Based on what's happened elsewhere, the Flames would be stupid not to ask for tax-payer money, but the City would be stupid to say yes for the very same reason. While the team up north got a new stadium out of it, the taxpayers sure did get screwed.
And again...it's not a negotiation. What this is, is a sales pitch. The City does not need this stadium/arena combo, as they already have a plan for West Village and a field-house that can be executed without any Flames involvement at all. The Flames are the ones who are looking to disrupt those plans, so they are the ones who need to make sure it is enticing enough.
If the Flames want to build out CalgaryNext, they need to give the city something it wouldn't have otherwise. As of now, all they are doing is asking. Civic pride is not good enough when you're talking about hundreds of millions of dollars.
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