Well, the idea is neither crazy nor dumb. If anyone have not yet heard of TAZA, they should check it out
here. Canderel is a very experienced and well-financed entity. The questions should be:
Does TAZA, overall, which is mostly a commercial/retail development, have a feasible and reasonable chance of succeeding in this economic environment? I don't think so. Even if it does, it may take 2-3 decades until full build-out and stabilization; that is if Canderel and its backers still have the financial muscle to support it. Calgary was just not that strong of a market for such a grand scale development when times were good. Now, it's much much more grim. So, yes, Canderel would have loved to have the new arena there as an anchor. But from CSEC's perspective, it's too risky. Which leads to the second question:
Is CSEC leaking this rumour (and, perhaps, even meeting with Canderel) on purpose to get the City off the fence and re-start the negotiations with a little more urgency and will to get it done?
I believe it's the latter. The new arena will be built north of the Saddledome. I have very little doubts that it's going to happen, eventually.