Quote:
Originally Posted by oldschoolcalgary
Anyone have history on how that happened? Last time i checked, the Flames are a for profit enterprise that is wholly privately owned...
While they certainly are involved in many charitable works around the City, they are not a non-profit business...
Not sure how that tax exemption came to pass in the first place?
|
The Flames don’t own the Saddledome, they’re merely a tenant on a cheap lease deal. That’s why they don’t pay property taxes, not because of an exemption. Business tax however, I don’t think they’re exempt from paying that, but I have no evidence either if they do or do not pay. Surprised neither side brought that up. A comparison to this would be the Bow. Encana doesn’t pay property tax. They pay a lease of $80m a year or something. The property tax is paid by the owner of the Bow. Because the Saddledome is city owned, they’re exempt from a property tax. This is why the Flames want nothing to do with arena ownership.
They got into this position by taking over maintenance and management of the Saddledome in exchange for $1 rent, contribution to local sports, and $20m (works out to around $2m/year). There is some risk involved with this deal, such as the big flood, where the Flames were responsible for repairing the dome. This deal expired in 2014, was renewed, but no details were made publicly on the details.