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Originally Posted by DFO
I don't agree with what CSEC sees as the basline for any new deal - what came out of the 1994 situation. The city ended up paying for the renos and cut that deal essentially eliminating rent & property taxes. That was a big give on the city's part but it dealt with the terrible state of Canadian NHL economics at the time.
Fast forward post CBA and the situation for Canadian NHL teams is much improved. The Flames are producing profits and stand to substantially raise them in a new rink. I don't think it's unreasonable that the city feels that there has to be some return on the investment this time around. Any deal is going to be a gift to the Flames but it shouldn't be as one sided as last time.
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Also, from what I recall, most of the funding for the Saddledome renovation came from the federal government in the form of the infrastructure funding program that the Chretien government had recently announced.
Even though it's still tax dollars, I think that's an easier sell to Calgarians because we always feel that more money is leaving Alberta than is ever returned by the feds. Whether accurate or not, the perception is that we're just getting back what's ours.