[stone hands]

Originally Posted by Daradon

One thing Bettman said on the radio yesterday that made a little bit of sense. No one would deny that it's a bad time in Calgary economy wise, which is where the majority of the disapproval comes from. And that's fine, it makes sense on the surface. But are we as bad off as Detroit? I would think most would say no. Yet, Detroit approved a 650 million dollar project in 2014 that was tied to the Joe Louis Arena.

Now, I'm not arguing this on the case of having to keep up with the Jones'. Not at all. Just because something is good for one city, doesn't mean it'll be good for the other. Or even that the first city made the right choice to begin with. But I think it shows it's not only possible, but it could be a good thing. Costs generally go down in economic slowdown, and stimulus can help an economy in slowdown. I guess it's not entirely stimulus, as most of it will be coming from taxes, but the owners are pitching in some money (which is more than you can say about most arena projects) and projects do provide jobs. Yes, they will be short term jobs, but jobs anyway for a few years.

Again, this is not to say I endorse the project. I still don't know. But there are many angles to look at. Simply saying, now is a bad time is reductive, and may not be true. It may actually be a better time.

detroit also went bankrupt lol