City to pay for half of arena costs in proposed deal
Meghan Potkins, Calgary Herald
Updated: July 22, 2019
The cost of a new $550-million arena would be split between the city and the owners of the Calgary Flames, with the city retaining ownership of the new building in Victoria Park.
According to the terms of the proposed deal — which will still have to be ratified by a vote of council — the Flames will carry the operating and maintenance costs for the new facility for the duration of a 35-year agreement.
The city will also receive a “facility fee” for the lifetime of the agreement and a share of the cash expected to come from the building’s naming rights.
Calgarians will have seven days to digest the proposed deal and offer feedback before July 29 when council is expected to vote to either ratify or reject the agreement.
If approved, the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) is expected to lead construction and public consultations on the design of the building.
Council members met behind closed doors Monday afternoon to discuss the tentative agreement between the City of Calgary, the Calgary Flames and the Calgary Stampede.
Flames vice-chair Ken King was at city hall Monday evening for a news conference on the proposed deal alongside Mayor Naheed Nenshi and Stampede CEO Warren Connell. The Stampede has been involved in negotiations for the new facility since the Stampede owns the land in Victoria Park where a new arena would be built.
Calgary Sport and Entertainment Corp. (CSEC) will provide $75 million in funding to local amateur sports organizations for the lifetime of the agreement.
The city said in a news release that it also expects to see additional property tax revenue from the development surrounding the Victoria Park facility.
Davison said council could spend the next week talking to Calgarians about the proposed deal before the vote on July 29.
“We don’t need a $2-million engagement plan to take feedback in,” Davison said. “Obviously people have access to councillors’ emails and phone and social media channels. You can always submit letters through the clerk’s department, which would be accepted as part of the corporate record. So there’s many, many ways that the public can let us know how they feel about this.”
Coun. Evan Woolley said Monday that he’ll be urging his council colleagues to delay a final vote on the arena deal in order to extend public consultations.
Asked about the timing of the proposed arena deal arriving at the same time as city council prepares to cut $60 million from municipal budgets, Davison said council must deal with “conflicting” priorities all the time.
“We’re not oblivious. The timing is not ideal. We know there is a lot of things going on with respect to the budget,” said Davison. “But when you really look at $60 million worth of cuts, it’s really talking about two to three per cent of our operational budget. The sky is not going to fall for two to three percent.”
This will be the third attempt at reaching a deal to replace the Saddledome in the last four years.
Talks last broke down in 2017 amid an ugly dispute between the city and the Flames over the terms of a potential deal for a new arena in Victoria Park. The city had offered to pay one-third of the cost of a new arena, approximately $185 million, but the Flames were looking for the city to pay closer to half the cost.
More to come…
Source:
https://calgaryherald.com/news/local...y-as-next-week
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