Quote:
Originally Posted by Future_Man
Why does the taxpayer need to pay for this? Why can't Robert Irving cut a $50 million cheque and starrt building this summer because this project whether you beleive it or not is 99% about the Wildcats org. #EndIrvingWelfare
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If you think Robert Irving would write a $50M cheque for the events centre, then you are dreaming in technicolour.....
I find the love/hate relationship (mostly hate) that many New Brunswickers have with the Irvings rather distressing. Sure, the Irvings have disproportionate sway with the government (regardless of the party in power), and sure the media ownership by the Irvings in this province is distressing, but this doesn't take away from the fact that NB would be nothing more than a federal territory rather than a province if they weren't here. They deserve more respect than they often get.
The events centre will be a municipally owned facility. The Irving owned Wildcats will be nothing more than a tenant. They will pay rent to use the facilitiy, much as the Miracles will, and the facility will also be leased out for other special events as well.
The main reason to build the events centre is to help revitalize the downtown core, and also to support events and sports tourism in the city. The tourism aspect cannot be overstated since it has been shown that Moncton is the
only city in the region where tourism has been increasing over the last 5-10 years. We need to build on this strength. We need to have a facility attractive for major performances (concerts, Cirque de Soleil, major theatrical events) and also for major sporting events (Memorial Cup, figure skating championships, major curling events etc). We are losing out on these events now because the Coliseum is no longer adequate as a performance venue.
These are all
municipal concerns. The only one of these that Irving would care about is the Memorial Cup. As long as he were OK with the fact that he would never again host a Memorial Cup, he might just be as happy to stay at the Coliseum. It would be cheaper for him and the parking is plentiful.
I repeat, the events centre project is designed to revitalize the downtown core, and to support sports and events tourism. Irving would be a beneficiary for sure, but this is not the principle reason for undertaking the project.
