A one-time grant of $600,000 be approved for 2027 as financial investment towards Guelph Storm Limited, contingent on a successful bid in securing the 2027 Memorial Cup in Guelph. That a commitment of up to $100,000 of in-kind…

1:26:42the temporary accessible ramps and then we will go to the windham street north st george's square

1:26:52and then a quick one from council caron and then we're good so let's start with the gulf storm

1:27:01calling our deputy for this area calling clock bush is going to kick us off great

1:27:07head good evening everyone and thank you for the opportunity to make some introductory remarks

1:27:14tonight uh first i want to start by acknowledging the strong partnership relationship that we have

1:27:19with the gulf storm as our principal tenant at the sleam and center and as an existing

1:27:23strong economic driver for our community and specifically for the downtown with us this

1:27:28evening is matt newbie vice president business operations for the gulf storm and he's going

1:27:32to make a few introductory remarks in a moment i also want to acknowledge scott walker who is here

1:27:37from the gulf storm ownership group and also scott's waving and also just draw your attention to the

1:27:43fact that our new sleam and center manager is with us this evening ryan giles you can also wave

1:27:47and so ryan and scott are both in the gallery in support tonight as well um after our introductory

1:27:52remarks then mr newbie will be available for your questions and then we also of course have miss

1:27:58evans from culture and recreation and miss jaworski and mr good room from economic development

1:28:02and tourism and they're happy to also answer any questions you may have at this stage you are simply

1:28:07being asked to consider endorsing the support for the gulf storms bid for the 2027 memorial cup

1:28:13there is no cost to the city to participate in the bid and our financial commitment only occurs

1:28:19if the bid is successful in response to the questions we've received about the impact on the

1:28:24municipal accommodation tax we wanted to provide clarification that if gulf was selected for the

1:28:30memorial cup then there are budget conversations we can have about deferring capital items that

1:28:36were originally earmarked for the mat and so this would avoid us going into a deficit in the mat

1:28:42reserve so we wanted to provide you that reassurance reassurance for clarity there is an annual operating

1:28:48budget associated with the mat as well as a reserve fund for larger financial asks and capital

1:28:54projects and so while the memorial cup ask would draw on the reserve there would still be funding

1:29:00available through the annual operating budget for our current funding streams and that would still

1:29:05be applied to other events so again we just wanted to provide that reassurance that the potential for

1:29:10the memorial cup does not impact the availability of funding for other events or initiatives for

1:29:15example the bicentennial and then lastly we just wanted to really emphasize that we see great benefit

1:29:22in hosting the memorial cup in 2027 as part of our efforts to ensure a healthy and vibrant downtown

1:29:28throughout the construction projects and obviously you're considering that later this evening on the

1:29:32agenda we would be putting in place traffic management parking and transit plans to ensure that

1:29:38all events at Sleiman Center and Riverrun Center as well as elsewhere in the downtown

1:29:42can continue throughout this time period and we're going to be actually actively seeking any and all

1:29:47special events that we can to help bring people to our downtown to support restaurants and businesses

1:29:53and so I just want to close by saying that we see that the memorial cup would be a great opportunity

1:29:58to bring visitors to our downtown and with that I'll turn it over to Mr. Newby. Good evening Mayor

1:30:15Gowthrey and members of council as mentioned I'm Matt Newby and I'm the vice president of

1:30:19business operations for the Gwalt Storm. I've been with the team for over 26 years and I started right

1:30:24here uh exact virtually right here with a former memorial garden student 1999. Over the years we've

1:30:31run from a team that sometimes struggled to fill the arena into one of the CHL's model franchises

1:30:36and we're and we're proud of what we've become that way. Now we have a chance to give back to our

1:30:40fans in our city by bidding to host the 2020-2027 memorial cup. We believe this is likely our last

1:30:47and our best chance to bring the memorial cup to Gwalt with a capacity of under 5,000 the Sleiman

1:30:52Center faces increasing competition from newer larger venues across the province. Several have

1:30:58already opened in the past decade and more on the way. The window to host this prestigious event is

