Surrey mayor shares new details on 10,000-seat arena plan

Surrey’s mayor provided more details Tuesday about the city’s plan to build a 10,000-seat sports arena downtown.

In late March, city council described the project as a key initiative in Surrey’s proposed five-year financial plan.

Speaking with Sportsnet 650 Tuesday, Mayor Brenda Locke says the arena idea is gaining a lot of interest from potential partners.

“We certainly know and anticipate this is going to be a blended financial model, which is something that’s important because these are extraordinarily expensive projects, but we know that there are private investors that are looking at it, and people that are looking at things like naming rights,” said Locke.

She admits that the project will be a huge financial undertaking.

“We’re being really careful about that, because ultimately our taxpayer is the one that we care about the most, and so we will be making sure that this isn’t going to be a major burden on our taxpayer,” said Locke.

The mayor says council is looking at building in the City Centre neighbourhood of Surrey’s downtown, and including a hotel and conference facilities.

“This is going to be Surrey sports and entertainment district, and something that this city is more than ready for.”

Locke says she expects construction on the arena to begin in 2027.

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