Saskatoon pumps the brakes on downtown arena operator deal

WATCH: The future of Saskatoon’s downtown arena hit a bump in the road Wednesday as councillors were uneasy about the group chosen to operate the flagship build

City council will wait until the new year to vote on a potential operator for the downtown event and entertainment district’s flagship buildings.

A 15-year framework deal for Oakview Group, or OVG360, to operate the planned arena and convention centre was deferred to the new year.

“We are getting a lot of information within a week of making a decision,” Ward 3 Coun. Robert Pearce said. “We’re not able to discuss it with people who are directly affected.”

Administration announced a reworked deal with OVG last week.

The new deal changed the term from 25 years to 15 years, with an option for both parties to extend the deal another 15 years. OVG’s initial capital contribution to build the arena lowered from $20 million to $15 million, and the incentive structure underwent some significant changes.

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“It’s time Saskatoon has new facilities to be comparable to other marketplaces,” Peter Luukko, the co-chair of OVG, told counsellors on Wednesday.

After a 15-minute presentation and dozens of questions from city councillors about its contributions, financials of the deal and the partnership benefits OVG could offer the city, representatives from the company laid out their interest in the Saskatoon market.

“We’re incredibly bullish on the marketplace,” Luukko said.

Councillora weren’t as bullish on the framework agreement. Some wondered what benefits OVG could provide, and if the city could benefit from running the venue itself.

“Building a new venue is going to create more opportunity, and I’m just curious why these improvements would require OVG,” Ward 6 Coun. Jasmin Parker asked.

“Proud to be to be here, proud to be before you. But at the end of the day, we’re just going to do more in every facet,” Luukko said later in the meeting.

Trevor Jacek, a board member of SaskTel Centre, told council the deal the city struck is akin to a poorly negotiated deal for a rental house where the city pays the mortgage and all repair costs, and hands over revenue to a private operator all for a price that represents a fraction the house was purchased for.

“Well, you covered all the costs, and took nearly all the risk,” he said.

“No prudent investor would ever sign that deal, and I don’t believe the taxpayers of Saskatoon should either.”

Jacek said OVG’s $15 million up front commitment represents 1.25 per cent of the expected $1.2 billion to build the downtown arena district. He thinks the city would realize more benefits if it ran the facility itself.

“When we go to Ottawa and Regina [for funding], I believe we’ll make a stronger case if we can say this is a municipally owned, locally governed and operated project,” Jacek said.

City administration forecasts a projected $235 million in operating revenue sharing over the full potential 30-year term, compared to $170 million in the previous deal.

Administration also touted reduced financial risk as OVG would cover any operating losses, if there are any.

SaskTel Centre has never reported any operating losses, according to Willems. He said SaskTel Centre makes roughly $2 million in event revenue annually, and he expects the new arena will bring in three times that amount.

OVG touted its partnerships with top talent agencies, marketers and sports franchises to find efficiencies and bring world-class entertainment to Saskatoon throughout the deal, if approved.

It said it would go with city representatives to ask for funding or to compete to host national events, and would even lobby the airport to bring in additional flights to attract more people in the area.

“We can literally go to an act and say, okay, here’s six cities in Canada we can route through — so we see that as an advantage,” Luukko said.

Councillors are now expected to vote on the deal sometime between January and March 2026.