Oilers Owner Daryl Katz's Arena Project Looks To Revitalize Area

Katz's Project Calls For New 18,000-20,000- Seat Rink For Oilers, Linked Practice Facility

When Oilers Owner Daryl Katz’s real estate firm Katz Group Properties “finally lifts the lid on its long-proposed downtown arena project in a few weeks’ time, many are likely to be stunned by the scale of the ambitious” C$1B-plus redevelopment project, according to a front-page piece by Lamphier & Kent of the EDMONTON JOURNAL. If it “proceeds as planned, the multiuse project would utterly transform the northern quadrant of the city’s gritty downtown core.” A source said, “Everything is still fluid, and nothing is set in stone yet, but this is very much about revitalizing a district, not building a stand-alone arena.” Lamphier & Kent note besides a new 18,000-20,000-seat rink that “would serve as the Oilers’ new home, Katz’s audacious scheme calls for a linked second arena that would serve as the team’s practice facility.” Both buildings “would host a wide range of other events besides hockey, including concerts and shows.” A source said that the “dramatic makeover would turn” the site into an “entertainment mecca for sports, concerts and other events.” Katz Group Properties, a subsidiary of Katz Group, “holds an option to acquire the Baccarat Casino site from its current owner, Edmonton-based WAM Developments.” Katz spokesperson Josh Pekarsky said there is “still a lot of work to be done,” but added the company is “really pleased with the public support we have received so far, and hope to be in a position to say more in the fall” (EDMONTON JOURNAL, 8/28).