Quote:
Originally Posted by New Era
As an ex-Calgarian who has moved on to bigger and much greener pastures I can tell you that Calgary is a small city with a smaller city attitude. Having lived in a few of the big cities around our continent I can tell you that one of things that separates them from Calgary is entertainment. There are so many choices in other cities that don't exist in Calgary. Much of this entertainment is a result of the infrastructure and facilities built for, and around, these cities sports teams. The restaurants and bars, the small theaters and spots for live music, didn't exist until these entertainment districts were created. The gentrification that resulted wouldn't have happened if not for these districts being created. Parts of town that people used to avoid are now the place to go and be entertained. All because the local sports team needed a new place to play their 12-14 games a year.
...Calgary generates a lot of tourism because of its sports teams.
...I think the best thing possible for Calgarians is Edmonton's new facility coming online. It is going to show Calgary up bad and make Calgary look second rate.
|
Wow, where to begin?
I have moved on from Calgary as well, along with many other posters here. And while I agree that Calgary isn't the most dynamic city and still has a small-town mentality in many areas, the addition of an arena will not change this. Culture is ingrained in the people, not the infrastructure. The infrastructure facilitates culture, but doesn't define it. It is not a magic bullet that brings cultural enlightenment.
And yes, entertainment is a major difference between Calgary and other major centres; but the addition of an arena and an entertainment district will not bring any new or additional services to Calgary which don't presently exist. It will potentially relocate services from elsewhere in the City (at a detriment to those areas), but it will not magically make people want to spend money on entertainment that they presently don't.
I sincerely doubt that Calgary generates much tourism due to the Flames. Most Flames fans are regional.
Finally, I think Edmonton having this arena first is a great idea if only to show Calgarians that the addition of a new arena
doesn't have a large impact on the City, or its residents, beyond those attending the sports events. Lipstick on a pig.
If Calgarians make this decision based on a speculative inferiority complex with Edmonton (really??), then it is not a wise decision. Keeping up with the Jones' is not a great idea when your trashy neighbours spend their rent money on a new Camero.