Civic Centre funding announced

Municipal and Provincial Affairs Minister Joan Marie Aylward announced today the provincial government will provide further financial support to the St. John�s Civic Centre.

"In addition to our $16 million contribution to the project�s capital costs, we have been working actively for several months to identify funding for the furniture and equipment needed to make the facilities fully operational," said Minister Aylward.

"I am pleased to announce today the provincial government is willing to make a $1.9 million commitment which represents 50 per cent of the total requirement of $3.8 million for furniture and equipment. This commitment is provided at this time due to the importance of placing orders in the next several weeks."

This funding will cover the cost of such equipment as convention centre furniture, dining ware and miscellaneous equipment; portable seating for the arena floor; office equipment; and, the score clock, which will be complete with video boards and of a similar type as used in professional sports arenas.

"The St. John�s Civic Centre represents an important investment in the province�s tourism infrastructure," said Minister Aylward. "Our tourism industry continues to see increased activity and the Civic Centre will play a key role in the province�s strategy to attract more larger scale conventions and trade shows to the province."

The first conventions in the new Civic Centre have already been booked for May of 2001.

Media contact: Glenn Bruce, Communications, (709) 729-1983.

Backgrounder
St. John�s Civic Centre

History

On October 23, 1998, a Memorandum of Understanding between the City of St. John�s, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Avalon Convention and Visitors Bureau was signed which confirmed the funding required to construct a Civic Centre in St. John�s.

Included in the Memorandum of Understanding was a mandate to create a Civic Centre Construction Board consisting of 10 representatives: four appointees from the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador, four appointees from the City of St. John�s, and two appointees from the Avalon Convention and Visitors Bureau. A listing of the members is attached.

The role of the Civic Centre Construction Board is to manage the construction phase of the Civic Centre Project. The mandate of the Civic Centre Construction Board is to ensure that the total construction cost of the project not exceed $36 million, including: the cost of land acquisition, site preparation, engineering and architectural services.

The St. John�s Civic Centre Corporation was formed in April 1998 as an arm of the St. John�s City Council and will be responsible for the operation of the new facility.

A Franchise Agreement and a Management Agreement were both signed with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd. that extended the current contract for the St. John�s Maple Leafs for an additional six year period, beginning from the 1999-2000 season. The expertise and management abilities of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd. and the ensuing entertainment links that will be created between the Air Canada Centre and the new Civic Centre will result in a professional and successful operation.

The financial contributors to this project are the federal government in the amount of $4 million, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador in the amount of $16 million, the City of St. John�s for $12 million, and the Avalon Convention and Visitor�s Bureau for the amount of $4 million. The facility will be owned by the City of St. John�s and managed by Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Limited through a management contract with the Civic Centre Corporation.

A consortium headed by Newfoundland Design Associates Limited was selected as the prime consultant for the project.

The Civic Centre will have a total exhibit capacity of 311 booths, almost triple of what is currently available at St. John�s Memorial Stadium. The Convention Centre will comfortably seat 1,400 for dinner, compared with a 970-seat capacity at the major hotels. The spectator facility will have a fixed seating capacity of 6,350 for hockey, compared with 2,940 at Memorial Stadium and 7,800 for special events and concerts, compared with 4,400 at Memorial Stadium.

Three general areas of potential economic benefits have been identified as:

• Physical construction of the facility;

• Ongoing operation of the facility; and

• Tourism Impacts associated with the hosting of public assembly events.

The construction of the Civic Centre will generate significant temporary (or one-time) economic benefits in Newfoundland and Labrador. Based on the Coopers and Lybrand study, construction is expected to generate between 318 and 422 person years of total employment, paying wages and salaries between $14 million and $19 million, as well as $18.6 million of Gross Domestic Product (at factor cost) in the province. In addition to these benefits, significant federal and provincial taxes will be generated.

The ongoing operation of the Civic Centre will generate substantial annual economic benefits. Some of these benefits result from the transfer of Memorial Stadium business activity to the Civic Centre, while the remaining portion will be attributed to new activity that the Civic Centre will generate. Benefits from new activity that the Civic Centre will generate due to its expanded size and multi-purpose nature include employment opportunities in the facility, employee wages and salaries, local purchases of goods and services needed to operate the facility, and benefits associated with the operation of a Hockey Club.

The hosting of events by the Civic Centre will generate significant economic benefits for the city, Avalon Peninsula and the province. These benefits will be generated from event delegate expenditures on accommodations, food and beverage, transportation, retail goods and services, etc. in the local and provincial economy. The number of out of povince delegates is projected to range from 7,500 to 12,400 annually (approximately two per cent of total facility attendance), which represents new dollars in the local and provincial economy. Based on average delegate trip expenditures and visitation extension patterns, the projected levels of attendance of out-of-province visitors are estimated to generate annual spending in the local and provincial economy of between $5.9 million and $9.8 million.

These expenditure totals will generate annually between 135 and 225 person years of total employment, between $5.1 million and $8.6 million of Gross Domestic Product (at factor cost) and between $3.2 million and $5.4 million in wages and salaries in the province.

Because of the increased size of the Civic Centre and the attached Convention Centre, the city will be able to attract and host much larger conventions, in particular those which require separate exhibition space. In addition , the downtown location adjacent to a major hotel and other urban amenities will make the city a more attractive destination to convention planners.

It is estimated that the Civic Centre will host between 112 - 141 events, resulting in 209- 285 annual event days of facility usage. The roster of events is projected to attract between 384,000 and 504,000 attendees annually.

Construction of the project will be completed in the spring of 2001.

Civic Centre Construction Board Members

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