Surrey, B.C. (October 21, 2025): Surrey First Councillor and candidate for mayor Linda Annis says Surrey City Centre needs an entertainment district, but not a 10,000-seat arena paid for by taxpayers.

 

“We’re about to become a city of one million residents, the first in our province,” said Annis. “A dynamic entertainment district should be part of our city centre, but a costly, taxpayer-funded arena is no substitute for the parks, pools, rinks and playing fields we desperately need in our local neighbourhoods. Brenda Locke’s arena has no business plan, no costing, and no guarantee that taxpayers will not be on the hook for this pricey project when costs go up.”

 

Annis said local neighbourhoods and families need to be city hall’s priority.

 

“I’ve said the arena will cost at least $600 million, and probably more,” said Annis. “No one has shown me numbers that say anything different, and every publicly funded project we see these days is way over budget, with taxpayers on the hook.”

 

Annis said Locke should be transparent about costs and give taxpayers the final say on a mega-project with this kind of price tag.

 

“Brenda Locke and Doug McCallum have a history of sidelining taxpayers,” said Annis. “We should have had a referendum on the police transition, which would have saved us seven years and millions of dollars. But Brenda and Doug thought they knew better than taxpayers. This arena proposal needs to be transparent, with taxpayers having the final say. In fact, put it on the ballot during the 2026 municipal election next October.”