City of St. John's not ready to part with Mile One yet, says councillor
The City of St. John's says it needs more information before deciding whether to sell Mile One Stadium to a private owner, but a prospective buyer thinks it's a way to push the decision down the road.
The city released a consultant's report on the stadium Monday, saying it requires a building assessment, which would scrutinize the building's critical infrastructure, before it will make any moves. That assessment was recommended by the consultant's report.
Coun. Jamie Korab said the assessment could take three to five months.
"It's good information for us to have ... even if we decide not to sell," Korab said, pointing out that even if the city keeps its stadium, it'll know where to invest in upgrades and maintenance.
"This is a city asset. It was built with city taxpayers' money. So we want to make sure we do it right."
Dean MacDonald, owner of Deacon Sports and Entertainment and the Newfoundland Growlers — who play at Mile One — suggested Monday that's a ploy to push the decision past the next municipal election in September.
"If they're talking three to five months, I truly believe this is an exercise to get it past an election," MacDonald said, suggesting a building assessment could have been undertaken in tandem with the report.
"I don't think it needs to take that long, and only needs to take as long as you want it to."
MacDonald says he'd put $25 million into upgrading the building and would eliminate the city subsidy, if he were to purchase it. But he expressed dismay at what he called the lack of will, on the city's part, to ready a deal.
"Are they interested in selling it or not? Are they interested in having the investment in the city or not? Are they interested in getting rid of the subsidy or not?" he said.
The report also suggests an engineering study may be required to look at electric and water systems shared between Mile One and the St. John's Convention Centre, and noted that any buyer would inherit a unionized maintenance staff with city pensions.
It also surveyed other stadiums across Canada, finding that out of 58 facilities, only one was privately-owned.
"Private businesses typically don't own these buildings," Korab said. "These buildings are tough to turn a profit."
Mile One recoups about 70 per cent of its operating costs, he added.
Korab said any potential buyer would have to submit an expression of interest in Mile One before being selected. "We won't be sole-sourcing this," he said.
