Concept of the proposed downtown arena.

The City of Edmonton and the Katz Group have selected ICON Venue Group (ICON) as project manager for Edmonton's proposed downtown arena. In the last 10 years, ICON has been project manager for nine new arenas, including Pittsburgh, New Jersey, Phoenix, and Denver.

VIDEO: Tom Gazzola has more on the ICON-ic Announcement

“We are pleased to have a company with the credentials and experience that ICON brings to this project,” said Rick Daviss, the City’s newly-appointed Executive Director of the Downtown Sports and Entertainment District Project. “We continue to work on Council’s direction of getting to 60% design and getting a guaranteed maximum price and ICON has a strong history of being able to deliver exceptional design and, should we proceed to construction, of delivering projects on-time and on-budget.”

“ICON’s background establishes that they are uniquely positioned to work with the development team to design and construct an arena tailored to our local economy and culture,” said Bob Black, Executive Vice President - Katz Group. “This is about more than just hockey; this is about creating a state-of-the-art entertainment venue that will be home to all manner of athletic and cultural events, provide unparalleled patron experiences, and bring new energy and vibrancy to our downtown core.”

Tim Romani, ICON President and CEO, will serve as Principal-in-Charge and Thunder Bay, Ontario native Dan Vaillant, ICON Vice President, will serve as Project Executive. “All of the arena projects we have managed were unique and trendsetting in certain ways. The Edmonton arena project will become a world-class entertainment destination and ICON is delighted to partner with the City and Katz Group to deliver that vision,” said Romani.

ICON will be responsible for overseeing work to get the project design to 60% completion, as per Council’s direction. Should Council choose to advance the project further, ICON would play a role in overseeing the design team and construction manager to maintain budget and schedule.

The arena is being designed with 18,400 seats and the design will integrate the arena with an adjacent light rail transit station and an outdoor pedway that provides event space and pedestrian connection with adjacent development.

A consultation plan for additional public input on the design of the new arena will be outlined in the spring of this year. Council will approve the final arena design.

Senior manager Rick Daviss has assumed the role of Executive Director of the Downtown Sports and Entertainment District Project. Rick had previously been responsible for the City’s Corporate Property inventory (19,000+ acres of land and 1000+ buildings and facilities valued at $4.2 billion).