Dean MacDonald has an, “exciting new vision for the future of Mile One Centre,” one which includes “much-needed” upgrades to the downtown St. John’s arena.
A new full-service restaurant and sports bar. A theatre, recording studio and E Sports arena. A 9,000-square-foot food court on the main concourse.
This isn’t news. The Newfoundland Growlers’ ECHL team owner has for months expressed his wish to purchase the soon-to-be 20-year-old building.
This week, on the Growlers’ website, “Our vision for the future of Mile One Centre” was again unveiled (“Learn more about our plan to revitalize the current home of the Growlers”).
That prompted Jamie Korab, the city councillor who chairs the board which oversees Mile One, to meet with members of the media Wednesday inside the building.
Not a lot of news there, either.
The city and St. John’s Sports and Entertainment have hired KPMG, the same consultant that penned a 2019 report on the possibility of third-party management of Mile One. This latest report is expected to provide the city advice on the sale/privatization model.
“An independent sub-committee of the (SJSE) board is made up of members of the board of directors, and they should have that report today or tomorrow,” Korab said Wednesday. “They’ll have chance to review it and then next week, the committee will meet with KPMG to go over the findings.
“From there, it will be sent to the board of directors to go over. Once the board does that, there will be multiple meetings and a recommendation to council. Ultimately, it will be council that will decide (whether to sell Mile One).
“At the end of the day, it’s a valuable asset. It’s a big decision. We’re not selling a used car here. If we’re going to look at selling Mile One or going down that road, we should have all the information.”
