Quote:
Originally Posted by Jason14h
The reality is that cities WILL pay for an arena. So eventually, if the city of Calgary won't play ball, the team WILL leave.
I guess we can have the distinction of being the city that 'won' the battle against the owners, and have no arena and no team.
There is a healthy middle ground, and both these groups are idiotic. But can we stop acting like giving $ for an arena that will be used for multiple activities and provide entertainment for many people is throw away money?
Lots of stuff the city spends money on doesn't generate a net positive return. In fact, if it did, we wouldn't constantly be running deficits  |
Can we also stop pretending like we need to give the flames whatever deal they want?
The city isn't trying to run the flames out of town, they're trying to get a good deal for the taxpayers. The city is clearly willing to commit to help fund the arena, it's not as if they've said no to that, they are just trying to get a better return on their investment than what the flames are proposing.
IMO the league getting involved has less to do with being worried about the flames leaving Calgary and more to do with them knowing that if nenshi gets too good of a deal it will have a ripple effect on future arena negotiations for other franchises. We praise treliving for looking out for what's best for the team and being a hardline contract negotiator with our players compared to other GMs around the league. Right now our mayor is looking out for the best interests of our taxpayers and his efforts should be equally praised, the way people are reacting you'd think the team had already been sold. A deal will get done.