1:31:04closing but Gwalt is something truly special. We have a passionate fan base. We have a great

1:31:10downtown right outside the doors of the arena. We have a once in a generation opportunity to

1:31:15align the memorial cup with our city's bicentennial. It's a chance to showcase Gwalt on the national

1:31:20stage not just as a hockey town but as a vibrant welcoming community ready to celebrate 200 years

1:31:25of history. The memorial cup is more than just a hockey tournament. It's a national celebration

1:31:31of junior hockey, its community pride and its Canadian heritage. In 2027 it could be the centerpiece

1:31:37of Gwalt's 200th anniversary. A chance to celebrate our past, our present and future on a national stage.

1:31:45Yes, our arena is smaller than some but it's full almost every game. It's loud, it's electric and

1:31:50it's home to some of the most dedicated fans in the league. Our downtown is because it was brought

1:31:55up I know on the 10th. Our downtown is a huge part of our bid. The Sleiman Center is surrounded by

1:32:00everything visitors could and could want with unique restaurants, local businesses, direct

1:32:05go train access, direct VAC rail access for millions of people just steps away from the Sleiman Center,

1:32:11the Riverund Center and the nearby green space beside the Riverund Center are a perfect space for

1:32:17memorial cup events and we really we envision the transformation of the old Correx Street shops

1:32:23into what would become the Memorial Cup Entertainment District and really a vibrant hub for fans and

1:32:27families. We want this event to tell a story that's uniquely Gwalt in 2027 and that story is simply 200

1:32:36and nearly everything in our downtown is within 200 steps of the Sleiman Center

1:32:40or take 200 steps so to the spot where John Galt cut the first tree down to found Gwalt in 1827.

1:32:46With 20,000 visitors joining us from outside our region we can celebrate 200 years of Gwalt

1:32:51together. This is our chance to shine not just as a hockey town but as a welcoming dynamic city ready

1:32:57to host a national celebration. We're bidding to create something that brings people together, boosts

1:33:02our economy and leaves a lasting legacy. Again thank you for your time, thank you for allowing me

1:33:07allowing me the opportunity to speak on behalf of the team and I hope that together we can bring

1:33:10the 2020-2000, 27 Memorial Cup to Gwalt. Thanks a lot Matt. Maybe I could just have you to stay at

1:33:19that microphone if you don't mind. Just in case there's any any questions of my colleagues

1:33:26or myself as well I'll start with Councillor Galt please and then Koran.

1:33:31Thank you very much Mayor Guthrie and thank you Mr. Newberry for standing in front of us and presenting.

1:33:39As a person who attends probably 50% of the home games I look forward to winning hockey in Gwalt

1:33:48but I note within the report that there is a statement about financial implications. If there

1:33:54is any further profit this would go into the Sleiman Center. With all due respect that that

1:33:59somewhat sounds self-serving and I was wondering if you could comment on that because I'm going to

1:34:03ask staff about the the MAT tax as well and how how it's supposed to operate. There's some

1:34:10philosophical questions so that that's why I'm asking this. If you could comment on that that'd be great.

1:34:15Yeah of course and I think Dan I could speak to this as well but it's the intention being that it's

1:34:20if there were profits they would go back and Sleiman Center just to build just infrastructure

1:34:25allow the city our hope is that the subsidy that's currently in place the annual subsidy would be

1:34:30reduced but becoming it maybe that the you know you increase capacity maybe that you increase

1:34:36one of the big problems I know that they have in the Sleiman Center having to work with them for as

1:34:39long as I have is it's they just don't have the food prep area so I think the idea in terms of

1:34:44profits is that you redirect that into projects that allow it to become a little bit less reliant on

1:34:50that subsidy. And thank you. It also notes that the the the Gulf Storm is a for-profit organization

1:34:59and I'm with all due respect again I hope you can comment on that because I have to ask staff

1:35:04about the principles and philosophy of the MAT tax directly related to for-profit organization.

