Mayor uses speech to push for arena decision

Edmonton city council must move the downtown arena project forward in a key vote on Wednesday, Mayor Stephen Mandel said Tuesday .

"This is a project that has the potential to accelerate our efforts to bring more people, more energy, more activity to our core," Mandel said in his annual state of the city address to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce.

"In this sense, the impact of this project will be absolutely transformational for our downtown."

Mandel added that a decision would also signal that "we're choosing to offer long-term viability to the NHL, which is something our citizens take pride in."

On Wednesday, councillors will consider a series of new reports from city staff that discuss a number of outstanding funding and governance issues for the $450 million project.

In his speech, Mandel said councillors still have much work to do on these issues, even if they push the project forward.  He told the audience, which included Premier Ed Stelmach, that the city will likely approach the province for money.

"Edmonton should not have to bear the burden of all of this," he said. "This is a project for all of northern Alberta."

Mandel has been urging councillors to make a decision on the project, but many are now expressing reservations after Oilers owner Daryl Katz wrote Mandel last week raising concerns about the proposed ticket tax.

The ticket tax would raise $125 million. Another tax known as the Community Revitalization Levy is proposed to raise another $125 million.

Katz has committed $100 million towards the project. The source of the remaining $100 million has not yet been determined.