Soon, there will be none. City of Edmonton crews started demolishing the former Northlands Spectrum building, the old grandstand and casino on the Edmonton exhibition grounds, on Monday. It’s the last of nine structures that once stood at the horse-racing complex. Work to tear down the 115-year-old grandstand began last fall with planning and hazardous-material abatement. The project’s budget is $10.8 million. Jack Ashton, a general supervisor with the city’s infrastructure services department, said he expects demolition to be complete by the end of the year, weather permitting. “(Workers) will separate the materials into steel studs, steel, concrete, drywall and other materials, and then load them into trucks,” he told CTV News Edmonton at the site. “Most of the material here can be recycled.” Horse racing began at the exhibition grounds in 1910. The casino was added in the 1990s. Northlands closed the racetrack and casino in 2019 before ceasing all operations two years later. At that time, the city assumed operation of the nearby Edmonton Expo Centre through Explore Edmonton, the city’s promotional and tourism arm. Ashton said part of the Spectrum demolition project includes regrading the site for future development. The city has long-term plans to transform the exhibition lands into a 200-acre, transit-oriented community featuring high-density housing and commercial development. Neal Osaduik, the city’s director of land development, said the vision includes two new Capital Line LRT stations to replace Coliseum station, an expanded Borden Park and a range of high-density housing options. Preparation work has also begun on the demolition of the Coliseum, but the public likely won’t see obvious signs of that until spring, when crews are expected to begin removing exterior panels. There is no budget yet for the overall redevelopment, Osaduik said. “The total buildout timeline will probably be in the area of 20 to 30 years,” he said. “We’ll be responding to market conditions. If the market picks up, we’ll go faster, and if the market slows down, we’ll go slower.” He said the first phase is already underway: a 20-acre development featuring housing ranging from single-family homes to four- and six-storey buildings. “We’ll bring in all the services and roads, then sell the land in large chunks to our development partners, who will build local roads, infrastructure and the lots,” Osaduik said. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Nahreman Issa
