Quote:
Originally Posted by GioforPM
Not owning the building wouldn't mean they wouldn't pay maintenance. Most lessees are responsible for maintenance, including the Flames in their deal right now. Conceptually (though not in practice in many commercial leases) it would mean that there would be no property taxes to pay. Plus it means that they don't have a capital asset of any value.
I view the transit and police as throw-ins. They are pretty common in professional sports, especially the cops. Plus it benefits the city in other ways to have (a) less traffic and drunk drivers and (b) some control of security.
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We don't really need to rehash these discussions over and over again... (but we are).
While I agree that most lessees pay maintenance (either included in their rent, or as some sort of op-costs calculation), CSEC explicitly said they didn't want to pay maintenance or rent. They felt that if they paid a portion of the initial arena, they should get to use it for free. That was very clear in their proposal.
Also, I don't think it benefits the city to have police officers at the Saddledome, instead of out working in the other 99.99999% of the city. I do agree that they might have been negotiating items thrown in just so they can agree to remove them and look like they were actually negotiating.