Moncton downtown centre has 3 interested developers

Moncton has three major players interested in developinga new downtown sports and entertainment complex at the former Highfield Square Mall property, city officials announced on Monday.

EllisDon, known for Toronto's Rogers Centre,will beamong those to participate in the request for proposals process, slated to begin this fall, said Jacques Dub, Moncton's city manager.

The other contenders include: Bird Construction, responsible for the Thunderbird Sports Centre, built for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, and L'Arna des Canadiens Inc.'s Evenko, which built the Bell Centre, home of the Montreal Canadiens, he said.

"We have some players we can play with," said Dub.

"The question is, what are the rules? And what's it going to cost?"

Dubsaid he expects council will begin to evaluate each proposalnext spring and should have all the information it needs to make a decision within the next 15 months.

Meanwhile, council must decide by this June whether to purchase the 4.5 hectares of land for theproject, which is estimated to cost between $80 million and $100 million.

"This is not a done deal, but council is driving this process," Dub said.

The city has been pushing for a new arena and convention centre for several years.

In 2011, P3 Canada, a federal Crown corporation, rejected Monctons funding request of $25 million toward the centre.

However, the city finalized an agreementlast yearthat gives it the option to buythe $6 million parcel of land in the Highfield Square area. The city paid $25,000 to acquirethe optionagreement.

Downtown Moncton Inc. has already committed $2.5 million toward the project.