Industry Noize: Moncton OKs New Venue

Officials in Moncton, New Brunswick, have voted to build a new 7,500-seat venue to replace the city’s aging Moncton Coliseum, minus the support of the mayor.

Moncton Mayor George LeBlanc has championed the construction of a larger building with a minimum of 9,000 seats, telling CBC News, “The Coliseum was built 40 years ago and has 6,700 seats. After 40 years, we’re looking at building 800 new seats.”

But bigger isn’t necessarily better in this case.

New Brunswick.

City Manager Jacques Dubé told the CBC promoters advised the city that Moncton simply can’t support 9,000 seats.

“SMG, Global Spectrum, Live Nation, Eventco, Donald K. Donald were all in agreement on that point when we consulted with them and they are the experts in the business, not the city,” he said.

Dubé added it would be difficult to fund the development of a larger venue without raising taxes.

The city has set a fall deadline for developers working on bids for the project, which is expected to cost about $100 million, the CBC noted.

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