1:35:10We are a for-profit organization the intent with this bid is it's a not-profit bid so I do

1:35:15understand what you're saying if that answers your question. So that goes back to the profits

1:35:19being redirected to the Sleiman Center. Again it's a ton of work for us and probably thousands of

1:35:24hours volunteers in our time and for a zero zero dollar event so I can certainly with that like

1:35:31I think that's the best way to explain why we're doing it. And I can respect that because

1:35:36I worked on the grand slam a bit and I can tell you that you're quite correct it's a lot of work.

1:35:40Now if you could just expand a bit on the last best chance for the Memorial Cup what's happening

1:35:50what's the vibe in Ontario that's leading to this challenge I understand it's the size of

1:35:56arenas but give me more details. Yeah it's the size of the arena it's also again for me it's

1:36:02personally I parked at the Neve Street lot for years and years and years I kept walking by that

1:36:06sign walking by that sign and everything didn't align because until COVID the Memorial Cups didn't

1:36:10line up to where it came we knew that it was going to be coming to the OHL for this cycle for 2027.

1:36:16In terms so without that I think if we went in and tried to bid in a competitive bid situation

1:36:21with our building and the size of our building it would be a no win situation for us and that's

1:36:26why I talk about that. As far as around the province Kingston's a building that's bigger

1:36:31that's it would a great community that's that's never hosted the Memorial Cup.

1:36:34Niagara's at St. Catharines is another new building that's never hosted the Memorial Cup larger building

1:36:39Oshawa larger building never hosted the Memorial Cup so there's a number of teams that have already

1:36:43got buildings that if we went dollar for dollar in a competitive bid we just wouldn't measure up.

1:36:48That doesn't also speak to the fact that Sudbury has a new arena coming Ottawa has a new arena coming

1:36:54Randford has a new arena coming all of which are bigger than ours so you start to stack up those

1:36:58different you look at once every three years with the cycle which is tough on its own and then

1:37:02you think even if they're all 20 teams bid which there just a lot of teams aren't in position to

1:37:06do so because the size of their buildings I think when you start to look at the teams that have the

1:37:11buildings that haven't had a Memorial Cup the ones that are getting buildings that haven't had a

1:37:15Memorial Cup I think it puts us at the end of a long line. Okay and thank you for that now you

1:37:20mentioned a number of cities where they haven't had the Memorial Cup but these cities have bid upon

1:37:25it and been unsuccessful. Oshawa has a new building they bid upon it they received it for the during

1:37:31and it was cancelled during COVID Kingston has bid and just didn't have the team in the eyes of this

1:37:37the and in a lot of cases the business model as well and again if you spoke to me 15 16 years ago

1:37:43it might have been a tough case for us to do that from business standpoint. I think we're looked at

1:37:48as and held up from the league standpoint not just us as a team but our relationship with the city

1:37:52and how we've managed to it's not just there's a lot of cities that we go and a lot of teams when

1:37:56we go to our meetings and it's a fight over this pie who gets what slice of the pie. I think the

1:38:01relationship we've had that's worked really well is that it's we've working together with the city

1:38:05and Rich Pryor and and you know moving forward with Dana and Colleen it's been let's grow the pie

1:38:12let's make it so you're making more on concessions you're making more off license fees you're making

1:38:15more on there and we couldn't have done that and that's we're able to kind of reinvest and succeed

1:38:21and and so I think that's part of why it's it's it's worked and where like I said Kingston's they've

1:38:27struggled that way to fill the building. Oshawa is probably wouldn't bid they're getting a 40 million

1:38:32dollar I believe infrastructure or redevelopment grant for the building to do some renovations so

1:38:38I think they would I suspect they would hold off until then. I'm trying to think of a Niagara has

1:38:43just been if you've been if you go to half the games you probably know about the OHL Niagara has

1:38:48their own issues and I would let the people of Niagara kind of speak to that but from a business

1:38:53from a business standpoint again and I think that's a big issue so I think some of it is because

1:38:57where we are now in terms of a business and as you know with the fan following that we've built

1:39:01and we're very we've worked our butts off to do so and very proud of what we have built within this

1:39:06community a mid-sized market that I think we stack up against and I'm proud to do it stack measure

1:39:11stack up against most of the communities in our league that are a lot bigger than ours but I think

1:39:16that's the big reason why some of the ones that have the new buildings they haven't been

1:39:20lucky enough I guess to be able to bid successfully to bring it there.

