-The Saddledome is the oldest arena in the NHL
-McMahon is the oldest stadium in the CFL
-The city of Calgary is one of the wealthiest in the country
-The city of Calgary is currently mired in a terrible economic downturn
-The Flames owners are some of the wealthiest in the NHL
-The Calgary Flames are making a healthy profit now
-New arenas/stadiums show little to no direct economic benefit to their communities at large
-Most of the economic benefit to new arenas/stadiums go to the owners of the facilities and/or teams
-There are often benefits to a community, other than economic, from a local sports team
-Both the team and the City have acknowledged that a new arena and/or stadium are probably required and are open to discussions
I haven't read this whole thread but scrolling through there seems to be a lot of arguments that aren't really arguments but rather rhetorical posturing for one side or the other. As far as I can tell, the Flames, the City and almost every poster here (except maybe the dimwit talking about refugees) agree on basically everything except:
-how much public funding should be included
-the form of the public funding (land, tax, etc.)
-where the arena and/or stadium should be located
Honestly, at this point it's just sorting out the details. They're big details but certainly not worthy of gnashing of teeth or Trump style declarations of "won't someone thing of the veterans".
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