Former Niagara Falls Memorial Arena close to being sold

Jim Diodati, mayor of Niagara Falls says an iconic building that has sat unused for years is near to being sold.

The former Niagara Falls Memorial Arena is rotting in place just steps from bustling Clifton Hill, but Diodati hopes that soon will change.

A man identifying himself as a representative of the owners and a caretaker of the building told CHCH News he is constantly replacing broken locks and barriers due to people breaking in.

Niagara Homelessness Outreach worker James Mattiazzo says more and more homeless are looking for refuge in vacant buildings.

The city of Niagara Falls sold the arena for $1M back in 2012 to a Russian group who turned it into a sand sculpture exhibit.

The Russian group called v2 Niagara fell into financial troubles and put the arena back on the market in 2014. The Russians may have found a buyer for the building and the remanents of those sand sculptures.

Diodati says the sale is pending for July 15th, “we’re anxious to see that change hands, hopefully be rehabilitated or ripped down and something new built there.”

Diodati says he doesn’t know who the new buyer is. He says bylaw has been out to check on a number of violations including overgrown weeds and graffiti.

Emails to v2 Niagara requesting more information went unanswered.