ABC923 Posted November 20, 2017 Report Share Posted November 20, 2017 Perhaps I should take what I've read with a grain of salt. As you guys say, not many in the main stream have said much about this aside from that small piece on the Fan the other day, which was reporting on John Shannon's piece I think. As far as Bettman disliking the flames, perhaps that isn't quite true. I don't see him going out of his way to keep the team in Calgary the way he has Phoenix however. Nhl franchises are building new arenas all the time though, and so far no team has moved because their building was too old. Despite that, it's a very common threat. So here we are, the first city to really try the patience of their team, somewhat appearing to call their bluff. Why wouldn't Bettman want to see us move? Sure, a new expansion team injects 500 million into the league, but that's less than what a new arena costs. If the nhl has a team looking for a new building every 2 years or so (maybe less), a new arena paid for by taxpayers has a larger impact on owners bottom lines than a new expansion team. So by making an example of us, the league sets a precedent for further extortion in their remaining markets. Plus, give a flames free calgary a decade or so and we'll have a new arena waiting for our own new expansion team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_People1 Posted November 22, 2017 Report Share Posted November 22, 2017 http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/272-million-field-house-with-ice-included-in-citys-potential-2026-olympic-figures The city eventually decided to release the slides, which peg the cost of sports venues and media facilities for a 2026 Olympic Games at $733 million, including a $272-million field house, $80 million in upgrades to the BMO Centre, $55 million for a “Hall F Expansion” at BMO Centre, $10 million in upgrades to the Saddledome and $50 million for McMahon Stadium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cross16 Posted November 22, 2017 Report Share Posted November 22, 2017 5 minutes ago, The_People1 said: http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/272-million-field-house-with-ice-included-in-citys-potential-2026-olympic-figures Nenshi also said a new arena is not a necessity to host the Olympics and that "theres a nice new arena 3 hours up the road". Such an embarrassing statement to make... Not even just about the lack of an arena here, the fact that you would want to host the Olympics and spend hundreds of millions of dollars to do so but are willing to not have the marquee event makes no sense whatsoever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travel_dude Posted November 22, 2017 Report Share Posted November 22, 2017 24 minutes ago, cross16 said: Nenshi also said a new arena is not a necessity to host the Olympics and that "theres a nice new arena 3 hours up the road". Such an embarrassing statement to make... Not even just about the lack of an arena here, the fact that you would want to host the Olympics and spend hundreds of millions of dollars to do so but are willing to not have the marquee event makes no sense whatsoever. That's more of a thing that Notley would say, to benefit more than one city for a province sponsored bid. Where was EDM in the last Olympics? What a tool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_People1 Posted November 22, 2017 Report Share Posted November 22, 2017 48 minutes ago, cross16 said: Nenshi also said a new arena is not a necessity to host the Olympics and that "theres a nice new arena 3 hours up the road". Such an embarrassing statement to make... Not even just about the lack of an arena here, the fact that you would want to host the Olympics and spend hundreds of millions of dollars to do so but are willing to not have the marquee event makes no sense whatsoever. I can't believe he actually said that. I heard on the radio, some rumblings about asking Whistler to join the bid. So, opening and closing ceremonies in Calgary. Skiing/snowboarding in Whistler. Hockey in Edmonton. Really, what's left for Calgary? Curling in the $272-mil field house and that's pretty much it. $10-mil upgrade to Saddledome... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcs Posted November 22, 2017 Report Share Posted November 22, 2017 Nothing about COP or Olympic Oval? These are still premier training sites, no? Would they not still be part of a new Olympic Games? Although I would expect some upgrades to them if that would be the case, and they seem to be absent from that list... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cross16 Posted November 22, 2017 Report Share Posted November 22, 2017 1 hour ago, The_People1 said: I can't believe he actually said that. To provide some context he did say it was just an option. That being said, I think it's still embarassing it's even a legitimate option. Seems very much like trying to save face about the arena fiasco. I don't mind the idea of some events being split out to other areas but then I just start to question more and more why we are going down this path? I get the idea is to help reduce cost but if you can't play the marquee event, ie the Hockey medal round/gold medal game, then you are going to really reduce your profit as well. As much as I would love Calgary to host the Olympics, i have zero faith that this council could pull it off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcs Posted November 22, 2017 Report Share Posted November 22, 2017 I agree it’s a bit embarrassing that he would seem so willing to let the hockey go to another city. One question for y’all, though... Presuming the NHLers are still on the outside looking in for the Olympics, will hockey still be the same marquee event that it has