The Calgary Flames are getting a new building.
After a seemingly never-ending negotiation with many twists and turns, CSEC and the city of Calgary have tenatively agreed to terms on an arena deal. Once built, it will be used to host the Flames, Roughnecks, Hitmen, and many other events.
More in-depth details of the proposed deal, which could be finalized as early as Monday, can be seen below.
A breakdown of the proposed new #yyc event centre and our partnership with the City of Calgary and the Calgary Stampede. pic.twitter.com/3mIJENFBbK
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) July 23, 2019
I've seen worse agreements as far as the contribution being made by taxpayers. With that said, I still don't think this is a great one.
A 50/50 split is hardly something to celebrate when one side is made up of billionaires who will profit mightily from the new building.
The $275 million spent seems manageable but that is a soft number and will probably go up quite a bit with overruns (and doing away with the Saddledome). Taxpayers shelling out that kind of money for an arena and expecting it to come back are generally quite disappointed with the results.
The city owning the building will no doubt be spun as a positive of the deal. It's not. Reality is arenas are ticking time bombs and become liabilities. Ownership just means you're responsible for footing the bill when time comes to demolish it and clean up. Wonderful!
I'm sure it will be a state of the art building thoroughly enjoyed by all every time it's used. Having long-term security for the Flames in Calgary is very nice, too.
But make no mistake. This is not a homerun deal for taxpayers. Ownership *should* be shelling out more money than they are. Recent posts: