Is this the same Nenshi that told the media CalgaryNEXT was dead before city council told the Flames anything in regards to determinations on the project? Maybe keeping things behind closed doors is a good practice after all. This Olympic bid is starting to turn into a bit of a fiasco.
Last edited by Erick Estrada; 09-25-2018 at 12:07 PM.
is that the same CalgaryNEXT that was presented straight to the public before council was told anything? Maybe the Flames should have tried those closed doors.
I honestly have no issue with a heavily renovated McMahon stadium. A partial roof, new concessions and washroom as well as some cosmetic improvements are a far cry from "lipstick on a pig".
The problem is that when it comes to renovating stadiums they usually end up costing more. Much more. Take a look at the Soldier Field disaster or BC Place. If the cost overruns (there will be and it's only a matter of how much) equate to $180 million the city would have been much better off just building a new stadium. Renovating McMahon stadium could be one of the worst decisions this city has ever made involving tax payer money as chances are it will go overbudget and still leave the city with a substandard stadium. Money flushed down the toilet. I'm a little shocked that a $135 million renovation was even tabled as that's just horrible mismanagement of taxpayer money.
Last edited by Erick Estrada; 09-25-2018 at 12:22 PM.
Here is the scrum from yesterday where he talks about the "leak" and why he is required to investigate it...
It's not just a matter of being annoyed at information being leaked. There are procedures for this sort of thing and he has an obligation to investigate when those procedures aren't followed.
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It's not just a matter of being annoyed at information being leaked. There are procedures for this sort of thing and he has an obligation to investigate when those procedures aren't followed.
The narrative has been created that Spendshi wants to blow obscene amounts of secret money on the Olympics and he hates whistleblowers who unveil his nefarious secrecy plans in order to deceive Calgarians.
Too late.
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Nice blow up and misdirection from what was revealed. What happened to transparency at city hall? Politics in full sentences? Yes its a breach and it breaks privacy guidelines but there is a whole argument about if the city is using such privacy guidelines within reason. Omitting secondary bid costs from the numbers isn't being a forthcoming leader, it's being a politician with a self serving agenda.
The problem is that when it comes to renovating stadiums they usually end up costing more. Much more. Take a look at the Soldier Field disaster or BC Place. If the cost overruns (there will be and it's only a matter of how much) equate to $180 million the city would have been much better off just building a new stadium. Renovating McMahon stadium could be one of the worst decisions this city has ever made involving tax payer money as chances are it will go overbudget and still leave the city with a substandard stadium. Money flushed down the toilet. I'm a little shocked that a $135 million renovation was even tabled as that's just horrible mismanagement of taxpayer money.
Are the cost overruns for renovations any worse than they are for new construction?
I recall the Saddledome running into problems with installing the roof panels because no one had ever installed anything like that before. Also, I recall the Oval having some issues with the precast concrete pieces for its roof.
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Is this the same Nenshi that told the media CalgaryNEXT was dead before city council told the Flames anything in regards to determinations on the project? Maybe keeping things behind closed doors is a good practice after all. This Olympic bid is starting to turn into a bit of a fiasco.
Yeah I think it's a terrible idea. Wasn't there a study released a couple years ago that said McMahon was beyond help and any renovation money used would just be going up in smoke?
I'm one of the few who actually likes McMahon but it really seems like money would be better spent on a new stadium. In a better location.
Are the cost overruns for renovations any worse than they are for new construction?
I recall the Saddledome running into problems with installing the roof panels because no one had ever installed anything like that before. Also, I recall the Oval having some issues with the precast concrete pieces for its roof.
There are more unseen cost additions when dealing with existing structures as opposed to building from scratch. Look at Vancouver what happened to BC Place which initially was supposed to cost $365 ballooned to $563 million. They found out that carefully removing a roof and putting a new one on isn't as easy as demolishing an old structure and starting from scratch. Obviously a McMahon renovation would be less complex but I would like to see a lot of details about just how improved of a stadium we would be getting for a large chunk of change in $135 million which is more than half what a new facility would cost. That Regina stadium is really, really nice and it was only $278 million. Calgary doesn't need a facility that nice though and if you are talking about spending $135 on a 50+ year old facility like McMahon you should be considering spending say $230 on a completely new facility. At the end of the day it's a matter of getting value out of your money. Is paying $5k on a new paint job for your old beater a good investment when you can get a new car for $9k? I certainly don't think so.
Here is the scrum from yesterday where he talks about the "leak" and why he is required to investigate it...
It's not just a matter of being annoyed at information being leaked. There are procedures for this sort of thing and he has an obligation to investigate when those procedures aren't followed.
Freeudian slip at 0:38 ? "after we had removed a few of the controversial...errr....not complete issues in it..."
I'm a Nenshi fan and don't think we could have realistically had a better mayor this past decade, but this is feeling more like a guy who knows it's his lat term and gives fewer effs...but not in a good way
edit: around 5:20 is also worth a listen... (re: Farkas)
Last edited by powderjunkie; 09-25-2018 at 04:14 PM.
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Im regretting voting Nenshi now, and not just for this olympic fiasco, he really is a petty, vindictive, manipulative person. not the type of person you want representing a city and the interests of it's inhabitants.
Sorry Bill Smith, I made a mistake.
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Because I would rather a stadium and am not concerned with a few condo towers ROI in that specific area. The city isn't lacking condo tower space.
Fair enough. My bad for de-railing to that nearly decomposed horse.
Finished the youtube clip - Nenshi mentions again near the end that Farkas was the one pushing to release the documents.
I'll acknowledge that I'm disappointed in the way the process is playing out, but in retrospect I don't think it's terribly surprising, and it's understandable why it is only somewhat transparent if you know enough to read between the lines. It's just the world we live in, I guess.
Freeudian slip at 0:38 ? "after we had removed a few of the controversial...errr....not complete issues in it..."
I'm a Nenshi fan and don't think we could have realistically had a better mayor this past decade, but this is feeling more like a guy who knows it's his lat term and gives fewer effs...but not in a good way
edit: around 5:20 is also worth a listen... (re: Farkas)
Not only that but it looks like its accelerating his aging. He looks more like he's in his 50's than mid-40's.
I think they need to commit to that legacy option and start pumping out more renderings to get people excited that a winning bid means some real upgrades and not just lipstick on pigs like the cheaper McMahon options. The partial roof is particularly exciting.
I really don't believe any person or group involved in Calgary sports at any level understands the power of renderings and videos in persuading citizens and fans alike in regards to arenas and stadiums.
Yeah I think it's a terrible idea. Wasn't there a study released a couple years ago that said McMahon was beyond help and any renovation money used would just be going up in smoke?
I'm one of the few who actually likes McMahon but it really seems like money would be better spent on a new stadium. In a better location.
Especially with the cost of your standard CFL stadium now a days, Mosaic notwithstanding.
$145mil for Tim Hortons field in Hamilton. Just give us that in a decent location, perhaps with an additional 3k seats and we're good to go.
Especially with the cost of your standard CFL stadium now a days, Mosaic notwithstanding.
$145mil for Tim Hortons field in Hamilton. Just give us that in a decent location, perhaps with an additional 3k seats and we're good to go.
You could argue though what's the benefit from building a brand new stadium (including costs for land and such), vs renovating McMahon extensively for less than the costs of a new stadium? What benefits do we gain from that over what's possible to be done with McMahon?
Mary Moran was on CBC radio today over the lunch hour taking calls. Nothing really new that we haven't already beaten to death here.
One caller tried to play up the whole "taxpayers should be the only ones who get to vote" angle, but they either didn't understand what he was going for or they pretended not to understand.
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