Medicine Hat funding $250K Stampede grandstand fix design plan

It’s estimated to cost $20 million.

City staff propose Medicine Hat supply half of the money through a grant, while the Alberta government pitches in 40 per cent and the Stampede raises the rest.

Funding the third building plan would required a permanent 0.53 per cent tax rate increase for Medicine Hat property owners.

The Stampede’s outgoing general manager Ron Edwards said just replacing the grandstand limits the organization’s revenue stream into the future.

“The grandstand alone allows us 60 days of the year to generate revenue,” Edwards said.

“The other 300 days of the year, we will not be able to generate revenue from option three, which is what they’re proposing.”

Building Plan 1 includes a full rebuild of the north grandstand, a deck addition, maintenance to the south grandstand and the construction of an atrium with breakout rooms, a commercial kitchen and a larger multi-purpose room that would tie into the existing Higden Hall.

The estimated total cost for that plan is $38,936,000, funded in part by a $19,468,000 grant from the city.

A cheaper Building Plan 2 includes the grandstand fixes plus the breakout rooms, commercial kitchen, serving areas and storage and event space under the new north grandstand.

Coun. Robert Dumanowski, who voted against funding the study, said the second plan was a better compromise that will allow the Stampede not to just maintain its contribution to the community but improve it.

“It takes the courage of a council to ensure that a balance of fiscal prudence and our needs in the future aren’t going to inhibit…the correct decision for the Medicine Exhibition and Stampede; which is a replacement of stands and some form of expansion space,” he said.

Dumanowski argued that any final investment by council made after the study’s completion will need to include an expansion to the Stampede’s infrastructure to make a multimillion dollar investment worth it longterm.

“I don’t foresee a province or a city committing to a small limited scope of a stand replacement singly because it has no real cost benefit to the Exhibition and Stampede and to the taxpayer who’s going to foot that bill,” he added.

The matter of if the Alberta government will contribute to the Stampede’s infrastructure goal remains an apparent unknown for the city despite continued insistence from Edwards the province is on board.

Agriculture Minister RJ Sigurdson said during a recent visit to Medicine Hat that his United Conservative government was interested in contributing, according to Edwards.

“I said to him, ‘I’m going to council tomorrow.’ He said, ‘well, phone me and let me know what they say because we’re waiting to hear.’ I said, ‘is it still on the table?’ He said, ‘well, it’s not off the table’,” said Edwards.

Sigurdson was just as vague when asked by a CHAT News reporter about capital funding for the Stampede during that visit, calling it “an ongoing conversation.”

Stampede President Lori Siedlecki said Tuesday she’d like the city and province to work together and firm up a deal.

“I would love to see them together, us together somehow, knowing where we’re at,” Siedlecki told reporters after council’s decision.

Coun. Shila Sharps, who voted against funding the study, casted doubt on the province’s alleged willingness to pitch in.

“I do believe that if the province was coming up with any funding they would have done it by now,” she said.

“If we were going to do the whole thing, we would have done it by now. I won’t support us picking up the entire tab.”

The councillor, echoing critics of the Stampede, said the organization should’ve accounted for its aging infrastructure.

“Where’s their little nest egg that they’ve saved to put in towards their own restoration or improvements?” Sharps asked.

“Or, if they’re making the money that their finances say, a portion of that should have been saved to fix things.”

The Stampede has existed in some form for over 130 years and its advocates say it’s a major contributor to the regional economy.

A report from Serecon Inc. says the Stampede had a $14 to $17 million impact to the Alberta economy in 2023. That number is expected to rise to between $15 and $20.7 million for 2026.

However, that same third-party report calls for changing the organization’s governance system by handing community groups more representation on its board.

After council’s decision Tuesday, city staff will turn to consultants to complete the design work while keeping the Stampede in the loop as the key stakeholder.

Staff will return in the third quarter of 2025 to provide an overview and a request for a budget amendment to start construction.

That timeline means council could be asked to make a decision right before the fall civic election, with Q3 running from July 1 to the end of September.

Council could pass off any final decision to the next term, making it the third set of elected officials to consider the Stampede’s request for funding.

by Eli J. Ridder

Medicine Hat funding $250K Stampede grandstand fix design plan

Our Community