What’s Going on with the Northlands Coliseum?

As an LRT commuter to the U of A coming from the northside, I pass by the Northlands Coliseum everyday. 

I think a lot of people wonder what’s going on with it. It has stood empty for almost a decade at this point. Demolition of it is expected to start this year. Why didn’t we do anything with it?

The Northlands organization (now defunct) and City officials have tried over the years to repurpose it. The closest we came was a bid by Hockey Canada that failed. The plan was to make it a hockey training centre, but it was too expensive to convert the building. 

It cannot be used as a venue, because the building of Rogers Place required sanctioning a non-compete clause on the Coliseum in hosting sports or concerts. 

Right now, it’s home to mostly bats. The current plan with the building is to demolish it as part of a larger plan for the exhibition lands. All the stuff that Northlands used to own is now owned by the City of Edmonton. The Expo Centre, the Coliseum, and Northlands Park are all part of a transit-oriented development that is focused on building a transit village where the current Coliseum LRT station is, along with a new LRT station on 115 Ave. The plans of which sound all well and good, but remember, we haven’t even finished demolishing Northlands Park or the Coliseum yet! It will take some time for any of that to bear fruit. 

All I know is that I look at a big empty parking lot and a big empty building coming to school everyday.

-Written by Raymond Li (Image Credit: CBC News)