{"id":891650,"date":"2026-09-11T10:46:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T10:46:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/891650\/"},"modified":"2026-09-11T10:46:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T10:46:13","slug":"surrey-mayor-first-to-tear-into-building-starting-demolition-for-new-10000-seat-arena","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/891650\/","title":{"rendered":"Surrey mayor first to tear into building, starting demolition for new 10,000-seat arena"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

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Estimated 3 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke was the first to start tearing down the old Safeway to make room for a 10,000 seat arena, as demolition on the downtown site began Thursday.<\/p>\n

“This is an exciting step forward for one of the most significant city-building projects in Surrey’s history,” noted the mayor.<\/p>\n

The project has an estimated net cost of $360 million and is being funded through Surrey’s five-year budget in part with a $198-million investment. The city also swapped three parcels of land it owned, valued at a total of roughly $116 million, with Wesgroup Properties.<\/p>\n

In its entirety, the development’s plans include a luxury hotel, conference space and housing, the city said, in aim to create a new sports and entertainment hub<\/a> in one of the province’s fastest-growing cities.<\/p>\n

The Western Hockey League’s Vancouver Giants, currently in Langley, will be the arena’s anchor tenants.<\/p>\n

The city says the project is expected to generate $2.4 billion in “economic benefits” over the next decade, and create 2,700 jobs in the region.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, Michael Bubl\u00e9 was side by side with the Surrey Mayor to “celebrate” the moment.<\/p>\n

\"MichaelMichael Bubl\u00e9 says arenas ‘become part of memories’ and have potential to change a city. (Submitted by the City of Surrey)<\/p>\n

“This is going to be a huge addition to the community,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I think [there will be] a lot of unforgettable nights, not only for Surrey, or for B.C., but for Canada.”<\/p>\n

Through his roughly 30 year career, Bubl\u00e9 said, he understands how arenas can change a city, and said this one will “become a part of memories.”<\/p>\n

But other mayoral candidates have been more critical of the project.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a Tuesday press release, the Imagine Surrey municipal party described the project as a “deal done in the dark, on land the city overpaid for.”<\/p>\n

Mike Starchuk, mayoral candidate for the party, said he would have built the arena “in the right place at the right time.” Adding that every commitment would be made “in writing,” letting the public “hold us to every word.”<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Surrey City Development Corporation is more optimistic.<\/p>\n

“This project represents an important investment in Surrey’s future, creating a facility that will generate lasting economic, cultural, sport and community benefits for residents and the broader region,” explained its president and CEO, Bill Aujla.<\/p>\n

\"ASurrey Mayor Brenda Locke says this demolition is a reminder that ‘big things are happening in Surrey.’ (Submitted by the City of Surrey)<\/p>\n

The demolition and site preparation mark the first phase of construction, which is anticipated to be completed in 2030.<\/p>\n

Until then, the Langley Events Centre will continue to be the Vancouver Giants home arena.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 3 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":891651,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194299],"tags":[49,48,87674],"class_list":["post-891650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-surrey","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-surrey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891650","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=891650"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891650\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/891651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=891650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=891650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=891650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}