1:39:23And thank you very much for standing up in front of us today and presenting I appreciate that and

1:39:28let's hope that the storm has as good a season as the blue jays are having right now. That would be

1:39:32fantastic. Thanks and I can I can confirm that councillor Alton's a big well storm fan just so

1:39:40you know okay take my word for it. Yeah yeah so uh councillor, councillor Caron please over to you.

1:39:50Thanks and I echo and probably haven't been to as many games as Bill Olt admittedly that come from

1:39:55a hockey family and uh Hall of Famers in the family uh so Ghost Storm. One of the things that you

1:40:03probably if you watched the last meeting a council that I raised was that you know when we bring a

1:40:08big event it's a national event it's a national spotlight to Guelph we want to we want to look

1:40:13our best we want to wear our finest clothes. Our downtown will not be wearing its finest clothes

1:40:20during the memorial cup it'll all be ripped up and I just wondered how you're going to manage that in

1:40:26any bid how you're going to manage it if it's successful. I am worried that that actually

1:40:32it won't show us in our best light and so I'm hesitant to support for that reason not because

1:40:38I'm not a huge supporter of the Ghost Storm. If I recall in the last meeting you asked if we would

1:40:44disclose that as well I think if that would be part of it. The CHL president was born in Guelph

1:40:53was raised in Guelph he currently lives in Guelph so he'll know full well what Guelph will be going

1:40:57through at that moment so there's even if we wanted to hide it I can assure you we couldn't.

1:41:02That being said as we're going through our playoff drive at any point I mean generally we'll

1:41:07average 4,700 fans so it's we'll learn to work through it I do fully understand in terms of

1:41:13anytime you watch the national broadcast you see those great shots where they pull out and it's

1:41:18and it would be you know the the speed river or whatever they're showing or the river on center

1:41:22it's tough when you know that they're not going to show that street because of what it's going through

1:41:26but I think that's just something we have to work through and again we'll learn as a team

1:41:31we'll learn I think with our partners at the at the city and specifically the Sleeman Center

1:41:36how to and our fans even kind of going through that year it'll be 27 26 27 our fans will be

1:41:41coming you know we expect to let you know have 4,500 fans a game or whatever learning to work

1:41:46through that and again it's part of being a community and making the best of a bad situation

1:41:50I think but again having said that I do fully respect that it'll be a real kick in the pants

1:41:56when you're when you're seeing those great shots on TSN and it's and they can't show the downtown

1:42:00they can't show the front of old Cruick Street Mall because of what's going through there but I

1:42:04don't think it's unique to go off that there's infrastructure that needs to be done it's just

1:42:09no doubt it's bad timing but I think without this tie into the 200s and to what I said to

1:42:14council to mention to councillor all I don't know that there's a better time to do it or maybe another

1:42:18time yeah I certainly want our 200th to be you know a grand spectacle and draw that national

1:42:26attention um you probably if you listened to the last meeting you also know that I raised

1:42:30concern about hotel rooms and whether we have the capacity whether there'll be spill over to other

1:42:35municipalities and whether those other municipalities are are putting anything in in in the bucket to

1:42:44bring it to Guelph if they are economically benefiting from Guelph's successful bid.

1:42:52From our end we haven't made any calls to any other senators so we're working with a couple

1:42:56different hoteliers and working with with tourism. We'll fill every room in Guelph and then if that's

1:43:01not enough then we'll look to others but at this point we're not making those calls. Our

1:43:06same priority is what you're saying it's let's make sure Guelph is completely full if there's

1:43:11a spill over then we'll make those calls but at this point we're with the numbers we have and with

1:43:15the calls we're making and the due diligence we're working through it would be to make sure

1:43:19we're filling with Guelph. On the fallback I think in that case looking 25 minutes away you'd get to

1:43:24the ones in Cambridge it might be a cross-separate when you when you get to it but our hope is that

1:43:29yes and knowing that it's high numbers and knowing that it probably doesn't add up the way we'd want

1:43:34it you start to get into other different types of accommodation potentially to fill some of that gap

1:43:40but yeah our priority would be to fill the ones in Guelph those are the calls we're making now

1:43:44those are the numbers we're crunching now after that the spillover we'll look to go elsewhere if

1:43:49need be but we hope that it doesn't. Thank you Councillor Caron. Anything for this delegate at all?

