Auditor general releasing report on Investors Group Field debt

An auditor general's report that will be released in August will look at how Investors Group Field at the University of Manitoba was funded.

A section of the report about the IGF was done as part of the auditor general's financial statement audits of the U of M and provincial summary financial statements, says an email from the auditor general's office.

"The section describes how IGF was funded and how it is accounted for," the statement from Auditor General Norm Ricard says.

The province is owed $118 million, including interest, that it loaned to IGF builder Triple B Stadium using the U of M as a middleman.

The loan was supposed to be paid back using property taxes on developments where the former Winnipeg Arena stood. However, that land has remained largely unused, so the predicted property tax revenue hasn't materialized.

In its 2018 financial report, released in June, the university says it's concluded there will be "insufficient amounts available to repay" the loan on schedule.

The 33,214-seat football stadium, home to the CFL'sWinnipeg Blue Bombers, opened on the University of Manitoba's Fort Garry campus in 2013.