Asper Faces 2nd and Long!

Author: Scott Taylor

July 28, 2009

Ask David Asper the right question about his proposed football stadium at the University of Manitoba and he will be amiably forthright.  Ask him the wrong one and he’ll bristle.  Right now, there aren’t a lot of “wrong” questions.  In about five weeks, there could be many.

For all anyone knows, all is well with Asper and the people who are trying to make the new football stadium happen.  If everything goes as planned, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will have a new play-pen by next spring without any stress at all.  However, right now, there is some stress.

Asper and his dream for a new football stadium on the campus of the U of M is, in a way, on hold.  Not dead, not dead by a long shot.  But Asper will admit that if he doesn’t get enough leases signed for his new mall – the commercial property on the site of the current stadium at Polo Park that is expected to generate the profits necessary to maintain the Bombers through both strong financial periods and weak -- the stadium project might not get off the ground.

“We made it clear at the initial news conference that we had to sell all the leases in order to move forward,” Asper said.  “As of now, we haven’t been able to lease out all the space, but we’re working hard at it.  I would say that we’ll know by the end of August or the first week of September."

“We would like to get into the ground sometime in November.  In order to do that, we’d like to have every lease signed, or at least committed to, by the end of August.  But the recession in the United States has gone much deeper than people expected.  The business climate is very difficult in the U.S. and new shopping centre leases aren’t being signed like they were in the 80s and 90s.”

Now let’s be very clear here.  If Asper doesn’t get the leases done by the end of August, it doesn’t mean that he’s going to give up on his plans.  All it means is that there will likely be a construction delay, and, of course, a construction delay will mean Asper might not take over control of the football team in 2010.  “We’re confident and we’re still moving forward,” Asper said.

One person who is glad Asper is “still moving forward” is Phil Sheegl, the Director of the City of Winnipeg’s Planning, Property and Development Department.  After all, the cost to repair and improve the existing stadium has ballooned to about $45 million and no one is certain who would foot for the bill for a retrofitting of the rapidly aging 55-year-old structure.

“I’m glad David and his people are still optimistic and still working hard on the project,” Sheegl said, during the Winnipeg Goldeyes golf tournament on Monday, July 20.  “Because there doesn’t appear to be a plan B.  The cost of repairing the existing stadium is now at least $45 million.  And if we’re forced to do that, I guess it will have to be done, but I would prefer not to have to get into that discussion.

“The fair market value for the existing stadium and the land has been determined, so if David can move forward with his plans, we’ll do everything we can to help make them successful.  David’s plan is certainly my choice.”

It’s probably every football fan’s choice, too.  However, David cautioned last week that the finished project might not be as lavish as his original design.  “We might have to scale things down,” Asper conceded.  “It is a difficult economic climate out there right now and construction costs are also rising. But we’ll see. We’ll see what happens at the end of the month.”

The cost to simply bring the existing stadium up to code is something no one wants to consider.  A scaled down version at the U of M is probably better than re-furbishing the existing building.  Right now, everyone who wants to see the Bombers play football in a comfortable, new home is pulling for David Asper.

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