Well, it’s definitely the talk of the town anyway

Okay Sam, I’ll admit it, you have me intrigued. Even though what was outlined in the paper Tuesday morning sounded more like a traffic plan than a redevelopment plan, and even though football stadia and raised roadways are generally considered the antithesis of smart urban planning, my curiosity is definitely piqued.

As of today, my best guess is that the actual stadium would be located closer to Main Street, although I’m not sure where. Waterfront Drive might be extended to the “point” of Point Douglas, and the City will use the lure of tax increment financing to convince developers to build more multi-unit housing. The locals are probably being told this housing will be more affordable than what’s already on Waterfront, but I’ll believe that when I see it.

The City might also try to attract more bars and restaurants to the area to service the football crowd. Although I can’t imagine any smart restaurateur would make a major investment like that based on having large crowds ten times a year.

There has to be some sort of community incentive here too, like new recreation facilities perhaps? Could that simply be Asper’s winter recreation dome idea, or is this where my theory of a Sport Manitoba partnership come into the mix? [UPDATE: And here comes Waterpark II: The Sequel]

For the record, I still think this a terrible idea, with the possibility of going down as one of the true disasters of urban planning in this town. However, until we actually see the proposal, it’s sure fun to toss around the ol’ policy pigskin (err, frogskin?).

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For those who missed it, the Mayor inadvertently confirmed on ‘OB that retail development at the existing stadium site would be used to subsidize operations at a Point Douglas stadium. What remains to be seen is: a) will Asper now be given the right to develop the entire Stadium site, instead of just the strip along Empress that was part of the original proposal; and b) what price — if any — will he have to pay for this land? How about taxes?

And who is going to pay for the inevitable road expansions that are going to be required in the Polo Park area after the stadium site, arena/CTV site and the waterpark all get developed?

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I love how every initiative in town these days is connected to this concept of Winnipeg becoming an inland port. Football stadium, tax increment financing, “rapid” transit, new airport, highway expansion…they’ve all been linked to the inland port. It’s as if everyone is blissfully ignorant of the fact that nearly every other region in the continent is chasing after the exact same strategy, and that some — like Saskatchewan for example — appear to be much further along in their planning efforts than we are.

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Great question over at Hacks and Wonks: why didn’t anyone consider the U of M as a potential new stadium site? It has land, parking, easy road access, lots of transit connections, and provides additional tenants for the stadium (Bison football and soccer). Additionally, Asper is already a big booster of the Bisons, a potential “rapid” transit play is available here, and the U of M would have made ample use of the winter recreation dome. Plus, the area is already well served by a variety of bars, restaurants and hotels. Similar shared use models already exist in Calgary and Montreal.

Not to mention that the university is located in a federal Conservative riding (WInnipeg South) that was very closely contested last election. I wonder if Vic would have had such a hard time piecing together the funding for this location?

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An interesting theory was posited on the newwinnipeg.com message boards this afternoon. If Asper gets the entire Stadium site for retail development, what’s he going to put there? We’ve already got the old arena/CTV site just sitting there waiting for development, so it would obviously have to be something that’s too big for that space. Something like…I can’t believe I’m actually going to repeat this…IKEA maybe?

While I think it’s a loooooong shot at best (and one of my most hated Winnipeg rumours that won’t die), one female acquaintance pointed out that this would probably seal the deal for Asper, as IKEA would actually be more popular than the stadium. People would support the whole scheme just to get the damn IKEA. I really can’t argue with that logic. Sam and Dave should get themselves over to Sweden ASAP.