Northlands

[bezzola]

The wife and i went to the last day of northlands park yesterday played abit i drank $4 highballs and she said by to some pf her old coworkers.
It was packed in the evening i still never thought i would see the day they shut the doors

[Drewski Canuck]

Northlands' relevance has faded over the years.

With the loss of the Coliseum, it was just a matter of time.

This is a not for profit organization that over the years was run by the "who's who" of Edmonton's elite.

The shift in influence in and on City Hall by Northlands Board is evident as the City is eyeing this land for other purposes. The Organization simply could not sell itself as worthy of public support any more.

Drewski

[jstubbs]

I also went last night. First and only time I’ll ever be in the Northlands casino. Glad I never went before, seeing hundreds of old people plugging money into the slots like zombies is a spectacularly depressing scene.

Also, was it just me or were the two individual big money draw winners husband and wife? Suspicious. Lol.

[jstubbs]

Originally Posted by Drewski Canuck

The shift in influence in and on City Hall by Northlands Board is evident as the City is eyeing this land for other purposes. The Organization simply could not sell itself as worthy of public support any more.

Drewski

I have been wondering what the fate of that place is going to be. The track/casino/stables are for sure tear downs. The old Coliseum has also got to be in thoughts of a teardown but talking to a demolition guy it’d take months to take that place down properly.

My bet is they make the old horse race track into a park, they tear down the casino and stables and make that into a storage area for K-Days. The existing storage areas adjacent to the LRT track will be leveled and sold to developers for transit oriented housing, maybe some of it is for low income individuals. They then reopen the 115 avenue LRT crossing (hence why it was never fully removed in the first place).

No idea what they’re going to do with the Coliseum though. It would be cool if someone could figure out some kind of community centre that could work there. Or gift it to a non-profit. It’s LRT proximity does make it a good location for some kind of low income benefit.

[Sooner]

This council had ideas/offers to develop it into a 6 rink hockey/indoor soccer facility. But I believe the Katz groups little clause that No hockey can be played in it was a sticky point. Not sure if that is true or a rumor. I would have liked to see the rink/soccer fields idea pursued a bit more.

Last I heard on the radio, it is shuttered until the city can find a buyer. A buyer they hope will take on the demolition costs. So, the sale price will drop by the demo costs as what developer will pay big money for land and a building just to tear it down.

Shame to see a nice place go boom but retro fitting it to anything else will be big bucks no matter what. Might as well sell it and a parcel of land and let a developer build some housing on it.

[nast70]

This city needs a mid sized venue for smaller / specialized events. Same idea as the Max Bell in Calgary. Something for the circus, Rodeos, monster trucks, smaller concerts etc. Stuff that Rogers can't handle due to lack of space and infrastructure (think rodeo downtown ).

[does it ALL outdoors]

My retired folks go to Nevada with a group from Northlands three or four times a year. Sometimes Vegas, sometimes Laughlin or Mesquite. Never costs them a dime. Wounder if the new track will do those trips?