The $2.5B project covers 25 acres and is anchored by the $480M Rogers Place that opened in '16GETTY IMAGES
Oilers Entertainment Group President of Business Operations & COO Tom Anselmi's mandate in Edmonton is to "see through construction of the Ice District, Canada's largest mixed-use sports and entertainment development," according to Marty Klinkenberg of the GLOBE & MAIL. The $2.5B project "covers 25 acres and is anchored by Rogers Place," the $480M downtown arena that opened in '16. With OEG as the Oilers' parent company, they "hope" Anselmi will "bring a little" of his experience as a former Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment exec to Alberta. Anselmi said, "What has been created in the Ice District is ground-breaking. The difference between it and Toronto is that things were done incrementally there. Here, there always was a grander, long-term vision." Before joining MLSE in '96, Anselmi "spent years in Toronto overseeing the development and opening of the SkyDome," which is now Rogers Centre. Last year, Oilers CEO & Vice Chair Bob Nicholson "offered him a job." Anselmi then "traveled to Edmonton, toured Rogers Place and pored over the blueprints for the Ice District." Anselmi said of the project, "It is the epicenter of something great. Who wouldn't want to be part of that?" He added, "The Oilers can be one of the great hockey brands in the world for a number of reasons. It's a franchise with an incredible history. It has an arena with the best of everything. It has the Ice District and Connor McDavid. ... It is a combination of all that we have in front of us" (GLOBE & MAIL, 1/10).
