[Cowboy89]

I'm sick of politician types and Calgary ivory tower elite who consider anything sports related to be too gauche to fund while they gold plate basically every other project. Only the largest cities have had arena's / stadiums entirely funded by the private sector.

Let's fast forward 5-10 years, the Flames have moved on, Calgary's aging Saddledome prevents any but the most basic concerts/events from coming to town. It's not like we aren't going to have to build a new arena / events stadium soon anyway. Look at Winnipeg, the gaping hole in their city from the Jets leaving essentially ended up causing a new stadium paid for entirely by government to be built. In the end we're all going to be paying for a new arena anyway.

The city should get on with it and avoid having our team leaving and waiting 10-20 years for another NHL team to come back once a new arena has to be built entirely at our expense. If city council and the planning commission post election turnover are demanding $19 million of extra things in a development permit that weren't part of the original scope they should pay for it entirely themselves.