Public consultations reveal priorities for new Sudbury events centre

Sudbury’s new event centre design prioritizes accessibility & Indigenous heritage. The $200 million project aims for a 2028 opening. Madison Marier reports.

Greater Sudbury’s community engagement for the downtown event centre has influenced the initial concept for the new building, putting emphasis on accessibility and honouring Indigenous heritage.

Tony Cecutti, the strategic project lead at the city, said the engagement process led to productive and informative conversations with residents.

“And we learned what’s important to make sure that the building’s accessible,” Cecutti said.

“The previous building, built some 70 years ago or so, is very challenging for people.”

They also heard that honouring the city’s Indigenous heritage is key for the new building.

“It’s important for us to understand about the land that was here before we came,” he said.

“The heritage and the history of our Indigenous community. So they’re sharing with us very important information that our design team and architectural team are listening to.”

The city has hosted 10 community engagement sessions and several pop-ups to get Sudburians’ feedback. Cecutti said it’s important to get as much information as they can in the design stage and before construction begins on the $200 million facility.

One of the main topics brought up at the community engagement centres is to transfer the wolf on the wire to the new location, as many said it’s a staple at the current arena in the Sudbury Community Arena.

People that CTV News spoke with agreed that accessibility is important to them.

More accessible

“Change is good, but they need more access,” one person said.

“Access for those who are getting up there in age or those that do have … mobility (challenges). They need more parking for that, as well.”

“I’d like to see a bigger store for the merch and stuff, more seating and big enough to have a couple of cool concerts,” another person said.

Another said they would prefer a new rink be built and financed by the private sector.

Cecutti said the new event centre will be able to host a variety of activities, including sporting events, special events and concerts.

He said the new facility could hold about 5,800 people for sporting events and about 6,000 for concerts.

“Our team is very focused on delivering that project within the schedule and the budget that’s set aside by council,” Cecutti said.

The city is currently looking at hiring a construction manager before site preparation begins to prepare for construction starting next year and concluding in 2028.