[heep223]

Originally Posted by Locke

First of all, Hockey is very much an 'Old Boys Club' and the NHL is very exclusive, so theres some merit to that.



Honestly, I really hope the owners like Nenshi. Hes not doing wonders for their business at the moment but for the Owners that are Citizens of Calgary you'd expect them to be happy to have a Mayor that is looking out for the Citizens at large.



Look, I understand most of the issues surrounding this arena deal by now, the City has to move a little, I get that, but so do the Flames.



This is the new Paradigm. The 'Something for Nothing' deals are much more limited these days if they're not gone altogether.



I get it, the Flames wanted a donation and all the City offered was a really favourable 'mortgage.'



The Flames wont move and they'll get their Arena, they're either just going to have to pay more for it than they wanted to or wait for an Angel Investor (The Feds) on an Olympic deal.



But the fact of the matter remains that we as a society have to start holding sports teams to the same standards as every other business.



The biggest difference is 'Love.'



We love our sports teams, we identify with them, we dont love our Doctors or Lawyers or Accountants (Although we should because Accountants are a God-Send! Love your Accountant! I'm not biased, super-swearsies) or our Grocery store or whatever.



I had to borrow money to start my business, be it from Family, Friends or a Bank, but I had to pay it back. Not immediately, not with staggering amounts of interest, but eventually and fairly.



Thats the way I see it. The City offered to lend other people's money at a fair rate and plan but they arent making a Donation to a Charity.

The Flames don't need the city to lend them money, they can do that on their own. They want the city to put in equity, and that's why anything resembling a loan from the city with repayment isn't worth peanuts to them.