Quote:
Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis
Cool, Stamps should pay for their own new stadium if there's money to be made in it. For the city to invest in it would be a massive waste though. Besides, the fieldhouse should be a public use facility readily available, not something that can't be used if Taylor Swift rolls through town. City can use that $200 million on a totally public use facility on its own. Really a no brainer.
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A stadium is an important civic asset and, unlike an arena, the financial pro-forma for a stadium does not work in Canada. Not a single CFL or MLS stadium in this country has been privately financed and it's an inevitability that public dollars will go to stadium replacement in Calgary as well. The synergies gained from a combined facility will save taxpayer dollars when the greater picture is considered.
While I think concerns regarding field-house usage are an important consideration, the majority of these issues can be solved via good design. On a smaller scale, the Jack Simpson gymnasium (which is combined with a fitness centre and hosts a wide range of regular events) demonstrates that a multi-use facility can work with minimal impact on other users.