[Bunk]

I've been noodling this around in my brain. I think both sides are going to dig into current positions. Something creative probably needs to happen to dislodge impasse.

Instead of a 1/3,1/3,1/3 fairly conventional split of funding, how about:

1/4 owners
1/4 ticket tax
1/4 city
1/4 citizen ownership


Citizen Ownership:

Flames sell the City 1/4 share in the franchise. The City in turn sells shares to citizens. For sake of argument, 1/4 share $150m (and a corresponding $150m share of the capital cost of the building).

Sell 150,000 shares at $2000 a piece to people that want to participate - they own a 1/4 of the franchise and have paid for a 1/4 of the building outright. It's an equity share, so they're share price increases with the value of the franchise - it would likely get an instant boost upon completion of the building. (I'd probably by 3-4 shares myself - we could have a Calgarypuck owners group).

City portion - either strike a rent deal if the City owns the building, or a property tax deal if the Flames own the building.

Pros:

- It reduces the capital outlay to each party.
- It shares the risk and up-side more.
- It reduces the amount needed from ticket tax, which in turn keeps ticket prices a bit lower and more accessible
- It gives people who want to participate, a real stake

Cons:

- Risk that not enough shares could be sold, City has to retain unsold shares.
- Owners would need to give up a 1/4 of their share in the franchise and corresponding up-side (probably somewhere between a non-starter and extremely unlikely).