Quote:
Originally Posted by New Era
St. Louis, San Diego and Oakland fans were all saying the same thing. Don't discount the desires of an owner to make a quick buck. Calgary is very fortunate to have the owner group they currently have. That ownership group can change so nothing is guaranteed, especially if a better offer comes calling. Calgary is a great market, but so are a lot of other markets. I seriously doubt Calgary could compete with Markham if that was a possibility, especially if the potential for a new building dies.
See, I don't care where the team is. I don't live in Calgary so it doesn't matter to me where the team was. In fact, if the team were south of the border it would probably mean I could attend more games as travel options would increase substantially. Calgary is the one that could be the biggest loser here, no one else. Quote all the studies that suggest the city should tell the Flames to #### themselves all you want, but if the owners tire of the crap they have plenty of options to satisfy people that share your interests. I'll still be cheering for the Flames, where ever they are, but you'll be crying because you lost your team. Ask the Jets fans how hard it was to see the team shuffle off to Phoenix and how lucky they feel to have the team back again. Then ask them if they want to go through that again.
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St. Louis, San Diego, and Oakland vs. Los Angeles.
Portland, Seattle, Markham vs. Calgary
The comparison to the situation in the NFL is weak. LA is one of the top 5 markets in the US. St Louis and Oakland are small and have substantially worse economic conditions.
Also, the NFL has capitulated and is willing to give the Chargers 300 million for a new arena in SD.
To your second point, again it comes down to the (irrational) emotional attachment we have with local sports teams - and professional sports in general. Is that emotional attachment worth 450 million bucks? What is it worth? (according to the Field of Schemes, 40 million)