I would be as excited as anyone to have a new arena.
But let's all take a breath here.
The people the arena is going to help the most are the owners. Now, I have nothing against the ownership group of the Flames. In fact, I think they're among the best in the league. They were builders of the city and the franchise. They stuck here during the lean times and took losses. And they provide a relatively good product all things considered. They have never been shown to be greedy like some of the other owners in the league.
However, this new arena is pretty much for them. Not us. Yes it'll be new, and clean and flashy. It'll have new stores and restaurants and all sorts of bells and whistles.
But it'll be more expensive. Ticket prices will jump. There may be less seats at the expense of the boxes, which is the thinking of the builders nowadays. Hey, if we can add seats AND boxes, that'd be great. But I don't think that's what's going to happen. So it'll be even harder for families to go, lower incomes to go, students to go, etc. And I do think our national sport should be able to be enjoyed by everyone.
So, in thinking about it like that, I'm not in a huge rush. It's always nice to see new buildings in the city, especially centerpieces like this. But at a time when things are doing poorly economically, it might not be the thing we need right now.
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