I don't quite understand the resistance to spending public dollars on an arena either. It's not like an arena is solely used for sporting events. So many concerts pass by the city due to our obsolete facilities, and who knows how many other events/conferences pass us by as well. It's not like the airport tunnel where it's isolated to one part of the city (and I was/am in favour of the tunnel). It's good for the whole city, not just for sports fans.
And yeah maybe in these economic times, culture and events aren't top of mind for most, but arena construction would create jobs (so long as we limit the outsourcing lol). Not a bad plan to get moving on it right now.
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