The next step in the Aqulini Investment Group’s movement towards running the Abbotsford Centre has been taken.
The notice of intent to award a contract opportunity recently moved from current or open to closed on the city of Abbotsford website.
The status of the opportunity was listed as awarded on Tuesday (June 15), but the city of Abbotsford stated that was an error and it was simply closed and not yet awarded.
“Our website should not say “awarded” but “closed” to reflect the closing the notification period for the intent to award the contract,” a spokesperson for city of Abbotsford told The News after requesting a comment. “We’re updating this on our website.”
The original proposal, which was posted online on May 6, stated that the city will pay AIG an annual management fee of $750,000 to manage the centre and the contract is for five years.
The effective date of that proposed contract was Jan. 1, 2022.
AIG is controlled by Vancouver Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini, along with his brothers and father. They oversee several other subsidiaries including: Rogers Arena, Aquilini Developments, Aquilini Properties, Golden Eagle Group and Aquilini Renewable Energy.
The contract stated that the management fee includes all operating costs but the city is responsible for capital maintenance and repair. The contract further includes “revenue-sharing opportunities” for the city based on the number and type of event tickets sold.
A job posting for the COO of Abbotsford Centre stated that they expect to book and host approximately 50 concert or other events annually, on top of the scheduled AHL games.
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