1:44:00Yes Councillor Caron. Yes thank you through you Mr. Mayor to the delegate. My question is so if we're

1:44:08successful with the bid well any of the investment provided longer-term benefit to the community.

1:44:14I know you mentioned like the food prep area I'm just curious about you know hosting an event of

1:44:19this scale I think is new to Guelph and with that will come some infrastructure upgrades to what we

1:44:26have so will that also prime us potentially for doing other I mean not the memorial cap again maybe

1:44:31for a long time but for similar type events? Yeah that would certainly be the hope if there were

1:44:37profits. Part of the CHL the bid process they do require legacy some legacy left behind in our case

1:44:44I think the first thing that comes to mind is really like a first skate thing that's not an

1:44:48infrastructure thing that's not a thing that's going to bring people into into the building and

1:44:53other events in the building but I think it's an opportunity for especially in diverse communities

1:44:57to to get people on skates once and it might be working with coaching but it's I think our hope is

1:45:02that if there's legacy that comes from it it's funding to set up a program like that with the

1:45:06profits PCS and that would be where you'd start whether it's improving kitchen stuff and that's

1:45:11discussions with with Dana and you know managing that CRA if it's if and when it's set up to how

1:45:16it's best spent to improve the the I guess just to improve the Seaman Center for lack of a better

1:45:23term and its ability to host these events because they're certainly out there. Thank you. Great thank

1:45:33you. There's no further questions so thank you very much. We appreciate you coming down. I appreciate

1:45:40the opportunity. So back to us then everybody would someone be willing to move the motion

1:45:48for the recommendations? Gibson and Alt please thank you and is there anything further on this?

1:45:56Sure. Councillor Allt. Thank you very much, Mayor Guthrie. I'm happy to move the motion

1:46:03because I think that we're at the early stages on this but there are questions that I do have

1:46:07about the MAT fund and economic social and other forms of development. So my big concern is the

1:46:16impact of one big withdrawal now you had mentioned that there would be the deferral of capital items

1:46:22and I was wondering if we could please expand on that because I have to admit that I think in some

1:46:27senses the intent of the MAT was to to to allow us to fund many many different things over time and

1:46:37I think that in some senses we're departing from that with this. Through the Mayor to Councillor

1:46:48Ault. So as we're as we're taking a look and and as Deputy CAO Clark Bush indicated you know we

1:46:56will have more discussions about this if if the bid is successful too. So staff have taken this way

1:47:03and so as we indicated in the report you know we are working on a citywide wayfinding strategy

1:47:09right now in the current year and with plans in 2026 to maybe do a first phase implementation of a

1:47:17tourism oriented destination directional gateways those kinds of things. If we are successful in the

1:47:22bid then we push that out a few years but it doesn't mean the wayfinding strategy is an action

1:47:27that sort of thing because it is citywide. You know there are other you know several of the capital

1:47:35like future capital requests might come through might might be deferred but for the most part like

1:47:42that's the big one that we would be looking to defer and then maybe altering some like operational

1:47:48plans to contribute more to the reserve so that we we don't go into a deficit and then

1:47:55after 2027 that's when we would see those capital projects hopefully come back online.

