I've said it once before but it's worth repeating.
Having been to Edmonton's new arena a couple times now, I'm all for Calgary having a new arena... but not if it means taxpayer money is involved. Sure, Edmonton's arena is nice, it's in a decent spot, bathroom/food/drink lines are a breeze... but overall my experience was no better because of these things.
The differences to me are as significant as upgrading your coffee maker. Sure, you can get one with a few more features, maybe it grinds the coffee for you, maybe it's 50% faster... but at the end of the day it's a means to an end, and the end is the same. If you like the product, the insignificant little things around it are instantly forgettable. I went up to Edmonton because concerts were playing there that weren't coming here, but how does that negatively impact Calgary? Outside of money spent at the arena, I didn't spend a dime on something that I would've still had to spend money on here. It's not like 'Calgary' lost a little business, just the Saddledome. If they want that business, then they can pay to upgrade/rebuild.
They can put the arena wherever, add a user fee, do what they have to do to make the numbers work. But public funds should not be going into this arena. It's not a waste of money, but it's an extremely poor way to spend it.
It's a bit sad to hear someone say "If you don't like it, move." I love interesting projects that actually stand to benefit Calgarians of all varieties. This isn't one.
I really hope people who are against projects that have no discernable benefits other than "lines are shorter" and "it's just what cities like Calgary do" don't move. It'd be a very poor, very shortsighted city without them.
|