[The Familia]

Agreed. Another useless committee to sit around and accomplish nothing. It makes me angry how CSEC has sat on their hands for the better part of 18 years and have accomplished nothing. They first talked about a new arena around 2004 and the hope was something would be built be 2014 when their lease was up for renewal. Imagine what the cost would have been had they built in 2012 when oil was booming and the province was flush with cash. They could have built a palace for probably 2-300 million.

On a side note, I went to the Flames game against Montreal last week and it was the first time I was in the Saddledome in probably 4 years. For the first time I really noticed its age and lack of upkeep. The exterior silver facade is absolutely filthy and grimy looking. The red elevator towers are all faded (most evident when you see the red panelling that was covered by the old plus 15) and the neon light that rims the roof is burnt out in many spots.

Inside the concourse felt dark and dingy. It was crowded as usual and all the exposed concrete is pretty bleak. We sat in the nosebleeds and the seats are small and uncomfortable. There is no padding left in those things and it feels like you are sitting on plywood. The legroom is atrocious and heaven forbid you or anyone else has to get up and try to walk past everyone. We all know the issues with the washrooms and concession lines so no need to talk about those.

Once upon a time I was in awe of the building. Now, after seeing other arenas, the Saddledome is way past its best before date. Too bad our ownership and city council can't get their heads out of their ass.