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Post by Guardian on Mar 22, 2015 10:11:26 GMT -6
Full speed ahead on event centre Thursday, March 19, 2015 IS sticktoitiveness even a word? Regardless, that’s what the City of Thunder Bay is doing with its event centre proposal. In a carefully orchestrated media conference Wednesday designed to impart a concise message, Mayor Hobbs and his administrators made it clear the city will not back away from a 5,700-seat arena with attached convention centre on Thunder Bay’s lakefront. The presentation was designed as much to counter “misinformation” as to signal determination at a pivotal point in the process. A report going to council Monday is large but the takeaway messages in proposing to move to Phase 5 are these: 1. No potential funding partner has said no. In fact, said Hobbs, federal point man, MP Greg Rickford and his provincial counterparts, Michael Gravelle and Bill Mauro — all cabinet ministers — remain in active talks with him and supportive. 2. Winnipeg Jets hockey team owner Mark Chipman remains on board with the concept of moving his AHL farm team to Thunder Bay to be closer to home. The event centre plan has been delayed by government funding inaction so the team is moving to Winnipeg for the time being. But in Winnipeg it will play second fiddle to the Jets; here it will be the main attraction. 3. The federal Build Canada Gas Tax Fund recently expanded its categories for eligible infrastructure to include sport, cultural, tourism and recreation projects. It will not fund a professional hockey arena but city manager Tim Commisso took pains to point out the apparent eligibility of the contiguous exhibition and convention centre. The province, the city and its partners would pay for the rest of the $114-million project. 4. Most mid-sized municipal event centres have been built with borrowed money whereas this one would require 40-per-cent city funding sources. Public concerns also revolve around affordability — and a cost that has risen from a 2011 estimate of $80 million. Hobbs and Commisso were joined by financial services director Lynne Martin to itemize the direct impact on homeowners — a $17 annual property tax increase on a $100,000 house and 50 cents a month on hydro bills to pay for moving an electrical substation. A majority of city residents have indicated support for this project. With nothing much changed, and council’s overwhelming support expected to continue Monday, all that remains is help from other governments to get construction started this summer. We are all waiting Thanks for this!
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Post by weinbender on Mar 22, 2015 23:44:58 GMT -6
Manitoba "Winters" ? Make the logo like a bunch of pointy icicles... its already a saying around these parts and not many can beat our winters
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Post by Tim on Mar 24, 2015 13:59:15 GMT -6
Councillors wrestle with arena report
The Chronicle-Journal
Tuesday, March 24, 2015 - 08:00 in News Thunder Bay city council is gearing up for its final meeting before possibly moving ahead on Phase 5 of the multi-million dollar proposed event centre. Council received an update on Phase 4 of the $114.7 million event centre at Monday night’s meeting. This included recommendations on how to pay for the capital construction costs. The idea is that the city would pay $41.9 million or roughly 40 per cent with $23 million coming from the federal government’s Gas Tax Fund, another $36 million from the province, $9.5 million from the private sector and $4.3 million from Thunder Bay Hydro. Council will be holding a special meeting on Thursday where they will vote whether or not to . . .
(For the full story, please see the Tuesday, March 24, 2015 print edition of The Chronicle-Journal, or our digital eSubscription. You may subscribe to the electronic version by clicking at the icon at the top right corner of this page.)
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luke
1st Line Centre
Posts: 452
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Post by luke on Mar 24, 2015 19:58:05 GMT -6
Th farm team being in Winnipeg is a temporary thing, right? It'll end up in Thunder Bay? If so, I'm guessing they'll just make it the Moose, because it's easy, and then change it permanently once they're in TB. I think they'll keep the Polar Bears name for a junior team they're planning to get. I'm on the keep "Manitoba Moose" team so they can reclaim "MICKEY" and we can get a real Jets mascot.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2015 20:55:57 GMT -6
I'm sure True North will name it what they had planned for Jets 2.0, before mounting public pressure literally forced him to name the team "Jets." I heard Manitoba Polar Bears, powder blue uniforms, which supposedly were nice looking. I wonder if Hershey would object to us using the name?
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Mecca
4th Line Grinder
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Post by Mecca on Mar 25, 2015 9:38:56 GMT -6
The blue for the Jets is "polar night blue". I suspect it'll be the Bears.
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Post by sloth on Mar 25, 2015 13:40:48 GMT -6
Was to be Manitoba Bears not Polar Bears but the logo was a Polar Bear. Or so I heard.
Also heard different colour schemes. "Powder blue" and "burnt orange".
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2015 14:22:22 GMT -6
The blue for the Jets is "polar night blue". I suspect it'll be the Bears. There is already a team called "Hershey Bears" I wonder if the AHL club would be allowed to name the team with the word "Bear" in it.
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wolf357
Alternate Captain "A"
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Post by wolf357 on Mar 25, 2015 15:31:04 GMT -6
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2015 15:37:28 GMT -6
hmmm...It says Milwaukee was in the IHL, and were allowed to keep the "Admirals" name, when the AHL absorbed the IHL clubs in 2001. I guess it's a possibility.
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Post by jetsblu44 on Mar 28, 2015 16:23:10 GMT -6
The Winnipeg Whiteout
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Post by donwood on Mar 30, 2015 15:01:13 GMT -6
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Post by Lions67 on Mar 30, 2015 15:09:51 GMT -6
not eligible for fed funding. thunder bay option is dead.
now what?
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Post by donwood on Mar 30, 2015 15:34:02 GMT -6
not eligible for fed funding. thunder bay option is dead. now what? I'd think see how things go with season tickets and marketing for next season, maybe with the savings from all the flights and extra housing costs the team could be viable in Winnipeg.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2015 16:38:06 GMT -6
not eligible for fed funding. thunder bay option is dead. now what?
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