1:48:01Thank you just with regards to that one of the big event is exciting there's no doubt in my mind

1:48:09but also the big event carries with it in some senses a bit of a hangover afterward

1:48:14and that would be a concern for me with the the various hotels that are essentially responsible

1:48:21for funding the MAT. Are we aware of any opposition from any of the the well the businesses right now

1:48:33that would say well this is this is a one-shot deal but it's not going to long term provide us

1:48:39with any benefit are we aware of any of that right now? Through the mayor to Councillor Halt

1:48:46not formally no. Will we be investigating it just so that we've got a feel from those that are

1:48:52contributing to the MAT? Through the Mayor to Councillor Halt not at this time. Okay thanks

1:49:01now I think that the storm are completely within their rights in the MAT to ask for this but I was

1:49:07wondering if you could outline the MAT principles and objectives especially as they might relate to

1:49:12for-profit organizations? Through the Mayor to Councillor Halt so so first I'll address the

1:49:21like the MAT policy and what the MAT reserve is for so I will say this this event aligns which

1:49:28is why the staff recommendation is what it is so the MAT operating budget like through our funding

1:49:34stream programs like that's really for you know those smaller asks the under 25 000 the intention

1:49:40of the reserve was to be able to come to council with anything over that ask for things like sport

1:49:46event conference attraction that sort of thing and and other projects of course as well in that

1:49:51infrastructure space you know it is it is a much larger ask but it is still in alignment with the

1:50:00MAT. When it comes to the for-profit you know that that was in there for for transparency but I

1:50:08think just echoing what our our friends from the storm indicated is the event itself is operating as

1:50:16a not-for-profit and and maybe we can speak a little bit more to the Sleiman reserve and that

1:50:22sort of thing but it's a it's community impact it's economic impact and and so there there is

1:50:30there is a lot of benefit and we only have one OHL team right so that's also a piece of this it's

1:50:38you know there there wouldn't be other bidders on the memorial cup for Guelph which I think helps

1:50:44and I'm going to ask a really out there question but it's a very serious one as well

1:50:49the FIFA World Cup is coming to Toronto are we expecting any economic benefit from that and is

1:50:55provision in the MAT and it's a serious question because when the Olympics were bid for Guelph we

1:51:00looked at Guelph Lake as hosting the rowing so it's it's not that far-fetched. Through the

1:51:06Merida Council our alt I am I am chatting with colleagues in in Toronto and around the corridor

1:51:14we don't we don't have economic impact numbers for surrounding communities do I think there

1:51:19will be spillover yes you know there we have a go line into Toronto we have hotels here but

1:51:36oh I think you got cut off that I think she was done speaking yeah yeah yeah you're good

1:51:46James did you want to jump in go ahead just really quickly in terms of the hoteliers we are still

1:51:52going to have as Mr. Worski said we're still going to have the smaller funding stream programs that

1:51:58we have every year including one program where we can invest up to $25,000 in an event and keep in

1:52:05mind too that the Chamber of Commerce splits this funding with us as well so there are funds

1:52:13you know in the chambers arena where we could you know potentially partner on projects going

1:52:19forward anything else from anyone yeah sorry Councillor Cate sorry about that Councillor Cate

1:52:29thanks sorry through you Mr. Mayor are you taking comments now or is it just questions

1:52:33no you can do both let's go ahead okay thank you through you I really feel strongly that the

1:52:39Wayfinding project is an accessibility piece and for the reasons that we have mentioned before

1:52:46in that not putting all of our eggs in one basket and if it has to be kind of refunded out of a

1:52:49capital project like that then I do think it's an important project I wish them all the best

1:52:55but I just can't support it at this time

1:52:58the problem thank you Councillor okay so I looks like I can call the vote on this one

1:53:05it's been moved and seconded and all just five seconds of comments from me

1:53:09I think this is great I really would love to see this be successful and if council agrees

1:53:16I will do everything I possibly can to make this the best the best for our city and for

1:53:23the Guelph storm and yeah I just I really want to put our best foot forward so hopefully if

1:53:29council agrees here we'll we'll get that bid and I didn't know that the guy lived in the city so

1:53:35tell me where he lives uncle knock on his door all right all right so with that I will call

1:53:41the vote is anyone against okay Koran and Caten okay so that passes so thank you very much

1:53:52thank you and all the best moving right along to temporary accessible ramps in the city of Guelph