Surrey mayor says work underway to bring 12,000 seat stadium to the city

Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke says the city is starting the process to bring a 12,000 seat stadium or arena to the city.

“That ground work has already begun,” she said at her state of the city address.

“We will be launching an economic and feasiblity study to get us there. And I can tell you, there is a lot of interest for that kind of facility in our city.”

Locke says this is part of a plan to expand arts, culture and recreation opportunities in the Surrey.

She also proposed making two entertainment districts: one in Surrey Central, and one in Cloverdale. She adds that Surrey is working to build up hotel capacity to support these plans.

“There are still too many people who are leaving the city for their entertainment. We can change that, but it will take the help of the business community to make that happen. Yes, our vision is bold, but we must be if we are to position Surrey as a destination city and a magnet for economic opportunities,” Locke said.

At this point it’s not clear how much all of this would cost. Locke says the city will be looking to the private sector to help get the stadium and entertainment districts built out.

This comes as Surrey’s population is booming, and the city is on-track to become the most populated city in all of B.C.

In the last municipal election, former Mayor Doug McCallum had pitched a vision for a much larger 60,000 seat stadium which was widely panned by critics.