The Flames public proposals have drifted from being disingenuous to being dishonest.
Quote:
Chabot wasn't the only mayoral hopeful to speak out against the Flames deal. Incumbent Naheed Nenshi said Thursday the deal CSEC released was somewhat misleading.
"The proposal I read about this morning was a little bit news to me. It wasn't quite what we thought was on the table," Nenshi said.
Specifically, he took issue with what was being called "up-front" funding. Nenshi said a portion of what the Flames classified as the $275 million they had been willing to pony up consisted of a user fee or "ticket tax" of $150 million.
Nenshi said that $150 million would have been financed by the city.
"In their proposal they pay zero rent, zero property tax, and they get 100 per cent of all of the revenues from all sporting events, concerts and special events," Nenshi said.
"I'm not sure where that turns into a 50/50 partnership."
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The Flames Public proposal obviously differs from what they presented to Council. Based on reporting from news outlets outside of the Big 2 in Calgary, some of the components left out of what the Flames have disclosed publicly include some pretty substantial costs incurred by the city.