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Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction
It's possible some of that stuff hasn't been agreed on 100% yet and the agreement in principle just covers the big picture. They could also be gaging public response before solidifying those details.
I think it was a unanimous agreement in city council due to the large lump sum infrastructure investment from the province, so the money the city is kicking in for the arena is traded off. Provinces typically help municipalities with infrastructure costs, but not always targeted and all at once like that. It would be hard for a city council to turn that down.
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Yeah, the previous deal only covered the 2 blocks where the arena would sit and any infrastructure improvements in the greater Victoria Park area would still be the city's responsibility 100% (minus whatever they could scrounge from the other levels of government).
The 4th Street Underpass opened in 2011 at a cost of $70 million. In today's money, that likely puts the similar 6th Street Underpass (formerly 5th Street under the old plan) well over $100 million. So, that's a big cost being picked up by the province that needs to be built whether the arena is there or not.
According to the CMLC website, since 2007, they have spent almost $400 million on infrastructure projects in the East Village, and I believe that's entirely money from the city (offset by the CRL). Victoria Park will probably be similar by the time it's fully built out. Getting the province to kick in $300+ million is a big deal, and I assume why it was a 15-0 vote to approve.
Of course, a good deal for the City of Calgary doesn't necessarily make it a good deal for Calgary taxpayers since the money being offset from the city is instead coming from the province -- and we pay those taxes too.