{"id":620570,"date":"2026-04-22T07:29:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T07:29:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/620570\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T07:29:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T07:29:27","slug":"edmonton-to-rework-exhibition-land-plans-after-expo-centre-viability-concerns-raised-edmonton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/620570\/","title":{"rendered":"Edmonton to rework Exhibition Land plans after Expo Centre viability concerns\u00a0raised – Edmonton"},"content":{"rendered":"

The city\u2019s long-term plans for the Edmonton Exhibition Lands<\/a> is being sent back for a second look after concerns were raised about the future of the Expo Centre<\/a> and its ability to host major events.<\/p>\n

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City council\u2019s urban planning committee voted Tuesday to have city administration re-evaluate the redevelopment design for the former Northlands site, following warnings that earlier plans would leave insufficient space for the Edmonton Expo Centre<\/a> to continue operating at full capacity.<\/p>\n

The Exhibition Lands have been undergoing a phased transformation for about a decade, after Rogers Place opened downtown in 2016 and took not just NHL games, but several other major events with it.<\/p>\n

A transit-oriented housing development is already underway on the south end of the site, with plans focused on mixed-use residential and commercial projects near LRT stations like the Coliseum stop at the site.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tThe shuttered horse racing track facility on the former Northlands exhibition lands in central Edmonton on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tGlobal News\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

City Coun. Ashley Salvador said the redevelopment remains a focus for the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a really fantastic opportunity,\u201d Salvador said. \u201cIt\u2019s been an underutilized site for a really long time to develop more transit-oriented opportunities \u2014 so mixed-use, housing and commercial next to LRT.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Click<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1:57
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFirst stage of demolition begins at Edmonton\u2019s exhibition lands\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

However, the city is now reconsidering how much land can be redeveloped, after Explore Edmonton raised concerns at Tuesday\u2019s committee meeting.<\/p>\n

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The Northlands Coliseum arena closed in 2018, the site\u2019s horse racing track and casino shut down soon after, and much of the surrounding land has sat largely empty since.<\/p>\n

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Much of that land is a parking lot, which in the summer hosts the K-Days midway but for significant stretches of the year sits empty.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tThe shuttered Northlands Coliseum arena on the former Northlands exhibition lands in central Edmonton on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tGlobal News\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Arlindo Gomes, vice-president of business development and venue management with Explore Edmonton, told committee members the current redevelopment scenarios would significantly reduce the Expo Centre\u2019s footprint.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur concern is that the scenarios, as drafted, don\u2019t retain enough land or functionality to sustain Expo operations and major events over the long term,\u201d Gomes said.<\/p>\n

Explore Edmonton estimates the Expo Centre needs roughly 30 hectares of land to host large-scale events such as K-Days and Farmfair International.<\/p>\n

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Previous redevelopment plans would have left it with just over 15 hectares.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no other site like it,\u201d Gomes said, citing how the space northeast of the downtown core is both easy to get to in a vehicle or on transit.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tMore on Canada
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\u201cAn asset like that, once it\u2019s gone, cannot really be put back together \u2014 so it\u2019s really important for our city and has been for generations. \u201d<\/p>\n

Committee members ultimately agreed with the concerns and passed a motion directing administration to ensure the Expo Centre retains adequate space while also maximizing redevelopment potential.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe certainly have a number of events that occupy both outside and inside and I think this really solidifies the city\u2019s intention to ensure those events are going to continue to be able to be produced in the future,\u201d Gomes said.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tThe shuttered horse racing track facility on the former Northlands exhibition lands in central Edmonton on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tGlobal News\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Salvador said the revised direction aims to strike that balance.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt essentially ensures the Expo has enough space on site to continue being successful in our community, while also ensuring we\u2019re maximizing development opportunities at Exhibition Lands,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The overall 20-year redevelopment timeline remains unchanged.<\/p>\n

Local resident and community advocate Christy Morin said she supports taking more time to give plans a second look.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want the right plan,\u201d Morin said. \u201cWe don\u2019t want something built and then realize it hinders what we\u2019re doing as a neighbourhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cTaking a little more time is what we need.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gomes also welcomed the decision, calling it an important step for the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommittee is setting an important direction for our city and really positioning us as a strong city that welcomes events,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1:58
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPlan sees exhibition lands transform into urban village\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The city\u2019s long-term plans for the Edmonton Exhibition Lands is being sent back for a second look after…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":620571,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194294],"tags":[49,48,105143,23752,232972,232971,232973],"class_list":{"0":"post-620570","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-edmonton","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-city-of-edmonton","11":"tag-edmonton","12":"tag-edmonton-exhibition-lands","13":"tag-edmonton-expo-centre","14":"tag-expo-centre"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=620570"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620570\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/620571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=620570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=620570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=620570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}