The ongoing new arena saga for the Calgary Flames has taken another turn. On Tuesday afternoon Calgary City Council voted to formally re-engage with the Flames on the possibility of building a new arena in Victoria Park.
Looking forward to taking the next steps and starting a conversation with the @nhlflames regarding what an entertainment district and event centre could look like for #Calgary. #yyc #yyccc
— Jeff Davison (@JeffDavisonYYC) October 9, 2018
So what does this mean?
The Event Centre Assessment Committee (and Council as a whole) approved Terms of Reference for any negotiations, with the majority of them linking up thematically with the ongoing work the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation has been doing on planning for an Events and Cultural District.
The approval to rekindle talks is Council agreeing to have the committee formally speak with the Flames and see if their dreams for a new arena fit with the City’s plans for an Events and Cultural District. If there is a philosophical match there, then you would imagine talks would begin to progress towards more substantial matters.
It’s a small step, but it could end up being an important one.
I am taking a wait and see approach on this one . I think both sides still have a bad taste from the previous discussions . The ownership group stall until after the Olympic bid plays out.
Haha, I read this as ‘City tells Flames what to build and where to put it’, and while I agree that there needs to be a shared vision for the project I just don’t see any way for the Flames to get a word in edge wise. Oddly, I’m certain the City will expect them to pay 100%, a Nenshi kind of Cherry on top of his great deal!
Well considering the last Flames proposal had the city paying for 100% of the costs, (lease payments don’t count as a contribution), owning the building, but reaping none of the profits, you think the city should be able to at least decide “what to build and where to put it”.
Uh? Please show me your reference for that.
Go read the last publicly disclosed proposal put forth by the Flames.
It took some thinking to see that it was a sham that had taxpayers pay for the whole shebang. Some people bought the media spin I guess.
$280,000,000 wasted on new Library without a bit of consultation.
Need I say more ….what a joke at city hall. If we were to lose the flames……
It’s only ‘wasted’ if you’re illiterate. Hockey or books? I wonder what has contributed more to humanity?
The starting point is half, there Murray. Otherwise, go straight to blazes.