[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by Reggie Dunlop

Edmonton City Council approves $400 million expansion of Oiler Fan Brawling Park, as previous Moss Pit facility deemed too small.

The development also displaces remaining area homeless population.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/edmonton/arti...f%20the%20deal.

Wow, the Oilers once again screwed over Edmonton to get what they wanted. Awful, awful deal:

Oilers only pay 21% of the cost and get all the benefit...again:

As a part of the all-or-nothing deal, the province will put up $183 million, the city $138 million and the OEG $87 million.

This sure sounds familiar...

City council wasn’t aware of some parts of the deal until late last week, such as allowing trade shows and conferences at the event park that could take business away from the city’s existing conference centres, and soft language on housing requirements.

The three parties signed a memorandum of understanding in June that set next Monday, Sept. 1, as the deadline for the deal, pressure several councillors believed was arbitrary.

Why do cities keep bowing to billionaire sports franchises?

“The whole point of this was to build housing,” said the Ward Nakota Isga councillor, who voted against it. “Now there’s no legal requirement to build housing. And I cannot understand how we are okay with that.”

Ward papastew Coun. Michael Janz also voted against it, saying of the priorities that council had looked at in the city’s four-year budget, “an event park downtown was not one of them.”

“This is not our idea,” Janz said. “This is one business provider’s idea.”