been during this most recent era of an NHL-studded Olympic hockey tournament? Maybe in any Canadian city it’s still safe to assume that would be the case, especially in terms of ticket sales, but I’m curious to see how it plays out in these next Olympics. I don’t expect there to be nearly the interest that we’ve grown accustomed to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix66 Posted November 22, 2017 Report Share Posted November 22, 2017 So basically , the City is proposing $332 MI towards the Fieldhouse, McMahon and Saddledome .. all predicated on losing money hosting an Olympics... but turned down $200M for Calgary NEXT( and the cleanup thing is a non starter.. Environmental grant can be looked into for that ) that would have encompassed an all in one solution or lets look at it another way The City wanted to pay $185 towards JUST an arena.. now knowing they see the benefit of $50 Million upgrading McMahon and $272 Million to build a Fieldhouse.. that's just over $500 Million the City sees the benefit of spending on these 3 projects Tell me again what was so bad about the Flames offer ? they must be fuming today hearing this 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cross16 Posted November 22, 2017 Report Share Posted November 22, 2017 38 minutes ago, pcs said: I agree it’s a bit embarrassing that he would seem so willing to let the hockey go to another city. One question for y’all, though... Presuming the NHLers are still on the outside looking in for the Olympics, will hockey still be the same marquee event that it has been during this most recent era of an NHL-studded Olympic hockey tournament? Maybe in any Canadian city it’s still safe to assume that would be the case, especially in terms of ticket sales, but I’m curious to see how it plays out in these next Olympics. I don’t expect there to be nearly the interest that we’ve grown accustomed to. I don't think for 1 second the NHL would not participate in an Olympics held in North America. Both tournaments held in North America were great showcases for the game and the NHL has pretty much outright said they want to be part of Bejing in 2022 as well. They just don't see the value in shutting down the season and risking the injury to send players to a market like Korea. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CheersMan Posted November 22, 2017 Report Share Posted November 22, 2017 24 minutes ago, cross16 said: I don't think for 1 second the NHL would not participate in an Olympics held in North America. Both tournaments held in North America were great showcases for the game and the NHL has pretty much outright said they want to be part of Bejing in 2022 as well. They just don't see the value in shutting down the season and risking the injury to send players to a market like Korea. The Olympics are watched on a world wide scale, that doesn't change. Not really sure what the difference is between Korea and Bejing considering they are similar time zones. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cross16 Posted November 22, 2017 Report Share Posted November 22, 2017 51 minutes ago, CheersMan said: The Olympics are watched on a world wide scale, that doesn't change. Not really sure what the difference is between Korea and Bejing considering they are similar time zones. The fact that one has a substantially bigger population base, market, and economy than the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robrob74 Posted November 23, 2017 Report Share Posted November 23, 2017 19 hours ago, cross16 said: The fact that one has a substantially bigger population base, market, and economy than the other. It still doesn’t make sense. How many can fit into one arena? The rest of China will still have to watch on tv. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cross16 Posted November 23, 2017 Report Share Posted November 23, 2017 30 minutes ago, robrob74 said: It still doesn’t make sense. How many can fit into one arena? The rest of China will still have to watch on tv. It's about product placement. Game is really difficult to grow on TV or generate much excitement, as judged by the fact there has been how many Olympics and growth internationally really isn't much of a thing for the NHL. Not to mention, the NHL is already trying to woo Chinese investment and drum up interest given the market size and potential in China. Would be a pretty bad look for them to pitch the NHL in China and then not send their athletes to the games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_People1 Posted November 23, 2017 Report Share Posted November 23, 2017 1 hour ago, cross16 said: It's about product placement. Game is really difficult to grow on TV or generate much excitement, as judged by the fact there has been how many Olympics and growth internationally really isn't much of a thing for the NHL. Not to mention, the NHL is already trying to woo Chinese investment and drum up interest given the market size and potential in China. Would be a pretty bad look for them to pitch the NHL in China and then not send their athletes to the games. South Koreans are more affluent on average though and can more comfortably send their kids to hockey programs where Chinese kids will almost certainly require some sort of financial assistance. It also snows in Korea whereas 50% of China is in too warm a climate to see snow and frozen lakes. Not that that's stopped hockey from growing in California and stuff but still. It helps the game grow when the climate is naturally cold. I don't have exact figures but probably only 200-million people in China live in cold climate. This 1.3-billion market size is over blown. South Koreans dominate short track speed skating and no one should doubt South Korea can produce fast skating hockey talent for the NHL. Richard Park, born in South Korea, played 14 sasons in the NHL. Jim Paek, born in South Korea, won two Cups with the Penguins. South Korea population is 51.25 million. 