With the beloved Centennial Civic Centre approaching the end of its usable life, Lloydminster is faced with some important decisions with potential to shape the community for decades to come.
In 2020, the City of Lloydminster began engaging the community on its vision for a modern, marquis events facility that could support existing user needs, while creating opportunity for exciting new recreation and entertainment options. From productive discussions with our primary user groups, a vision for Lloydminster has Place begun to emerge.
The starting point
While there are still many details to be decided upon, the first conceptual drawings for Lloydminster Place include:
- a primary arena with seating for 2,000, expandable up to 2,500 with floor seats
- a second full-size indoor ice surface with seating for 300-500
- a third outdoor ice surface, directly adjacent to the building
Frequently Asked Questions
| Why does the City need to build a new event facility? |
| In late 2019, the City completed a consultant-led assessment of 17 City-owned facilities, including the Centennial Civic Centre. These buildings were analyzed based on age, condition and capital cost for rehabilitation/renovation and anticipated remaining life. The Civic Centre was deemed to be near the end of its usable life. The cost of repairing and restoring the building to a modern standard – when compared to constructing a new facility – were not feasible. Additionally, the facility is not able to meet standards for many events, low roof lines, lack of dressing room space are problematic to bringing in sporting events to the City. |
| When will the new event facility open? |
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The City expects to break ground on the project in early 2023, with a grand opening sometime in 2025. |
| What will be in the new event facility? |
| The initial concept of the new event facility include two indoor ice surfaces and an option for an additional covered outdoor surface. The building will also include eight public dressing rooms and dressing rooms for primary user groups. |
| What will happen to the Centennial Civic Centre? |
| The City anticipates the Centennial Civic Centre will continue to operate until summer 2025 before it is decommissioned and ultimately demolished. The building will not be sold or repurposed. |
| How will the City pay for the new event facility? |
| The City submitted federal and provincial grant applications with potential to cover a significant portion of the costs to design and build the new event facility. Portions of the cost not covered by grant dollars will come from the City’s capital budget, as well as regional partnerships, sponsorships, donations, while also seeking additional grants. The City has set up fundraising and sponsorship committees to help raise funds. |
| Will this event facility be designed to host a WHL franchise someday? |
| No. The benchmark capacity for a WHL-sized arena is approximately 4,000-4,500 seats. This is beyond the scope and budget of this project. |
| How did the City choose the location? |
| Through much of 2021, City Administration – with the support of contracted experts – explored several sites throughout Lloydminster. Each site was thoroughly assessed with a focus on visitor accessibility, geotechnical risks, grant eligibility, servicing requirements, economic benefit, and a plethora of other considerations. After months of diligent assessment, the eastern site formally selected by City Council was deemed the most viable from a financial and logistical perspective. The City is confident that a new event facility in the City’s southeast will help drive economic and recreational benefit to the Lloydminster region for generations to come. |
| How can local suppliers and service companies participate in the construction? |
| The City of Lloydminster's Procurement Department manages acquisition of the many goods and services required in its regular operations and services to residents. Our procurement activities are guided by a Purchasing and Procurement Policy. We advertise procurement request documents, including request for bids, quotations and proposals. All potential vendors are encouraged to create or update their profile on bidsandtenders.ca to receive notice of tenders. The e-bidding format simplifies the procurement process by allowing bids to be submitted electronically. Vendors no longer have to come to City Hall to meet a deadline and get a manual time and date stamp for bid submissions. |
| Who is the architect of the new building? Why did the City choose this company? |
| TBD Architecture + Urban Planning (TBD) is the firm selected by the City of Lloydminster to support the planning and design of the new Event Facility. Through the RFP submission and interview process, TBD displayed a high-level of experience and expertise in large event facility projects – including Edmonton’s Rogers Place – bringing forward a well-rounded and highly qualified team. Their unique value-added operational planning tools and capital investment trackers will help to balance the City’s needs during the design of the project. TBD has a strong focus on sustainable operations and is forward thinking regarding the chosen site and future development for the area. |