Demolition has begun at an old grocery store building at King George Boulevard and 104th Avenue in Surrey, to make way for a proposed 10,000-seat arena and the development of Surrey’s entertainment district.

Mayor Brenda Locke was first to start the demolition, and with the municipal election just a few weeks away, Locke quickly traded in her hardhat for a campaign hat.

“It’s going to be a place where young people and old people and everybody in between not only play sports but enjoy amazing concerts,” she said.

“So many amazing things are going to happen right here in Surrey.”

Locke, who’s running for reelection in the fall, is touting the project as a major economic investment over the next decade, while critics say the project has more questions than answers.

Coun. Linda Annis, who is also running for mayor, says she expects the total price tag to reach nearly double the original $360 million estimate.

“Taxpayers can’t be on the hook for this,” Annis said.

“It’s really troublesome when families can’t get their kids into swimming lessons because we don’t have enough pools, yet we’re building something like this that’s going to be cost-prohibitive, again on the backs of taxpayers.”

Locke says even if she isn’t elected mayor this fall, the project is already full steam ahead.

“I’m very confident in the work we’ve done to date, because Surrey is very aggressive in our timelines,” she said.

The proposed arena is set to become the next home of the Western Hockey League’s Vancouver Giants. In attendance were members of the team as well as part owner and popular local musician Michael Bublé.