[News] Bettman urges new arena ASAP

[RM14]

###### off LA

Here's what $1.8 B gets ya these days

Spoiler!

[Locke]

Originally Posted by RM14

###### off LA

Here's what $1.8 B gets ya these days

Spoiler!

Come on PowerBall!!

[Cappy]

Originally Posted by heep223

People really need to get over the bike lanes. We're a city of 1.3M people, we should have bike lanes. That really should be the end of it.

Maybe we should start telling people that WORLD CLASS cities have bike lanes!

Do we want to rival New York or Paris.

It seems to work for other things :-)

[DiracSpike]

Originally Posted by Cappy

Maybe we should start telling people that WORLD CLASS cities have bike lanes!

Do we want to rival New York or Paris.

It seems to work for other things :-)

If I remember correctly, the world class city thing was an argument used when justifying those lanes.

I would like to second someones comment a few pages back that wondered why 12th ave was chosen for bike lanes when next to no one uses 10th ave. Just doesn't make a lot of sense, and I say that as a Beltline resident.

[northcrunk]

Yeah don't people know that our large 'world class' city of 1.3mil needs to keep with New York and Paris. I mean they are in the same league as Calgary! Why shouldn't we have bike lanes! TRANSIT!!!! GREEN LINE!!!!

[nik-]

Well this thread is getting ridiculous now.

RIP thread: Page 1 - Page 29

[automaton 3]

Perhaps its already been addressed, but was Bettman actually here to promote this project, or was he here on a routine visit and had this sprung on him? In either event he likely made things worse.

The Flames' handling of this file continues to be somewhat unfocused and erratic. I'm really starting to believe that this has a component of attempting to apply pressure on the Stampede Board for their true plan A.

[mdubz]

I urge that CP gets new servers ASAP.

[Cappy]

Originally Posted by nik-

Well this thread is getting ridiculous now.

RIP thread: Page 1 - Page 29

My bad,

I poked the bike lane crowd.

Quick no one mention muslims! Crap!

[OldDutch]

Originally Posted by automaton 3

The Flames' handling of this file continues to be somewhat unfocused and erratic. I'm really starting to believe that this has a component of attempting to apply pressure on the Stampede Board for their true plan A.

That presentation reeked of minimal investment. Kind of the one you would make if you were bidding on a project you knew had very low chance and you didn't want to spend the money as it was likely throw away.

At first I didn't get why, but maybe this is it. They don't actually want to build there as their only Plan A. Maybe this was a shot across the bow, and the board will buckle, and a new proper proposal will be shown later this year.

Problem is if it was a rouse, it isn't working. I am pretty sure the board has their cowboy boots still up on the desk. After the Bettman visit they are even more in the drivers seat.

So if what I just wrote is not true at all, then it would be pretty telling on why they shouldn't get a dime from us until they get some real professionals running things.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by nik-

I honestly would love to see them.

Originally Posted by cam_wmh

I'd like to these case studies. There's certainly alot of these publicly funded stadiums/arenas out there.

I never said anything about studies - usually commissioned by someone with an agenda. What I said was, pretty much any situation where the city/state/province got paid back is a good deal for them. Having arenas and stadiums does provide a multiplier effect for the economy, so if the local government isn't out of pocket (i.e. got paid back), your starting point is that it was a good deal for them.

[nik-]

Yes, but what are the examples of these situations. I'd truly like to know them because I'm unaware of any.

[Huntingwhale]

I'm starting to think that the initial proposal was so horrible because some kind of computer crash occurred. It wasn't backed up properly because someone had saved everything on their local drive instead of backing it up to a network drive. Then there was a mad dash to get a copy of Corel Draw (a graphic design program nobody in the office had probably ever used before), find a tech who was somewhat computer literate to draw it up and attempt to salvage whatever they could in time for the press conference. The 1 page proposal letter was all they had time to quickly write up as they realized close to the conference, that the original had been lost in the computer crash as well.

It's happened at my work before. Garbage got sent out and the client was pissed. And I honestly believe that something along those lines is what happened and why it looked so disastrous.

[Looch City]

^ So basically a work-related version of "my dog ate my homework" haha

[Tinordi]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

I never said anything about studies - usually commissioned by someone with an agenda. What I said was, pretty much any situation where the city/state/province got paid back is a good deal for them. Having arenas and stadiums does provide a multiplier effect for the economy, so if the local government isn't out of pocket (i.e. got paid back), your starting point is that it was a good deal for them.

Please cite for me an independently conducted study that shows a meaningful multiplier which is greater than the opportunity cost of a city financing an arena.

[IliketoPuck]

Originally Posted by nik-

Which "pet project" has you all riled up then?

Hardly riled up. Calgary city council has had numerous spending choices in the last several years that can be considered debatable, this shouldn't be news to anyone.

My original post was a response to a question posed about people criticizing certain spending decisions of city council. Which as a public body, their spending decisions deserve to be reviewed and evaluated (and if appropriate, ridiculed).

Bike lanes, oh sweet, sweet bike lanes. Do I agree with having them (or more of them)? My personal experience of biking to work in the winter suggests that they don't get much use for the amount of $ or aggravation they cause - this is just personal opinion and observation.

[nik-]

So yeah ... it was bike lanes then. Got it.

[Frequitude]

Why would the Stampede Board need pressure put on them? They'd welcome the project on or next to their land.

Or do you mean pressure to cough up a couple hundred million bucks? Because that ain't happening. Nor should it.

[GioforPM]

I think the Flames haven't sold well. However, there are some people who will never be sold on the concept they want to go with. More precisely, for some here, there's basically no public contribution that's acceptable, whether it be money, free land or free rent, which is a perfectly valid opinion. I just think those who hold that view should just say it and not criticize location/facility/communication style/sales pitch. They also seem to think that, because Nenshi seems to have the same view, any manner in which he communicates that is just fine.

If this is the view of the City, they should just say so as well, and not say "we will look at your proposal" or ask for studies. I am not sure that stops the Flames from pushing it and trying to get public support, but at least residents will know the stance.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

I never said anything about studies - usually commissioned by someone with an agenda. What I said was, pretty much any situation where the city/state/province got paid back is a good deal for them. Having arenas and stadiums does provide a multiplier effect for the economy, so if the local government isn't out of pocket (i.e. got paid back), your starting point is that it was a good deal for them.

I think what nik- and others are trying to point out is that the existence of any "multiplier effect" of large sports stadiums on local economies is anecdotal. I would expect this effect is something that is quantifiable, and if so, then there really shouldn't be any problem with publishing these figures. I don't know much about this, but I am at the outset dubious regarding the positive economic impact of privately owned sports franchises more generally. You seem convinced of it, and I would like to know why.