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Rexall Place could be reborn as a six-sheet tournament hockey centre after the Oilers move downtown next season, Mayor Don Iveson says.

“Northlands is definitely going to change significantly within the next year, but I think it brings opportunity,” Iveson told the Journal during a year-end interview.

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“One of the attractive ideas that’s out there is developing (Rexall) into a hockey tournament centre. That wouldn’t only be for tournaments, it would provide much-needed ice in the city as well.”

The idea involves building a floor at about the mezzanine level, removing seating and putting three rinks beside each other on each of the two tiers.

It was one of the options presented last spring to the Northlands board by the arena strategy committee, set up to look at the future of the 41-year-old facility without NHL hockey.

The city, which owns the land, hasn’t studied the technical merits of the idea or decided whether it wants to build six more sheets of ice anywhere over the next few years, but would look at the proposal if there are tourism and economic development opportunities and the business case is good, Iveson said.