus parking on both the east and west sides of Cumberland Street between Van Norman and Camelot

Streets. The approach would be similar to the Transit Station at City Hall. Incorporate a small warm‐up space for riders into the Cumberland face of the Event Centre close to Camelot Street.

This would have some form of infrared heating. Provide a small office area for Transit employees in the building. The most appropriate location is at the Private Box

level and could be accessed by Transit via the exit stair at the northwest corner by means of a security card. This would not compromise the security of either the Event Centre or the Transit space and would provide visual access to Cumberland Street and the general transit area.

Recommendation #4 – Next Steps Moving to the next step in the process is contingent on City Council support for the project. This Phase 2 Feasibility Study reviews a number of key elements in formulating a vision for a new Event Centre. Once the location has been confirmed and a business case prepared, the next critical step is to develop a higher level of design detail. This adds a finer level of clarity to the vision for the site but more importantly, it provides a more accurate estimate of project costs. Moving forward is critical since: The City plans to approach a number of funding partners to participate in the Event Centre project. There needs to

be a high level of confidence with the estimated cost of the project. A more detailed project estimate will allow for a refinement of the business case and economic impact assessment. Issues relative to engineering approval can be dealt with to the satisfaction of key City Departments. The higher level of detail allows the project to be more “shovel ready” from a grant application perspective. A higher level of design allows additional time for the City to dovetail the event centre plan with local business

interests and build a higher level of support.

Recommendation #5 – Moving on the Operational Assessment Based on support by City Council, start the process of more in‐depth discussions relative to: The prospective lead tenant for Spectator Arena. Potential private‐sector operators for the Event Centre with demonstrated experience with both spectator and

conference facilities. Potential public‐sector and First Nation partners prepared to participate financially in the development and

operation of the Event Centre. Potential private‐sector partners prepared to participate financially in the development and operation of the Event

Centre.


10. GENERAL ASSUMPTIONS AND LIMITING CONDITIONS

1. The use of any Projections made in conjunction with this Report may not be appropriate for use outside of their intended purpose. These Projections, which will not reflect actual financial results, may reflect a possible scenario for a prospective 5,700‐seat Thunder Bay Events Centre and 50,000 square foot Conference Centre during the Projection Period, given PwC’s judgment as to a probable set of economic conditions, together with the hypotheses which are consistent with the purpose of the Projections. Each of the financial scenarios produced in conjunction with our analysis may contain hypotheses and assumptions which are based on a set of economic conditions or anticipated courses of action that are reasonable and appropriate in PwC’s judgment, are consistent with the purpose of the projections, but which may not materialize as set out therein. The hypotheses represent plausible circumstances, but need not be, and may not have been fully supported.

Since future events are not subject to precise projections, some assumptions will not materialize in the exact form presented by our analysis. In addition, other unanticipated events and circumstances may occur which could influence the future performance of a Thunder Bay Events Centre. Therefore, the results achieved in future operating periods will vary from the analysis of prospective market and financial conditions set out therein. While there is no recourse to predicting these matters with certainty apart from informed and reasoned judgments, it must be stated that future events may lead to variations in Project performance which may materially alter Project results. PwC does not warrant that actual results achieved during the Projection Period will be the same, in whole or in part, as those shown in the Projection. The Projection is based on hypotheses and there is a significant risk that actual results will vary, perhaps materially, from the results projected.

2. Unprecedented and ongoing events in the financial and credit markets have resulted in an uncertain and volatile economic environment. While some historic initiatives are being investigated by the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve, as well as other Central Banks to halt the disruptions in capital markets, there is still considerable uncertainty about the near to medium term outlook. Any continued constriction of the credit markets, along with weakening economic fundamentals may impact all asset classes both in terms of value and liquidity. While the Canadian economy may not yet have been impacted significantly, that situation may not continue. Given volatility within the current environment, of necessity, this report has been based on the assumption that the economy will remain stable of soften without further significant disruptions and deterioration in credit availability.

3. Responsible ownership and competent property management are assumed.

4. Information furnished by others upon which all or portions of this report are based, is believed to be reliable, but has not been verified in all cases. No warranty is given as to the accuracy of such information.

5. Our report and work product cannot be included, or referred to, in any prospectus, securities and exchange commission filing or other public or investment document.

6. The intended use of this report is as a high level review of a proposed Thunder Bay Events Centre consisting of an approximate 5,700 fixed seat Thunder Bay Events Centre and 50,000 square foot Conference centre. A detailed feasibility review / analysis has not been undertaken, nor should one infer that such a study has been undertaken.

7. It is assumed that all required licenses, certificates of occupancy, consents, or other legislative or administrative authority from any local, provincial, or national government or private entity or organization have been, or can readily be obtained, or renewed for any use on which the estimates provided in this report are based.

8. No investigation has been made of, and no responsibility is assumed for, the legal description or for legal matters including title or encumbrances. The property is assumed to be free and clear of liens, easements, encroachments and other encumbrances unless otherwise stated.

9. Full compliance with all applicable federal, provincial and local zoning, use, occupancy, environmental, and similar laws and regulations is assumed, unless otherwise stated.

10. No responsibility is taken for changes in market conditions and no obligation is assumed to revise this report to reflect events or conditions which occur subsequent to the effective date of this report.

11. Any financial structure within this report is predicated on the market conditions prevailing as of the date of this report.

12. Areas and dimensions of the property were obtained from sources believed to be reliable. Maps or sketches, if included in this report, are only to assist the reader in visualizing the property and no responsibility is assumed for their accuracy. No independent surveys were conducted.

13. It is assumed that there are no hidden or unapparent conditions of the property, subsoil, or structures that affect value. No responsibility is assumed for such conditions or for arranging for engineering studies that may be required to discover them.

14. No soil analysis or geological studies were ordered or made in conjunction with this report, nor was an investigation made of any water, oil, gas, coal, or other subsurface mineral and use rights or conditions.

15. Neither PwC nor any individuals signing or associated with this report shall be required by reason of this report to give further consultation, to provide testimony or appear in court or other legal proceedings, unless specific arrangements thereof have been made.

16. This report has been made only for the purpose stated and shall not be used for any other purpose. Neither this report nor any portions thereof (including without limitation any conclusions as to value, the identity of PwC or any individuals signing or associated with this report, or the professional associations or organizations with which they are affiliated) shall be disseminated to third parties by any means without the prior written consent and approval of PwC.

17. We have not been engaged nor are qualified to detect the existence of hazardous material which may or may not be present on or near the property. The presence of potentially hazardous substances such as asbestos, urea‐formaldehyde foam insulation, industrial wastes, etc. may affect the value of the property. The estimates presented herein are predicated on the assumption that there is no such material on, in, or near the property that would cause a loss in value. No responsibility is assumed for any such conditions or for any expertise or engineering knowledge required to discover them. The client should retain an expert in this field if further information is desired.

18. We have not audited or otherwise verified the capital cost associated with constructing a new multi‐purpose Thunder Bay Events Centre.

final phase 2 feasibility report on proposed event centre — thunder bay, 2012

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