Quote:
Originally Posted by Slava
I put myself in that category. If this bid was $8bn, but we saw the $3bn build all kinds of infrastructure and new facilities (an arena being one of them), I could see that benefit. But $5bn and keeping buildings around for decades longer than they should be, with nearly no benefit just seems pointless.
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Same story for me. If the bid was $7-9B and it included a fully rebuilt McMahon, Airport LRT, new Hockey arena (and likely lipstick for the Saddledome to last until 2026 as a second venue), new ski jumps in Nakiska or Canmore or another nearby location, full Green Line LRT, and a fieldhouse, its an easy sell. Calgary needs almost all of those things, and its the only way to see Federal funds to do it.
The bargain bid with a chance that McMahon gets the minimal refurbish, and the need to use BC facilities was insulting and pathetic. I might still vote yes, but they need to seriously pull out some 11th hour magic.
Generally, its pretty depressing to see Calgary embrace this mediocre mentality... bargain Olympics which are still pricey and that we'll probably say no to. I'm not big on Government overspending (but that's what every single government in Canada left or right does), but it feels like there is generally no ambition in this city to do any beyond the bare minimum because of the "not my tax dollars to fund millionaires" brigade. I'd rather go into debt on big infrastructure than operational debt on a bunch of DB pensions.