Quote:
Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher
It's not just solely about things you can measure easily. As some others have mentioned in this thread having an NHL team in Canada and being able to attract big name concerts affects a cities reputation in ways that cannot be easily quantified.
The reputation of a city can influence the decision to move here, live here and stay here. People looking to locate to a vibrant big city from smaller towns or cities in Canada may be influenced by the city's reputation. If I'm a hockey fan and/or a music fan the presence of the Flames and ability to attract concerts may play into my decision to move here vs Vancouver, Toronto or Montreal. It can affect the decision of immigrants, people looking to relocate within Canada, students looking to go to University in a large city. How can we quantify this? We really can't easily but that doesn't mean the city's reputation in these areas is irrelevant.
If Calgary wants to be seen as a competitor to the large cities in Canada I think both having an NHL team and having the ability to attract concerts are important. How important? Hard to say. I know for me if the Flames left and we didn't replace the Saddledome and thus couldn't attract concerts I would be less likely to stay here long term. I'm a big Flames fan and music fan and then identity of the city would take a large hit in my mind if the Flames left and the Saddledome was not replaced. I know it's not the same for everyone.
I think some people are ignoring or downplaying the city's reputation if they think a new arena isn't important. Note that this doesn't mean I want billionaire handouts. But some people seem to think the Flames bring nothing and a new arena is irrelevant and I think that's a very shortsighted and narrow view.
On a global scale now that the Olympics are an ancient memory the only reason most people have heard of Calgary is the Flames and/or the Stampede.
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Honestly, who the F cares about the global reputation of this city because of it's sports teams.
People in Europe and asia don't care about the Flames or the Stampede. The economist certainly doesn't care about the Flames when they rated Calgary the 5th best place to live globally.
People don't care about the Trail Blazers when they talk about Portland, or Austin. People don't talk about going to Berlin or Paris because of Football; New York because of whatever team.
The association of sports teams to a City's reputation is such a small-town and backward view of what makes a city an attractive place to live and work.