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Originally Posted by transplant99
There are cities offering sweetheart deals RIGHT NOW who have arenas in place.
And no...this market is not "healthier" than other markets investigating adding an NHL team, but keep telling yourself that if it helps you sleep at night.
The Flames could relocate right now and ownership would be in a better financial position. Houston and Portland are very much in play as we speak.
Im not advocating for anything here. There are just realities that some seem to want to ignore though.
One of those without any doubt is...IF the team leaves, there will not be one coming back for a long long long time. Some people are OK with that, some are not. Both sides have reasons for their stance.
My personal view comes down to this.
If this city wants to consider itself somewhat modern, a destination for tourism, and among the best in Canada/NA, then it has to have things like modern arenas AND stadiums where large scale events like sports, concerts, and a plethora of other forms of entertainment can occur.
It would be embarrassing as a city to not have these things IMO, but realize others see it differently.
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I agree with you and I don't think it's fear mongering at all. There are a few cities that would probably bend over backwards to accommodate the Flames owners. I'm not saying it's smart or economically prudent to do so, but it's the nature of the beast and if you want the things that you mentioned, you have to deal with the devil. If someone is fine not having them, than I can totally respect sticking to principles, but there are certain risks that come with that (not having an NHL team, not being a destination for world class events, etc...). These things do have indirect effects that are not easily measured by dollars in and out (community pride and luring talented people to city to name two). If given the choice between a city with amenities and one without, the one with amenities wins out almost every time.
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Originally Posted by Joborule
Transplant is not wrong that although relocation is a last resort option for the Flames, it's still is an option that they WOULD do if a deal cannot be reached to satisfy their needs. No one though the Seattle Supersonics would leave, but they have been without a team now for over a decade. Hopefully though with the renovated arena, they'll come back some point this decade. And even in the NHL in the mecca of hockey being Canada, both Winnipeg and Quebec City moved because of economics and lack of new arena.
So Calgary isn't immune to what happened to Winnipeg and Quebec City here. Highly doubt it would ever get to that point since the market here is strong enough, and the interest in a new arena is also strong enough that there is a deal to be made. But Flames are going to do what every other ownership for every league has done for ages, and get the best possible deal they can for themselves since they always have leverage to pull it off.
But this is a different situation on where a deal has already been made - for the most part it seems. Sounds like some of the minor details that weren't solidified due to it being rushed is where the impasse is currently. But that shouldn't be a big enough issue that they can't come up to an agreement and proceed forward. Plus costs of materials right now is probably playing a role too.
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I agree, except I don't think relocation is as much of a long shot as you. The Flames were more than ready to use that option before and I don't think they would be playing hardball like this if it wasn't a chip that they were willing to use again. I think they know full well how their recent demands will be received and could hurt goodwill with the residents and fanbase. The fact that they are willing to do that makes me even more concerned about their future intentions if they don't get a favourable deal. If they are that unworried about it, they probably aren't that committed, at least the way the current deal is structured. I honestly don't think the CSEC makes this demand if they didn't already have an exit plan as a contingency.
I don't think it's fear mongering, but rather just a harsh possible reality. Calgary wouldn't be the first city that happened to, and wouldn't be the last.