All of this makes me regret on behalf of everyone the way CalgaryNEXT was presented and the fact that for negotiating reasons the two bids (Olympics and stadium) have been kept separate.
$300M by the Flames
$300M by the City
$700M by residential/commercial development, funds, community fundraising initiatives etc.
The Olympics legacy could have been a state of the art stadium, arena and field house. West village could have been an Olympic village type building setup similar to what Vancouver has and the Greenline could be built in such a way where both east and west village are well connected for commuters going to all quadrants. The only decision for all parties would have been whether the 2026 or 2030 time horizons would have been more appropriate. Instead we have seemingly isolated factions working in parallel with several synergies and no unifying vision. Shame on all those involved for putting a half baked proposal together rather than a unified vision.**
**the above is not meant to suggest that CalgaryNEXT is or was a great proposal, nor that the proposed funding model would actually work. Instead it is meant to illustrate that the inability of all parties working together in the spirit of building a better Calgary by using both public and private funding has led to a much worse outcome for all Calgarians and we are now voting on a half baked proposal with major unknowns. This Olympic proposal should have been a slam dunk, because if the Olympics cannot operate at a positive rate of return in a place like Calgary, then they cannot work at a positive rate of return.
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Go Flames Go
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