15-million more than Canada. Not saying the NHL shouldn't go to China but just saying they should also go to South Korea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cross16 Posted November 23, 2017 Report Share Posted November 23, 2017 6 minutes ago, The_People1 said: Not saying the NHL shouldn't go to China but just saying they should also go to South Korea. And I agree to be clear i've never said the NHL shouldn't go to Korea. I believe the NHL should ideally be at all Olympics, although I understand their point of view on Korea, but that it would just make no sense at all to pass on Beijing. It's less about getting peole to play hockey and more about the potential for future investment in the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_People1 Posted November 23, 2017 Report Share Posted November 23, 2017 2 minutes ago, cross16 said: And I agree to be clear i've never said the NHL shouldn't go to Korea. I believe the NHL should ideally be at all Olympics, although I understand their point of view on Korea, but that it would just make no sense at all to pass on Beijing. It's less about getting peole to play hockey and more about the potential for future investment in the game. I should also say I understand their point of view on Korea as well but just saying it's a bad move and poor calculation. There can be significant investment in the game from Korea given some big conglomerates like Samsung, Hyundai, etc. There is money there. If anything, hockey needs a three nation league in East Asia that includes Beijing, Seoul, and Tokyo as core franchises. Korea is important in the grand scheme of things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyDeeds Posted November 24, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2017 On 11/20/2017 at 11:01 AM, cross16 said: There really isn't much chatter at all about the Flames moving or selling. The only really "new" bit that has come out was John Shannon wirting his opinion that Houston wanting a team will eventually get linked to Calgary. I've heard no one credible suggest the Flames want to move or want to sell. They are just standing by their "we are done negotiating and will play here as long as we can stance" and reporters are making suggestions on the rest. If Gary Bettman didn't want the Flames in Canada he's had multiple opportunities to move them and he hasn't. Actually KK said the following sunday to clarify his "play here as long as we can comments". he said " the Flames “would just move” if no arena deal was reached with council. http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/flames-arena-troubles-heat-up-after-team-ceo-says-they-could-move Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cross16 Posted November 24, 2017 Report Share Posted November 24, 2017 1 hour ago, DirtyDeeds said: Actually KK said the following sunday to clarify his "play here as long as we can comments". he said " the Flames “would just move” if no arena deal was reached with council. http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/flames-arena-troubles-heat-up-after-team-ceo-says-they-could-move That's an old article. From April before the Flames pulled the plug on negotiations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Tribal Chief Posted November 24, 2017 Report Share Posted November 24, 2017 Personally I wish either the team would move or get this sorted out stop the drama and move on enough is enough Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thebrewcrew Posted November 24, 2017 Report Share Posted November 24, 2017 Laugh at how council can even begin to think they can win an Olympic bid with the Saddledome and McMahon still in use. If I recall correctly, Nenshi said if they decide to bid,"they are going to win". How do you expect to host the world in your city with outdated facilities? 10 mill in the dome might get you a new scoreboard... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyDeeds Posted November 25, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2017 On 11/24/2017 at 7:08 AM, Thebrewcrew said: Laugh at how council can even begin to think they can win an Olympic bid with the Saddledome and McMahon still in use. If I recall correctly, Nenshi said if they decide to bid,"they are going to win". How do you expect to host the world in your city with outdated facilities? 10 mill in the dome might get you a new scoreboard... Worse yet is they(city Council) are considering the bid with the expectations they could send the hockey portion up to Edmonton and use that facility. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thebrewcrew Posted November 25, 2017 Report Share Posted November 25, 2017 4 minutes ago, DirtyDeeds said: Worse yet is they(city Council) are considering the bid with the expectations they could send the hockey portion up to Edmonton and use that facility. As a Calgarian if that isn't a slap in the face I don't know what is 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowtownguy Posted November 28, 2017 Report Share Posted November 28, 2017 On November 25, 2017 at 4:28 PM, DirtyDeeds said: Worse yet is they(city Council) are considering the bid with the expectations they could send the hockey portion up to Edmonton and use that facility. The only thing worse than being exploited by the Olympics is paying for them and having the best event elsewhere. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cross16 Posted December 8, 2017 Report Share Posted December 8, 2017 Also... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now