Edmonton council approves $601M arena project

Edmonton city councilvoted on Wednesday in favour ofare-drawn downtown arena planvalued at $601 million.

The arena itself would cost $480 million, with the Winter Garden set at$53 million. A pedestrian corridor, LRT connection, community rink and cost of purchasingthe arena lands would add $68 million to the total.

The deal calls for the city to put up $219 million (raised through a community revitalization levy), Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz to put up $143 million with $114 millionto come from other levels of government.

A ticket surcharge would raise another $125 million.

The latest proposalincreases thecity's shareby a "quite manageable" $5 million compared to the October 2011 framework, said city CFO Lorna Rosen.

The CBCs Scott Lilwall (@scott_lilwall) and Scott Fralick (@ScottFralick) live-tweeted all the action as it unfolded at Wednesday's council meeting.