Surrey, B.C. (Rajeev Sharma): Surrey First councillor and candidate for mayor Linda Annis, says Brenda Locke paid $114 million for the site of her proposed 10,000-seat arena, $28 million more than the assessed value.
“The mayor brushed off questions and said it was a simple land swap, but when you look at the assessed value of the city property and the value of the Wesgroup Properties site, taxpayers got the short end of the stick and ended up paying $28 million more than the assessed value of the arena site,” said Annis. “The mayor needs to buy a calculator because a quick addition would have told her it was a bad deal for taxpayers.”
Annis said the entire arena proposal is completely one-sided, with taxpayers providing the land and paying for the proposed arena.
“If the arena proposal is as good as the mayor says, the private sector would have been lined up to build it, run it, and own it, but that’s not happening, and this so-called land swap is a good indication of things to come, with Surrey taxpayers on the hook for 100 per cent of the project,” noted Annis.
Annis and fellow Surrey First Councillor Mike Bose voted against the “land swap” while Doug McCallum’s councillors, Doug Elford and Mandeep Nagra joined Locke’s team and supported the deal in a closed-door council meeting.
“So far, the price tag is $360 million for the proposed arena, but that number is not believable when you look at the growing number of publicly funded projects across the region that are over budget and behind schedule.
Annis said she and her Surrey First council candidates are opposed to the mayor’s arena, and have made neighbourhood parks, pools, rinks and playing fields their priority.
“Every Surrey neighbourhood needs more local amenities,” added Annis. “The Vancouver Giants are certainly a good team, and I can see why they would support the project. It’s a great deal for them, but not for Surrey taxpayers who are on the hook because the mayor has arena envy.”
Annis cautioned companies who want to be part of the project.
“The people of Surrey know this is a one-sided deal with taxpayers footing the bill,” explained Annis. “Our city election is 15 weeks away, and the people of Surrey will have the final say.”
