It’s been seven years and counting.

The Northlands Coliseum was closed in 2017 and it’s expected to take at least another two years before the building is demolished.

The City of Edmonton says work is underway, by a third party, to determine what is needed to demolish the 50-year-old building.

Planning and design for the project will begin this year, the city’s department of integrated infrastructure services said in an email to CBC News this week.

“Once planning is complete, the abatement of hazardous materials and demolition will be scheduled and is estimated to take 18-24 months,” the city said.

That timeframe isn’t surprising to Kyle Davidson, the president of All About Abatement, a company that specializes in remediating and removing hazardous material.

“The sheer size of the Coliseum is going to be the main challenge,” Davidson said of the 470,000-square-foot building.

Davidson said it will take months to remove toxic material safely.

“Asbestos abatement and hazardous material portions of jobs like this can take twice as long as the actual demolition of the superstructure,” he said in an interview this week. “It’s a labour-intensive removal for a job this size.”

It would entail removing more than asbestos, lead and mould.

“Every area of this building could have older types of lights inside them that have mercury style bulbs, PCB ballasts,” he said. “There could be delaminating lead paint in sections that needs removal prior to the demolition happening as well.”

It would take considerable time to set up containment parameters, machines and equipment, Davidson said.

Inspections would take place throughout the job and when it’s finished, he noted.

WATCH | The end of an era as Coliseum shutters:

Ashley Salvador, councillor for Ward Métis where the Coliseum is located, said the building’s demolition has been on her agenda since she was first elected in 2021.

“I talked to constituents who have been concerned about how long this has been sitting here, the cost to taxpayers,” Salvador said in an interview this week.

City costs

City council approved $35 million to demolish the building as part of the 2023-2026 operating budget.

That’s in addition to the $9 million the city has spent so far to maintain the building with heat and security.

The Coliseum opened in 1974 where the Edmonton Oilers won five Stanley Cups in a decade and its also been the site of concerts, rodeos and other events.

The city currently has long-term plans to redevelop the site where the arena is and the surrounding property into an urban village, complete with a new LRT station and mixed commercial and residential space.

“We want to be able to develop this land into mixed-use housing, commercial — something better than a vacant and derelict building,” Salvador said.

Over the years, there were several ideas pitched to try to save the former home of the Oilers.

In December 2017, then-councillor Tony Caterina urged council to try to salvage the building.

At the time, then-mayor Don Iveson said he saw the Coliseum as a liability to the city.

“The longer we wait, the more money we waste,” Iveson argued during a council meeting in 2017.

Even former mayor Stephen Mandel turned up at city hall in 2020 to urge council to listen to proposals.

Groups submitted ideas to re-purpose the building for arts, theatre, businesses and markets.

In the end, the city’s legal deal with the Oilers Entertainment Group (OEG) prevented the space from being re-purposed for sports or entertainment.

Redeveloping Exhibition Lands 

The city plans to develop 200 acres of land into a neighbourhood with residential, commercial and retail spaces, including mid-rise and high-rise buildings.

Salvador is looking forward to building a new neighbourhood the core of the city, connected to the river valley and amenities, she said.

“Being able to offer greater housing choices in a community that is sustainable and walkable, that has easy access to downtown and great places like 118th Ave. is so exciting to me,” Salvador said.

The redevelopment plan is expected to take 25 to 30 years to complete.

Salvador assured residents that Exhibition Lands won’t be like Blatchford.

“Instead of going more of a block-by-block approach with Blatchford, which was much more prescriptive, there’s more flexibility here at Exhibition Lands, still allowing for the overall vision to be achieved, but providing that flexibility to the folks will ultimately be building and developing these parcels.”

Council approved the sale of two parcels in the southwest portion of the site where there’s currently a parking lot, some green space and demolished barn buildings.

Salvador expects some groundwork on those parcels to start in the spring.