Quote:
Originally Posted by GioforPM
It's not an awful one, if we are talking about the amount of the City contribution. If you aren't willing to have the City contribute anything, that's fine (though pretty impractical) but then I don't see what point there is in negotiating anything further. I also assume you are up in arms about every other subsidy/consideration/tax break/etc. for other private businesses that the City gives. Did you, for example, complain about the 2017 business property tax cap? The Calgary Film Centre?
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I am sure the City would be more than willing to give the Flames a property tax break for 25 years if the Flames built their own building. Sacrificing the future to pay for the present is part of todays Western political dna.
The Flames and all popular sports teams know they play at the heart strings. In Canada the problem is they cant vote on a specific tax to pay for their buildings like in the US where they can threaten to move and play at the heart strings of the average fan. In Canada they have to hope they can dupe some low IQ politicians and get them to pay for the arena (QC, Edm, Wpg) or they have to build it themselves like in Montreal, Ott, Van, Toronto.
If the Flames arent willing to at least consider that the Citys final proposal (with this mayor and council) and Calgary doesnt get the Olympics then the dream of a new stadium and likely the Flames long term viability in this City is probably zero. Now a new mayor (like Mandel ilk was up the QE2) and council could change the game significantly. It all depends how long the Flames are willing to wait if they dont want to wait 10 yrs then the Team is probably gone. Can they wait 15 years and hope the economy picks up where the West Village is then a possibility?
I seem to remember someone posting that the Flames owners group had bought a lot of land in Sunalta attempting to profit of the area re-development. Maybe that is the long game for the Flames and any notion of an area anywhere else is just posturing. I am sure they would take a free arena but put in a dime of their own money when they cant make anything else off the side....
Below is a link to the true value of stadiums post construction (seems like they hold their value about as good as cars).
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montre...entre-1.666114