Quote:
Originally Posted by Enoch Root
You contributed several hundred million dollars?
I don't have what the actual numbers are, but I vaguely remember someone saying it works out to like $9 or $10 per person (probably higher than that).
Do you not feel that having a facility in your city that will attract events (like the 2027 WJCs for starters) has any benefits for the average Calgarian? At that cost, do you not foresee any value to you and your family?
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For starters, the Dome can easily handle the WJCs. Calgary hosted in 2012. As for benefits for my family, I live far from Calgary's two universities - an LRT line to my neighborhood would benefit my family much more than a new rink because we already have a 20,000 seater rink.
I am happy we have an NHL team in Calgary, and I actively attend games. I understand the economics of sports in North America and I know that arenas get subsidies by municipalities.
But the AVERAGE Calgarian will not see benefit from the tax dollars going toward this facility. I will see the benefits because I attend games. But MOST people in this city do not because they can't afford it. So all they did was subsidize Murray Edwards to continue to provide a small group of Calgarians (like me) with entertainment.
The 300-400 million spent on the rink would have better served a wider demographic in Calgary by expanding transit, building more amateur sports facilities, road infrastructure, social assistance programs, etc, etc etc.
That's all I'm saying. I will personally benefit from this rink. But many (read: most) will not, yet they were asked to forego other public works for this arena that will just make the Flames more money.