[troutman]

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/spo...427494533.html

Burke’s invocation of Manitoba’s experience with IGF and what is now called Bell MTS Place is really an argument against public funding for stadiums and arenas, not one in favour of it.

For starters, there was very little public funding in the construction of Bell MTS Place; just $40 million of the original $133.5-million cost came from taxpayers.

If Burke is suggesting the Flames want the same deal to build a new arena in Calgary that Chipman got to build one in Winnipeg, there’s not a politician in Alberta who wouldn’t leap at that arrangement.

Just as curious — and dumb — was Burke’s mention of taxpayer funding at Investors Group Field, which in many ways has become a poster child for precisely why governments shouldn’t be getting involved in building megaprojects for pro sports franchises.

The project was irredeemably flawed from the moment the decision was made to build it on a cul de sac. And the stadium has turned into a giant money pit, with governments throwing good money after bad to try and fix a seemingly never-ending list of construction problems.

On top of that, there are legitimate questions now being asked about the ability of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to pay back the "loan" the province gave them to build IGF; attendance declines the last three years in a row have forced the club to dip into its savings just to make the $4.5-million annual mortgage payment.

But yeah, Calgary — do it exactly like we did, only with more zeros attached.