Burke at the Calgary Chamber of Commerce

[Puckbag]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

As they should as these are still largely the same men that have owned the team for over 3 decades unlike Edmonton where a rich guy bought the team as a toy hasn't done anything for the community except run the team into the ground and even pretended to entertain Seattle as a thinly veiled threat. If anything it would be a little insulting to the Flames ownership group to get the cold shoulder given what the province and city of Edmonton gave the clown up north.

I'm pretty sure, but I believe there was no direct money from the province for Rogers Place in Edmonton. They provided some funding to a few projects like the new LRT station near the new arena, but no money was made available directly related to the arena itself.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Alberta_Beef

How much time and money does the Flames organization contribute to the community of Calgary?

I don't know - how much? Let's talk numbers. I sure as hell don't want the people charged with managing our finances making decisions on this scale based on sentimentality,

A report on Calgary's flood mitigation options came out today. The price tag for the Glenmore Reservoir to Bow River bypass tunnel alone rings in at $460 million. Think about that for a minute.

[Bend it like Bourgeois]

Originally Posted by OldDutch

Let's please get away from the heart string arguments like this writer and Brian Burke uses. Can someone please develop a business case like they do with any major project in the companies these guys run? Present to tax payers the literal impact the Flames have on Calgary direct and indirect.

Makes sense, and I have pretty much the same take as you. I think. I waffle.

I think the economic lens should be a bit different though. You'll never get a (legit) study to prove a tangible ROI for the city, but almost nothing the city invests in has a tangible ROI.

Compared to other city investments an arena complex would be a downright steal. The film studio is mostly city money and will only run if it's subsidized. And it's not like you and I will get to enjoy it. Other city attractions like the science centre or the new central library cost tens or hundreds of millions, all public money. They might have intangible value to calgarians but they have no commercial viability, so we have to pay to run them and maintain them too.

A sports complex would be a way bigger attraction, that way more calgarians will actually enjoy, than anything the city can hope to build. it could cost the city maybe 5 or 10 or 20 cents on the dollar to get built, and nothing to maintain or run. If the flames can come out with something making that economic case on a world class facility, I think I would support it.

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by Bend it like Bourgeois

Compared to other city investments an arena complex would be a downright steal. The film studio is mostly city money and will only run if it's subsidized. And it's not like you and I will get to enjoy it. Other city attractions like the science centre or the new central library cost tens or hundreds of millions, all public money. They might have intangible value to calgarians but they have no commercial viability, so we have to pay to run them and maintain them too.

The commercial viability of the library? Really? An educated population has commercial viability.

Would you be interested in using taxpayer dollars to build a private library owned by (for example) Shell Oil that charged 8 grand a year for membership? It could be a world class library with private rooms for those willing to pay extra. Shell would keep all the profits of course. A library like that would definitely attract tourists.

[Tinordi]

Originally Posted by Alberta_Beef

How much time and money does the Flames organization contribute to the community of Calgary? This has gone on for their entire existence and will continue to do so. So I really have no issues with the city/province giving something back towards an arena.

What a weird line of logic.

How much money do the people of Calgary contribute to the Flames is a better question. Millions every year in ticket revenue which is the basic metric for the franchise valuation of whatever it is now ($200 million?). Why do we then feel that it's our duty to provide even more money from people that don't even necessarily support the team?

The franchise is solvent, the franchise is worth hundreds of millions, surely they can finance their own arena by borrowing against their existing assets like any other multi-million dollar business. If not, why not make the people who are using the arena pay for it? LIke the people who go to games and concerts with a stadium surcharge. Surely that's a more equitable way to finance a stadium than having all Alberta or Calgary taxpayers pay for it regardless of whether they'll use it or not.

[JayP]

Originally Posted by Alberta_Beef

How much time and money does the Flames organization contribute to the community of Calgary? This has gone on for their entire existence and will continue to do so. So I really have no issues with the city/province giving something back towards an arena.

By this logic, the city should be paying for new towers for all the major Oil & Gas companies too.

[Alberta_Beef]

Originally Posted by JayP

By this logic, the city should be paying for new towers for all the major Oil & Gas companies too.

do the Oil & Gas companies require their employees to do a certain level of community service like the Flames do? The player put in tons of hours for local charities and are required to do so, this is more than just about money being donated.

[puckedoff]

Originally Posted by Alberta_Beef

do the Oil & Gas companies require their employees to do a certain level of community service like the Flames do? The player put in tons of hours for local charities and are required to do so, this is more than just about money being donated.

$100 million can hire a lot of hours of community service. The pro-government assistance for the project will need a better argument than that.

[Tinordi]

Nice to see the Flames ownership leveraging charitable contributions to other organizations for charitable contributions that are an order of magnitude larger to themselves.

[Vulcan]

[codynw]

Screw the arena, they should build more of whatever this is.

[#-3]

Originally Posted by Alberta_Beef

do the Oil & Gas companies require their employees to do a certain level of community service like the Flames do? The player put in tons of hours for local charities and are required to do so, this is more than just about money being donated.

The Flames have over 3000 employees. They only have that requirement of about 40 employees. Believe it or not I think allot companies would have close to the same expectations in their HQ cities.

I know my company pushes community involvement for all employees where possible, and insists that C level executives take a leadership role in that.

[heep223]

Originally Posted by Alberta_Beef

do the Oil & Gas companies require their employees to do a certain level of community service like the Flames do?

Actually, yes. The big ones do.


Sent from 6 feet under

[nik-]

Originally Posted by Alberta_Beef

do the Oil & Gas companies require their employees to do a certain level of community service like the Flames do? The player put in tons of hours for local charities and are required to do so, this is more than just about money being donated.

Companies don't require it, but it still happens that a bunch of O&G employees do a bunch of volunteering and charity.