Proposed Edmonton Venue Raises Concern Among Locals

A $250 million event park could be heading to Edmonton, but the proposed deal has raised questions and concerns among the local music community.

The event park is part of a potential deal between the city of Edmonton, the province, and the Oilers Entertainment Group. As part of the proposed deal, the city said it would extend the downtown Community Revitalization Levy for another decade and provide $69 million, while the province has budget $52 million over three years. OEG would pay $62 million in lease fees, as well as a $22 million in-kind contribution.

This new venue would be constructed just east of Rogers Place, with a capacity of 2,500. Tim Shipton, OEG Sports and Entertainment executive vice president, told the Edmonton Journal that this venue wouldn’t be competing with smaller venues like the Starlite Room or the Rocky Mountain Icehouse, as neither are half the size of the proposed event park.

“Our new 2,500-person space is a unique design, and it fills a gap that exists in our city,” Shipton said in a statement. “It’s a different gap that what’s being filled by many other venues in the city. We’re looking to invest in Downtown Edmonton and bring people to Downtown Edmonton. That doesn’t just benefit our organization, but all organizations Downtown.”

Local event promoters and fans, however, are calling-out the deal, as OEG is partners with the entertainment giant Live Nation. By continuing with this deal, the city would be going forward with a taxpayer-funded monopoly. Live Nation has proven its stranglehold on the industry with a record $23 billion in earnings last year, and currently, the company is the subject of an antitrust lawsuit alongside its ticketing subsidiary Ticketmaster by the Department of Justice, alleging anticompetitive and monopolistic practices.

“I’m not necessarily saying no to spending money on bringing more vibrancy to Downtown,” Tyson Cale Boyd, a partner in the Starlite Room, told the Journal. “But I question why the money is being spent on an exclusive group of people.”

| READ: Proposed Live Nation Venue Draws Opposition from Portland Arts Organizations |

This isn’t the first time locals have been upset with Live Nation trying to enter its local music scene. Every time Live Nation announces a new venue, concertgoers are quick to share their dismay, citing the entertainment giant’s monopolistic practices.

Portland, Oregon — one of the last larger cities in the U.S. that doesn’t have a venue owned by Live Nation — saw complaints from music fans across the city that the conglomerate would ruin Portland’s vibrant indie music scene. Fans also lashed out at the National Capital Commission after announcing it signed an offer to lease an agreement with Live Nation Canada to operate a new live music venue in downtown Ottawa.

A similar situation ensued when Live Nation quietly bought Brooklyn’s Bell House and after news broke that Live Nation would be involved in the return of Vans Warped Tour.

Shipton assured that the new event park will not have an exclusive deal with Live Nation, noting that “We look forward to partnering with a multitude of different promoters and acts.”

Nonetheless, the event park seems daunting to the city. Brett Fraser, a concert-industry veteran who is the talent supervisor at Sherwood Park’s Festival Place, told the Journal that “I can see why promoters in the city, especially Downtown, would be concerned.”

“This has a huge effect on them,” Fraser said. “It’s an interesting macro solution to the problem, to give this much to one entertainment entity.”

The proposed plan still needs to be approved by the city council.

This is an updating story. Stay with TicketNews for the latest.