Mayor Brenda Locke
Featured image credit: City of Surrey
The Canadian city of Surrey has launched a feasibility study for the development of a new 12,000-seat stadium or arena as part of wider plans to attract more events.
In her first State of the City address, Mayor Brenda Locke outlined her vision to prepare Surrey to become a city of one million people. Surrey, which has a current population of around 680,000, is located in the province of British Columbia and forms part of the Metro Vancouver area.
As well as the new stadium or arena, Locke is planning the creation of two entertainment districts for the city centre and Cloverdale areas. Other pledges include C$18m (£10.6m/€12.4m/$13.3m) in funding for new childcare spaces, the relaunch of Innovation Boulevard and C$105m for road infrastructure projects.
Locke said: “Surrey will soon be the largest city in the province and is projected to reach one million people as early as 2042. Whether it be in the residential housing, entertainment, commercial or industrial sector, Surrey has the space to grow.
“As prominent new companies set up shop in Surrey and more post-secondary education options expand, my council colleagues and I are laying the foundation to prepare our city for the opportunities of tomorrow by investing in the future today.”
Following the State of the City address, Locke discussed the venue plans in more detail and confirmed that sites are being considered in Whalley, Cloverdale and Newton.
“The work we have done to date shows that between 12,000 and 15,000 seats makes sense for our community,” she said, according to the Surrey Now-Leader newspaper.
“We will do a full and transparent study. We have had some interest from some semi-pro teams already but we haven’t had any of those discussions.”
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