Saskatoon city council is taking steps to plan for a new downtown arena.
Councilors gathered Thursday for a special governance and priorities committee meeting to approve an advisory group for a Downtown Event and Entertainment District (DEED).
The up to 15-person advisory group will be made up of one councilor to act as chair, two non-voting councillors, as well as representatives from Saskatoon Tribal Council, Métis Nation–Saskatchewan – Western Region, Downtown Business Improvement District, Riversdale Business Improvement District, Tourism Saskatoon, North Saskatoon Business Association, Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce, the Government of Saskatchewan and up to five others from the public.
The group can only advise city council and is not allowed to make decisions on behalf of the city.
“This project is an immense, city-defining project,” an excerpt of an administration report to the committee said. “There will be many different perspectives among the various parties and, therefore, it is possible that there will not be consensus on all items.”
City administration will seek the advisory group’s advice, input, and recommendations, and the advisory group will be afforded the opportunity to make presentations to committees and city council.
“Having key stakeholder agencies represented on the advisory group will be tremendously important for the successful development and funding of this project; therefore, having representation from the province of Saskatchewan provides a reasonable balance of designated agency representation,” the report reads.