What teams might be interested in being the main tenant of Surrey’s new arena?

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Bill Aujla is keen on talking about the new entertainment district featuring a 10,000-seat ice arena coming to Surrey — other than which team could be rink’s the main tenant.

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Aujla is the president and CEO of the Surrey City Development Corporation (SCDC). That’s the group overseeing the project, which is slated to include a hotel, conference and meeting space, restaurants, retail stores and residential dwelling units. The plan is to begin construction in early 2027 and open in 2030.

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“Surrey is a growing city. It’s going to overtake Vancouver in terms of being the most populous and it’s becoming more and more the centre of Metro Vancouver,” Aujla said. “I see this area between the King George hub station and Gateway Station being the next downtown for the Metro Vancouver region. And people are referring to the arena, but I see it more as a cultural event space. It’s going to host many, many events.”

Surrey opened up the bidding process for developers, operators and team tenants for the new complex in January and contracts are slated to be awarded in August.

The team question is an intriguing one. That will be central in all of this. Aujla politely declined any questions regarding teams last week, saying that it was unfair to the ones that had applied since the SCDC was in the middle of the decision process.

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Postmedia reported in February that Surrey has set aside $200 million to spend on the arena. The bidding package states the city is open to “a range of proposed ownership and operating structures,” for the rink, including city owned and consortium operated, city owned and leased to a consortium or consortium owned and operated.

We’ve heard much in this market about how big a bonus running your venue is from the Vancouver Whitecaps’ situation.

That circles us back to the Vancouver Canucks and possible interest in the new rink. They’ve shown a willingness to oversee venues. They took over management of the Abbotsford Centre (now the Rogers Forum), which is home to their Abbotsford Canucks AHL farm team, in January 2022. That puts them in charge of things like concert bookings.

The Canucks signed a five-year extension in February for Abbotsford, which runs through 2031.

The Canucks also have the National Lacrosse League’s Vancouver Warriors, who play their home games out of Rogers Arena. That’s a nine-date schedule over the winter.

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Much has been made the past few years about the Canucks’ lack of a practice facility, but Surrey would be a lengthy commute for players, considering most live in Vancouver or on the North Shore.

The Vancouver Giants could also be in play regarding a new rink. They have been tied to moving to Surrey in the past, with reports a decade ago of the team flirting with the idea of partnering with the City of Surrey to build a new arena near the Scott Road SkyTrain Station.

When the Giants moved from the Pacific Coliseum to Langley Events Centre in May 2016 Giants owner Ron Toigo said of the Surrey situation: “Right now, we’re really focused on this. We’ve put that on the back burner.”

Aujla, as it happens, has a Canuck tie, since he spent seven years as the vice-president of real estate for the Aquilini Investment Group prior to signing on with SCDC in November. Keep in mind, though, that he was general manager of real estate and facilities management for a six-and-a-half-year run for the City of Vancouver, so he’d had various connections in that real estate and development space. He was also the Olympic Village project manager.

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“The village was a very complex deal. This would be a complex structure,” Aujla said.

The district has earmarked an area just west of King George Highway for the complex. It currently features the B.C. Lions practice facility and is steps away from SkyTrain. Aujla added that “we continue to be open to discussions if the proponents have other sites.

“The city does own other lands here, too,” he continued. “You want the optimal site. And this certainly is a very good site. It’s between two SkyTrain stations. It’s a question of whether there’s a site that’s better.

“We’re really looking to proponents to provide the best proposal possible that gives us a venue and entertainment district that achieves what we want to see for the city centre. It’s one of these things where we have to look at what’s the best value overall.”

The proximity to SkyTrain is part of what would be highly coveted by a team. The Giants, for instance, didn’t have it at the Coliseum and don’t have it now at the LEC. You’d think giving fans easier access to games would enhance overall attendance.

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The Giants’ current announced attendance average is 3,665. The WHL average is 4,040. The team’s announced attendance last season was 3,738.

The Abbotsford Canucks’ announced attendance average is 3,839. They were at 4,152 last season.

Planning for a 10,000-seat venue is tied to also attracting concerts and cultural events, explained both Aujla and Jeff Arason, who’s Surrey’s chief capital programs officer.

“It’s in the middle of what’s available,” Arason said. “We have some venues in the region that are smaller, at 5,000 (Langley Events) to 7,000 (Rogers Forum) and we have ones that are larger, at 18,000 (Rogers Arena), and the 10,000-fixed seat addresses that gap.

“It’s about building vibrancy within our city centre. It’s about total nights of activity. How that splits out between sports and entertainment is to be evaluated. The total number of nights is what’s attractive.”

Arason admits there was “some evaluation early on,” regarding an outdoor stadium for Surrey, but “a goal from this project is the vibrancy.”

“There are limitations on what it can provide during the winter months, due to the open air aspect,” he said of a stadium. “You’re not going to have the entertainment in the winter months and a reduced sports schedule. That’s where the arena seemed to provide the greatest opportunity for that vibrancy.”

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SEwen@postmedia.com

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