Surrey approves new plan for city centre upgrades

Surrey city council approved major changes to its City Centre Plan Monday night, including a proposal for a new 10,000-seat arena in a dedicated entertainment district.

Since its approval in 2017, the Plan has been updated several times. Mayor Brenda Locke says the latest recommendations by staff are “very exciting” for her growing city.

“I think we need to just reflect for a minute. We are now, last count that I got, we’re at 723,000 people in the city of Surrey,” said Locke to council Monday.

“That’s a lot of people, and we have to create a city — we are building a city. We are building the next modern city. “

The proposed entertainment district, to be built on city-owned land adjacent to the Chuck Bailey Recreation Centre, will be home to the massive arena, 100,000 square feet of commercial space, a hotel, and a galleria.

Couns. Gordon Hepner, Doug Elford, and Harry Bains expressed their support for the updates.

“There’s going to [be] retail and restaurants and bars, and high-rises, and of course, hopefully, the actual arena,” said Hepner.

“I’m very supportive of an entertainment district. We need something. We need to spruce up our downtown, and I’m looking forward to the changes that are coming,” said Elford.

“We’re turning downtown Surrey into a regional draw that’s going to bring money into our city. That’s going to bring jobs into our city. That’s going to spur development in our downtown core. This is exactly what we need to see,” said Bains.

Meanwhile, Coun. Mike Bose opposed the plan, questioning the cost.

“Who is paying the bill, and the bill for the ongoing costs? So far, only the taxpayer is on the hook,” said Bose.

“Taxpayers should have a say in how they like to spend those hundreds of millions of dollars, so I definitely support an entertainment district, but cannot support an arena at any cost.”

In a statement Tuesday, Coun. Linda Annis shared in Bose’s opposition, saying, “a costly, taxpayer-funded arena is no substitute for the parks, pools, rinks and playing fields” that the city needs.

She says Locke needs to provide a residents an estimated price tag for the arena, and have voters decide during the next municipal election in October of 2026 — in which Annis will also be running for mayor.

“I’ve said the arena will cost at least $600 million, and probably more,” said Annis.

“No one has shown me numbers that say anything different, and every publicly funded project we see these days is way over budget, with taxpayers on the hook.”

Locke says the city can’t be successful by voting against every capital project that comes forward.

In recent months, Locke has said she expects construction on the arena to begin in 2027.

—With files from Anthony Atanasov