Report recommends city keep old arena, community centre it previously tried to sell

Winnipeg City Hall is pictured in a file image from July of 2024. (Jeff Keele/CTV News)

The city will likely keep two properties it was previously looking to sell.

A report being considered by the City of Winnipeg’s property and development committee recommends keeping the Old Exhibition Arena and the St. Boniface East Community Centre properties instead of putting them up for sale.

The report from the public service said the St. Boniface land at 1051 Brussels Avenue proved to be difficult to sell based on its land use designation, noting redevelopment of the site would require significant services and coordination with several landowners.

The report said the city could instead use the property for parkland.

Meanwhile, the report noted a clause from the city’s original purchase agreement limits its ability to sell the Old Exhibition Arena at 80 Sinclair Street. Additionally, the city voted in 2020 to invest in this area through the North District Police Station Project and other recreational and library projects to the tune of $14.1 million.

“Considering council’s investment into the Old Exhibition Arena and the city’s potential inability to sell the land, it is recommended that the declaration of surplus be rescinded,” the report reads.

The arena was declared surplus by the city in 2013 after the Seven Oaks Arena opened, while the community centre was declared surplus back in 2003 because the recreational needs of the area were being met by a nearby facility.

The report will be considered by the committee at a meeting on Friday.

- With files from CTV’s Michelle Gerwing