Greater Sudbury city council unanimously rejected management’s proposal for a $215 million Kingsway Entertainment District during today’s meeting. This was the latest in a series of city council snapshots of the much-discussed municipal arena/event center project, but the first time since its approval in 2017 that a majority of council members took a no-holds barred stance . A proposal for a $150 million alternative project was also defeated. His two supporters, Ward 5 Coun. Robert Kirwan and Ward 11 Coun. Bill Leduc, was alone in supporting it. Sudbury.com will soon publish a more in-depth report on the events of this afternoon’s city council decision. Although the project’s private partners, including Genesis Hospitality (hotel), Gateway Casinos (casino) and developer Dario Zulich confirmed last week that they remained in the project, it remains to be seen where they stand after today’s city council decision. Until today’s meeting, the approved budget for the KED was $100 million, which included $90 million in debt and $10 million in fundraising. Last week’s report by city engineering services director David Shelsted was the first indication that the price tag had reached $215 million. With the city council’s decision today, it will likely be up to the next incarnation of the city council, elected on October 24th, to decide how or if KED will move forward, including what to do with the $90 million already secured by the city debt for the project. Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
