DKim

I appreciate the rebuttal from the city, because they were forced to do it since the Flames released their ridiculous proposal. When they suggest that they will put in 275 million, I knew that it had to include the ticket tax. We can see in the rebuttal that the offer was only 100(+25) million from the Flames and 150 million is from a ticket tax FINANCED BY THE CITY. While it feels nicer to call it a CRL, in this case, it's a pure taxpayer subsidy as the effect of the new arena will have a minimal impact on the development that is already occurring in the area. All that aside, the real sticking point here is that the Flames do not want to pay rent or property taxes and want to keep all of the revenue. Would we give this kind of deal to Amazon? Free downtown land, tax payer subsidy for 225 million and no expectation to receive any rent or property tax.

I believe that this is the current arrangement with the Saddledome.

Imagine the Flames without the City of Calgary. If they are foolish enough to go to somewhere like Seattle, they will NOT have it as good as they do here. I laugh at their thinly veiled, and empty, threats to move the franchise. They are more than a handful of clubs that would LOVE to switch places with us, dilapidated arena and all. In fact, it really pisses me off. While I agree that there is an economic effect from having a sports team in the city. That effect does not, in a direct way, translate into an ability for the City to collect higher property taxes. Your argument makes more sense to the Federal, and to a lesser extent the Provincial government who receive most of the benefit of the increased tax revenue, and both are going to contribute zero to a new arena. If you want City money, then it has to be tied to some sort of revitalization or redevelopment initiative (to increase property taxes), and then you must comply with what is in the best interests of the City. This is not about being stoic, it is about not being strong armed into a bad deal. Calgary is much more than the Flames, but the Flames are not much without Calgary.

Governments in Canada are not for profit, instead they are there to provide services for all its residents that are in the greater public interest. This is really a question of what the role of government is and whether or not an activity of the government is within the parameters of that role. Why does the City not use public money to purchase real estate and build commercial shopping centers, or office towers, or luxury condos? Because it does not exist to turn a profit, instead it exists to plan and direct growth and development of the City. I would argue that the City should not be investing in an arena to the main benefit of a private sports club. If you cannot build an arena with private funding, then the NHL business model is flawed. Should they not plan ahead and set aside a fund from their billions in revenues for the eventual replacement of all of their arenas? The role of the City should be to approve the arena, not to become an investor.

Nenshi as mayor is the spokesperson for our city, but he is only one member on the council. The project will eventually be put forward to the city council for a vote and Nenshi will get one vote. This will live or die based on how many other alderman they can sway.

Berra looked great in his debut. Just a few personal observations: Looks really big in net great positioning, was never swimming in the crease like JMac good rebound control, has that ability to absorb hard shots that all the good goalies have. really good lateral movement (5-3 power play save was awesome) quick glove hand, and... looks really big in net! With his size and speed, Berra looks more like a Pekka Rinne than a Henrik Karlsson.