Edmonton Oilers Owners, City Suing Rogers Place Architects
By Sammi Silber
The Edmonton Arena Coroporation (EAC), owned by the Katz group that also owns the Edmonton Oilers, is suing the architects of Rogers Place, along with the city of Edmonton, according to CBC.
Both parties filed statements of claims and are suing 360 Architects Canada Inc. and HOK Architects Corporation. The latter is the company that has taken over Rogers Place, and the former was the original architecture company of the arena.
According to Global News Canada, the claim is in the amount of $4.8 million. However, it has not been said yet why the city of Edmonton and the EAC are suing. They have said it was a legal matter, but both parties would not comment further on the topic.
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“It was necessary to proceed with legal action on that date to protect the City and EAC’s legal interests,” the statement said.
The entire Rogers Place budget is estimated around $606.5 million to build. The city of Edmonton has agreed to pay $279 million towards the arena and is expected to pay this through a “Community Revitalization Levy”. The Katz Group is expected to pay $112.81 million for rent over 35 years. The city will be the ones who own the arena, but the building and operation is done by EAC.
Since the cost is high, the parties explain that “within the context of a project” costing this much money, the $4.8 million claim is “in now way unusual.”
There are concerns that the lawsuit would further delay the opening of the arena, which is supposed to be in the early fall before the Oilers season begins.
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“The project team continues to be diligent to ensure we receive the level of quality for which the Owners contracted and the construction of Rogers Place remains on time and on budget,” the statement said. “We will be opening Rogers Place in September 2016 as planned.”