Event centre talks heat up with Downtown Sudbury campaign

The signs say "We All Win," but not everyone agrees.

The Downtown Sudbury Business Improvement Association (BIA) has come up with a public awareness campaign, promoting why the core of the city is the best place for a new event centre in Sudbury, Ont.

"We want to make sure people have adequate information so that when they're talking to city counsellors, they know the benefit of having an event centre downtown," says Jeff MacIntyre, chair of the BIA.

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That information includes the amount of time it would take someone from outlying areas of Greater Sudbury to get downtown, and the economic advantages nearby businesses would see.

"We've looked across Canada, we've looked across North America, and when you locate it downtown, you see the biggest impact," MacIntyre says.

"People coming in early, going to restaurants, spending a bit of money, going out after. That interaction with the community is much stronger when it's part of a downtown core."

But at least one business owner isn't convinced the centre would make a huge difference to her bottom line.

Betty-Anne Serre, owner of Kuppajo Espresso Bar, says she likes the idea of having the centre nearby, but isn't sure it's a viable option.

"Downtown, I can't imagine because there is a lot of parking that people need, and to have that many people downtown seems like a lot. Whereas with the outskirts, you have the space."

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Sudbury city council has yet to put out a request for proposal, but is set to receive location recommendations in late June.

MacIntyre says if anyone is on the fence about the location, they should think of how beneficial it would be to not just existing businesses, but future ones too.

"We have the density to make it make sense," he says.

"You have ready-to-go businesses that can open up, expand, grow and benefit off of one of these things."