Quote:
Originally Posted by Roughneck
You make it seem like the swap applies to the Flames.
The Flames don't own any land. They don't own the land the Saddledome is on, they don't own the land CalgaryNEXT was proposed to be on, they don't own it anywhere.
The land swap is between the City and the Stampede, so the City can let the arena be built on it. CalgaryNEXT was predicated on the city owning the facility because it would also be on city land. If the team wants to buy the land on the arena site they want, then they would have more say on where it gets built.
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The swap worked for only two parties; the city and the Stampede board. There is zero tangible benefit for the Flames in the swap. That's the point. The WV was at least an opportunity for the development of commercial facilities. That was the money maker for the ownership group. This is the model used by other ownership groups around the league in developing their entertainment and commercial districts. Without that, the Flames ownership really got nothing, but a new barn to play in. The city still owns pretty well everything, which does not provide value for the franchise, nor development opportunities for the ownership group fronting their junk of cash.