The message was clear in a comprehensive 200-page report Saskatoon recently received from a consulting group who specializes in market research for convention centre and entertainment facilities in North America.

SaskTel Centre and TCU Place are done, and costs to replace will rise with time. Or, we patch these facilities and remain content to see future A-list attractions fly over Saskatchewan to other cities in Canada.

It was interesting to note the tone of urgency in the consultants' report. It used direct language and left no room for ambiguity.

Compare this with Saskatoon city council's cautious language indicating this is a 'multi-year decision' process. At $330 to $375 million, not including land, it is easy to understand why expectations cannot get raised too high. Add to this a new central library and a bus rapid transit system, and Saskatoon is staring at $750 million worth of big-city expenditures.

The owner of the Saskatchewan Rush has advocated for a new downtown arena in Saskatoon. (Eric Anderson/CBC)

Before the 'spend nothing, do nothing' folks arm themselves to fight city hall on these future expenditures, it is important to examine the other side of the balance sheet.

Other cities show positive spinoff

What can we expect if we buy a new convention centre and arena? The consultant's report only examined a few large and small cities who have factual evidence that their investments have paid off.

Lets look at small cities for a moment. Moncton, Peterborough, Kelowna, St. Catherines and Victoria have all cited growth of their downtown, investments in land development and revitalization, increased safety, and other spinoff benefits from new downtown arenas.

Moncton reported that its $100 million dollar arena started to generate over $50 million in spinoff developments 2 years before it opened, with more expected. Moncton has noticed increased bookings of attractions in the new arena through 2021.

What have large cities experienced? Edmonton has cited not only $1 billion dollars of investment around Rogers Place, they have noted a 24 per cent decline in violent and property crimes in the vicinity of Rogers Place. Furthermore, Edmonton saw a 60 per cent increase in condo sales from 2016-17.

Columbus, Ohio is often regarded as setting in motion a U.S. trend toward creating 'arena districts' which have lead to revitalization of downtowns. Started in 1998, their Arena District evolved into 1.5 million square feet of office space, 800 apartment and condo units and several new hotels.

In Saskatoon, current economic spinoffs in and near SaskTel Centre are zero.

'Arena disctricts' capitalize on crowds

Arena districts are now popular destinations in many cities. For arena districts to be successful, a critical mass of retail and people is required.

Detroit's planned sports and entertainment district, 'District Detroit,' features a mix of shopping, restaurants, bars, nightclubs and other entertainment venues. Detroit is already experiencing an increase of pedestrian-friendly residential and commercial development which forms a contiguous, walkable area.

Critical mass already exists in many downtowns. Let's look at Saskatoon's downtown for a moment. TCU Place, hotels, major shopping and retail destinations (Midtown Plaza, 2nd Avenue), restaurants and the major Cineplex theatre all exist within walking distance of each other.

A report commissioned by the City of Saskatoon said SaskTel Centre is past its prime. (Jennifer Quesnel/CBC)

What about congestion and parking? Unlike SaskTel Centre today, the critical mass of attractions and activities encourage people to 'linger' after an event.

Also, there are multiple ways to move in and out of the area based on the downtown's grid pattern, as opposed to the limited access points at SaskTel Centre now. All people can do after an event at SaskTel Centre is hop in the car, line-up to exit, wait, and go home.

How do we pay for a new district?

There are ways the City could raise funds to finance their share of a new downtown arena without raising property taxes. Currently, city council does not collect development levies for major recreation facilities, despite having the authority to do so. Development charges are imposed on lot costs to allow cities to put growth-related costs onto new development. It follows the principle of 'growth pays for growth'.

The alternative, perhaps more appropriate in this case, is to capitalize on the expected economic spinoff that a downtown arena is supposed to create. Council can collect 'incremental' tax increases from new (spinoff) development and put it into an account to pay for financing the new arena. This is call 'tax increment financing' and is used commonly in arena and entertainment districts which are projected to be revitalized through new development.

These are interesting times as Saskatoon decides how and when to invest in big-city amenities and attractions for the 21st century.