I'll mention it one last time that the old transportation centre is way too small for an arena. Please read the factors:
1. Accessible parking. There would be absolutely none. London, for example, has a lot of this type of parking.
2. No room close by for prospective clients (that is, shows like Paw Patrol or Baby Shark). Many of these events house their performers and support staff in trailers and busses on site. Also trade shows and animal shows (like the Kennel Club) would need to find a new place to go -- and it won't be in Kitchener. Again, with London, this isn't an issue. In Hamilton, this is a major issue. And one reason why they have so few events there. Interesting fact: Flanigans used to have a trade show at The Aud, they moved over to Lot 42, but for whatever reason, they're back at The Aud this year. No idea why, but it seems that The Aud is a better location.
3. No parking for staff. This is a huge issue. You have a lot of staff at The Aud on event nights and days. Someone starting for a 4-8 hour shift doesn't want to pay for parking at all. The wages are low enough as it is. It would also be an issue for non-management FT staff. No one wants to lose $2,400 a year after tax to go to work. Though a solution would be to have a special pay rate for these workers. It would also be an issue for Ranger staff and players and likely the Titans as well. You got to keep in mind what the tenants might want.
4. Transit isn't an answer. Staff starts work by 6 at the latest or before 6, and finish at midnight or beyond. This is typical. GRT is 100% useless for just about everyone during those times. It's also not an answer for on-call staff, nor is parking potentially blocks away <--- this is kind of important if there is an issue with the plant.
5. Less tournaments and less rentals. That goes without saying, you have a lot of tourneys at The Aud and it's not likely that this would follow to a downtown location simply due to practicality. No one wants to lug around huge bags of sports equipment from D&O garage or wherever to where the old terminal is. And it's not like simple rentals make huge cash for the city, they don't, but something is better than nothing, and nothing is worse than an empty auditorium.
Of course, they could cut down Joseph Street and use that land, as well as some of Victoria Park and even perhaps buy the property on Gaukel. That would be a solution, but it would likely be a very expensive solution. But I think if that is what they want, a DTK arena, this would be the only way to do it.
That said, I took some google satellite images of Scotia Arena in Toronto, the old Gaukel Street Terminal, and Centennial Stadium (The Aud) for size comparison, all at 20 meters. I also took one at 50 meters for the Aud Complex and Wrigley Stadium in Chicago. What it shoes is the just how small the Gaukel Street Terminal is compared to Scotia Arena (though compared to Centennial Park, Scotia Arena isn't large at all) and how huge The Aud complex is to Wrigley Stadium -- you could probably fit 3 MLB Stadium easily in there!
Scotia Arena, Toronto (20m)
Gaukel Street Terminal, Kitchener (20m)
Centennial Park, Kitchener (20m)
Wrigley Stadium, Chicago (50m)
The Aud Complex, Kitchener (50m)
1. Accessible parking. There would be absolutely none. London, for example, has a lot of this type of parking.
2. No room close by for prospective clients (that is, shows like Paw Patrol or Baby Shark). Many of these events house their performers and support staff in trailers and busses on site. Also trade shows and animal shows (like the Kennel Club) would need to find a new place to go -- and it won't be in Kitchener. Again, with London, this isn't an issue. In Hamilton, this is a major issue. And one reason why they have so few events there. Interesting fact: Flanigans used to have a trade show at The Aud, they moved over to Lot 42, but for whatever reason, they're back at The Aud this year. No idea why, but it seems that The Aud is a better location.
3. No parking for staff. This is a huge issue. You have a lot of staff at The Aud on event nights and days. Someone starting for a 4-8 hour shift doesn't want to pay for parking at all. The wages are low enough as it is. It would also be an issue for non-management FT staff. No one wants to lose $2,400 a year after tax to go to work. Though a solution would be to have a special pay rate for these workers. It would also be an issue for Ranger staff and players and likely the Titans as well. You got to keep in mind what the tenants might want.
4. Transit isn't an answer. Staff starts work by 6 at the latest or before 6, and finish at midnight or beyond. This is typical. GRT is 100% useless for just about everyone during those times. It's also not an answer for on-call staff, nor is parking potentially blocks away <--- this is kind of important if there is an issue with the plant.
5. Less tournaments and less rentals. That goes without saying, you have a lot of tourneys at The Aud and it's not likely that this would follow to a downtown location simply due to practicality. No one wants to lug around huge bags of sports equipment from D&O garage or wherever to where the old terminal is. And it's not like simple rentals make huge cash for the city, they don't, but something is better than nothing, and nothing is worse than an empty auditorium.
Of course, they could cut down Joseph Street and use that land, as well as some of Victoria Park and even perhaps buy the property on Gaukel. That would be a solution, but it would likely be a very expensive solution. But I think if that is what they want, a DTK arena, this would be the only way to do it.
That said, I took some google satellite images of Scotia Arena in Toronto, the old Gaukel Street Terminal, and Centennial Stadium (The Aud) for size comparison, all at 20 meters. I also took one at 50 meters for the Aud Complex and Wrigley Stadium in Chicago. What it shoes is the just how small the Gaukel Street Terminal is compared to Scotia Arena (though compared to Centennial Park, Scotia Arena isn't large at all) and how huge The Aud complex is to Wrigley Stadium -- you could probably fit 3 MLB Stadium easily in there!
Scotia Arena, Toronto (20m)
Gaukel Street Terminal, Kitchener (20m)
Centennial Park, Kitchener (20m)
Wrigley Stadium, Chicago (50m)
The Aud Complex, Kitchener (50m)