Quote:
Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814
And if you’re going to say “I’m not interested in going to any concerts, trade shows, performances, forums, assemblies or anything that could possibly take place in an arena and have no desire for any of my fellow Calgarians to be able to do so in a structure that honest to God could collapse at a moment’s notice,” maybe city life just isn’t for you. Maybe just #### off to Vulcan or someplace even more non-descript, if all you want is to pay no taxes and do nothing.
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The rest of this emotion-driven nonsense aside, this paragraph is another perfect example of just how dishonest the pro-arena side can be, when I really
really don’t think you have to be.
Concerts? We have dozens of concert venues, and if we’re looking for the biggest of the biggest, we could probably build an epic concert hall and have more control of it for less.
Trade shows? Thankfully we have the newly renovated BMO, the TELUS convention centre, the Big Four building, etc.
Performances? See concerts.
Forums? …this isn’t ancient Greece, I don’t think we need to spend a half billion on a place to hold “forums”
Assemblies? I haven’t been to an assembly since High School. Do you go to a lot of assemblies?
We have a lot of venues for a lot of different things. We even have a lot of
great venues for a lot of different things. We don’t need a new stadium for concerts, trade shows, conventions, rodeos, or whatever. If you want bands to hit us on their stadium tour then I… guess? you could build a stadium? and hope that’s enough? or maybe build an epic concert hall that every band wants to play at?
In reality, we need a new arena if we want to keep an NHL team. That’s it. We can get everything else other ways, so let’s not pretend anything else is the selling point. You want the Flames? You need an arena (eventually). That’s a strong enough selling point, or it isnt, but trying to mask what it’s about doesn’t make it stronger.
But maybe the answer isn’t people who don’t want an arena ####ing off to Vulcan. Maybe it’s people who want to watch NHL hockey live at all costs ####ing off to Edmonton? Or it’s neither, which is far more likely.
Whatever the answer is, telling people to #### off and quit being cheap, and treating them like they’re stupid by telling them we need a stadium or we won’t be able to attend
forums is an absurd approach.