Bottom line IMO, it comes down to this.
Eventually this city will need a new arena...sooner more than later.
The Flames. like it or not, will both have, and use, the ability to move to another city as leverage in ANY deal that comes along. That's just reality.
So it comes down to a simple question. Do you want the Flames to pay for 2/3 of a new arena in any deal which they will want control and concessions on, or do you want the entire cost to be absorbed by the city who can build what they want and where they want. This happened in both Winnipeg and Quebec City in the last 20 years as examples though there were some different circumstances.
IMO one makes way more sense than the other, but there is a pretty sizable group who would disagree.
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