Quote:
Originally Posted by Jay Random
Very probably. Which, by the way, makes a nonsense of claims that the development will siphon off resources or demand from the East Village. I should think the East Village will be pretty nearly finished by the time the proposed arena opens for business.
The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that the CRL is the weak link in the proposal. A centrally located set of sports facilities is a good idea, but unlike Edmonton, downtown Calgary (and its environs) is so densely developed already that there are very few good places to put such a thing. A development of that size on the Stampede Grounds would pretty much wipe out the Stampede itself. Victoria Park just south of the CPR tracks is possible, but not ideal because of the distance from the nearest LRT station. West Village seems to be the only viable place – and that puts the city in the driver's seat.
The funding proposal as it stands is understandable as a first offer, since it's comparable to what Katz actually received in Edmonton. But the City of Calgary is not as needy and insecure as the City of Edmonton, and will be harder to bamboozle in that way. It will take a lot of hard negotiation before a deal is closed, and I suspect CSEC will end up paying a much bigger chunk of the bill than it now proposes. If they want it done soon, they will have to pony up.
I wouldn't be surprised to see something like $300m cash from the Flames, $300m borrowed against the ticket tax, and $300m from the city in a combination of cash and a much smaller CRL contribution (from a larger district, which would probably have to include Sunalta as far south as 12 Ave.)
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East Village is probably 10-15 years from full build out depending on the economy. Other building out areas like Beltline, Eau Claire, Downtown west end have decades of vacant and redevelopable land left too (which also need infrastructure upgrades - especially public realm stuff like new streetscapes).
Also remember Green Line will provide a new LRT station at the Railtown lands people are talking about just north of Stampede (on about the same timeline for completion as arena.