Free transit new feature of Riverhawks games this summer as city moves ahead with parking lot redevelopment plans

The Edmonton Riverhawks may be losing their main parking lot north of Re/Max Field as the city looks to allow it to be developed.

Free transit and a new shuttle between downtown and the city’s major ballpark are two new transportation options coming this year for fans of Edmonton’s summer collegiate baseball team.

They come as the city looks to move ahead with plans to develop housing on the main surface parking lot next to Re/Max Field used by the Edmonton Riverhawks.

City administration recommended in late March that council’s executive committee release $15 million for the start of the River Crossing business plan on the 5.3-acre parcel of land at Rossdale Road and 97 Avenue.

Steve Hogle, the Riverhawks’ fun advisor, said Tuesday that anyone with a ticket to a Riverhawks game this season can use it for free transit anywhere in the city to downtown’s Churchill Station, where a shuttle will take fans to and from games.

Hogle said the team has about 2,500 parking stalls in lots around the ballpark, which has a capacity of 9,200 spectators. And sometimes, the Riverhawks attract a full house to ReMax Field.

“Parking is one of our Achilles’ heels, and God bless our fans, because they find ways to get to the ballpark,” Hogle told CTV News Edmonton.

“They find a way to get there through ride share, scooters, bicycles, walking. We just are so appreciative of their perseverance getting to the ballpark for the party.”

The project for the development would see the construction of a new stretch of 102 Street between 96 and 97 avenues, signal lights at the intersection of 97 Avenue and 102 Street, redevelopment of the stretch of 96 Avenue that runs alongside Re/Max Field from Rossdale Road to 101 Street, and the installation of underground servicing.

Once the infrastructure work is complete, the city would then offer four lots for sale to developers. Three of them would be for medium-scaled, four-to-six-storey developments and one for a high-density, eight-to-12-storey project.

If approved, work on the project that city council originally approved in 2019 would begin this summer, with lots becoming available for purchase next year.

Hogle said the baseball team is bullish on the redevelopment plans for the area but hopes the city considers it’s “done properly” in terms of getting fans in and out of the area for games.

“We’ve got more than 9,000 people coming down to some games, so how are we going to get those people in and out of that area effectively and not impact that fan experience that we’ve really been given a lot of credit for,” he said.

The Riverhawks’ season typically runs from the start of June through early August.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Evan Kenny