When Canadian businessman Daryl Katz bought the Edmonton Oilers for $200 million in 2008, he wanted to ensure that the hockey team, a staple of his childhood memories, would stay in Alberta’s capital for the rest of his life. That, however, would require a new arena.
So the organization conceived a simple goal: do as noted downtown revitalization strategist Christopher Leinberger suggested in a March 2005 white paper, Turning Around Downtown: Twelve Steps to Revitalization, and create an urban entertainment district consisting of a new home for the team, plus mixed-use restaurant, retail, performing, and living spaces. Many progressive cities, including Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Columbus, Ohio, in the United States, have moved their sports venues downtown to spearhead development, and Katz wanted to replicate that concept in Edmonton, making its new arena one of the best in Canada.