Saskatoon’s Mayor says the Downtown Event and Entertainment Centre project which proposes having two facilities across from each other downtown and connected to the main downtown mall is a huge opportunity for revitalization.

There is possibly a petition in the works requesting a referendum on DEED. We asked our listeners if there should be a municipal referendum on Saskatoon’s DEED project and 88 per cent said yes.

Mayor Cynthia Block says the choice is not whether we do or don’t go ahead with the DEED, it’s we’re going to invest in infrastructure – it must take place and it will. She said it’s a question of investing in aging infrastructure will never serve the future of the city nor help with downtown revitalization or invest in new infrastructure that will serve the downtown for generations to come.

Muskeg Lake Cree Nation and the City of Saskatoon signed a Memorandum of Understanding in June regarding a potential partnership for the project. Mayor Block also said nothing proceeds until a full funding formula goes forward that won’t impact property tax, and council approves.