CalgaryNEXT Discussion pt. 2

[Strange Brew]

As someone who no longer lives in Calgary but visits regularly (in other words I have no dog in the fight) I am shocked at how badly the Flames are losing the PR battle. The reasons have been outlined very well by others but is no one advising them with regards to public perception? It just seems so strange with what KK has been saying at the season ticket holder meetings for years.

[Zarley]

Originally Posted by Ducay

Totally unrelated to the project though. Those are already part of the BRZ for the WV. The Flames like to sell that as an added bonus, but really, CalgaryNext would just likely speed up the development of those. God knows we've got enough vacancies right now....(both residential and commercial).

How do you know it's unrelated? I believe Muta is involved in the project in some way, so I'm inclined to believe him when he says it is included. Also, no BRZ exists for the West Village - there are maybe 10 businesses operating in the entire district.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by Muta

There will be commercial components to this project. Residential as well.

You make it sound like it's going ahead.

[Muta]

Originally Posted by Zarley

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ducay

Totally unrelated to the project though. Those are already part of the BRZ for the WV. The Flames like to sell that as an added bonus, but really, CalgaryNext would just likely speed up the development of those. God knows we've got enough vacancies right now....(both residential and commercial).

How do you know it's unrelated? I believe Muta is involved in the project in some way, so I'm inclined to believe him when he says it is included. Also, no BRZ exists for the West Village - there are maybe 10 businesses operating in the entire district.

I'm not involved in the project. I probably just know a bit more about it than the average person.


Posted from Calgarypuck.com App for Android

[Cappy]

Originally Posted by Muta

There will be commercial components to this project. Residential as well.


Posted from Calgarypuck.com App for Android

Is it similar to the Edmonton deal?

Because if so, I don't like it. Adding Res/com is a classic example of the economic argument that is used. Daryl Katz was more than willing to make a deal with the City to have them fund the arena and he redevelop the area. that is a win-win for the club! They don't have to pay for the rink, get the revenue from the arena, and all the revenue from the surrounding buildings!

WV will not have a problem selling res/com as an area, with or without an arena. The City shouldn't buy the argument.

[hockey.modern]

Originally Posted by Muta

There will be commercial components to this project. Residential as well.


Posted from Calgarypuck.com App for Android

I really hope they can incorporate it into the stadium/arena nicely then. That's the most we can hope..something like LA Live or what Edmonton is doing.

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by hockey.modern

I really hope they can incorporate it into the stadium/arena nicely then. That's the most we can hope..something like LA Live or what Edmonton is doing.

Who is they? Didn't King specifically say that CSE wasn't going to develop anything other than the arena/stadium/field house in his presentation? That they themselves weren't interested in bars and restaurants...

I think it's more of there should be commercial development but that's up to someone else to figure out.

[saillias]

Gary Bettman is going to be on the Fan 960 with Rob Kerr today from 4-5 PM (yes, a full hour). Pinder indicated they will talk about the arena

[nik-]

Bettman is just going to double down on the owner comments, just like he's done in every city that has needed a new arena.

[Fuzz]

He is supposed to be on here:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...398581?cmp=rss
at 11:30 but hasn't shown up yet. Maybe he is busy reviewing the very detailed plans for CalgaryNEXT before speaking. This might be awhile....

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by BACKCHECK!!!

There were a lot of huge surprises for me.

Parking? No parking. For a 100,000 person venue. That's just plain stupid.

Infrastructure changes? No infrastructure changes. For one of the biggest sports facilities in the nation, built in the middle of downtown in a major city.

A funding proposal that includes the actual costs of the project? No, it conveniently leaves out a number of things, including the site clean up which will likely be the 2nd biggest line item in the entire project.

The biggest surprise by far is that this business came forward, cap in hand, asking for huge amounts of public funding, and then handed over a plan that looks like a student project where two of the people did all the work on the last weekend before it was due.

In my mind not being able to come up with a clear plan, or a coherent funding model, or a realistic timeline, are all perfectly valid reasons to not want to hand over hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money to a highly profitable private corporation.

If this is honestly and actually the best they could come up with after 10 years of planning, then they are not competent enough to complete this project.

If this is not the best they can come up with, then they are just playing games, and so "No, I do not support the current version of CalgaryNEXT", because it is a bad proposal.

Well said. I want a new arena as much as the next guy. But if I handed my boss a proposal like this, she'd question wtf I've been doing the entire time and why this is the best I could come up with.

The citizens of this city will support the project if you make it look worthwhile. This whole things looks and reeks of garbage. Whomever approved this to be released to the general public should be fired.

[hockey.modern]

Anyone watching the stream when it's up, can you provide cliff notes?

[Bill Bumface]

I still can't believe that the proposal, from what can see of it, is a building that does zero for the public realm on non-game days. You have a building where the majority of the interfaces are set way back from the street, and will only be used for events. Especially for a parcel right on the river.

More this:



Less like this:

[Julio]

The Commissioners speech was pretty standard, praise the city and ownership, note that the big rival is getting a new building, note the building here is old in the context of other league buildings, ask for support for the new building, and, while saying they are not threats, note that the long term viability of the franchise is at stake.
Q and A coming up.

[corporatejay]

Originally Posted by Julio

The Commissioners speech was pretty standard, praise the city and ownership, note that the big rival is getting a new building, note the building here is old in the context of other league buildings, ask for support for the new building, and, while saying they are not threats, note that the long term viability of the franchise is at stake.
Q and A coming up.

[insert jennifer lawrence gif here]

[Finger Cookin]

Having Bettman campaign for the project will surely sway public opinion. Few public figures are as beloved as sports league commissioners.

[JohnnyT]

Apparently Nenshi turned down a meeting with Bettman while he was in town to talk about CalgaryNext, so don't expect any progress anytime soon. 5 year timeline if they finalized the deal in the next 6 months, which seems highly unlikely. Probably getting close to a 2023/24 time frame at this point.

[flambers]

Originally Posted by Finger Cookin

Having Bettman campaign for the project will surely sway public opinion. Few public figures are as beloved as sports league commissioners.

Guessing Bettman is in town meeting with the City....

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by JohnnyT

Apparently Nenshi turned down a meeting with Bettman while he was in town to talk about CalgaryNext, so don't expect any progress anytime soon. 5 year timeline if they finalized the deal in the next 6 months, which seems highly unlikely. Probably getting close to a 2023/24 time frame at this point.

I'm not sure how they can specify a 5 year timeline when no one has any idea how long it would take to cleanup the mess, let alone deal with road realignment. But hey! Good guess! This thing is a farce. Give us money so we can make more money.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I'm not sure how they can specify a 5 year timeline when no one has any idea how long it would take to cleanup the mess, let alone deal with road realignment. But hey! Good guess! This thing is a farce. Give us money so we can make more money.

The deal has to happen right now to make sense.