The Calgary Flames want to build a new state of the art arena and their ambitious plans have taxpayers footing a large amount of the proposed bill.
The Calgary Herald reports the Flames want to build CalgaryNEXT, which would be an $890 million arena, with a multisport field house next to it that would have use as a covered football stadium, a FIFA-sized soccer field and a 400-meter indoor track. The arena would be paid for with hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars.
Here’s the breakdown via the Herald.
The $890-million budget would be paid from four sources — a $240-million community revitalization levy, a $250-million ticket tax, $200 million from the city to fund the fieldhouse, and a $200-million contribution from the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation, the Flames’ ownership group.
In a statement released on Twitter by NHL Public Relations, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, to the surprise of nobody, shared his support for the project.
The Calgary Flames are an exemplary member of the National Hockey League and the NHL is excited to learn that Calgary is taking the next step toward the introduction of a state-of-the-art, multi-purpose facility for its community and professional sports teams,” commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. “While this is an extremely important initiative for the team, it is even more important for Calgary’s fans and community.
Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi broke down the proposal on his own website, and he doesn’t seem too keen on the idea, especially considering the amount of public funding it requires.
- The proposal has not been part of The City’s comprehensive capital planning process, and does not form part of the plan, under which the City’s capital funds are fully allocated through 2018.
- The proposal includes incorporating The City’s proposed (and much-needed) fieldhouse into the facility. However, that project, while a very high priority for the City, remains unfunded.
- The funding proposal includes a $250 million “ticket tax”, but it is unclear if The City will be asked to provide the upfront financing for this.
- The proposed site requires significant expenditures to remediate the environmental contamination there. That remediation is also unfunded.
- In addition, the proposal requires the contribution of land, a community revitalization levy and significant investments in infrastructure to make the West Village a complete and vibrant community.
Therefore, there are very significant requirements for public funding beyond the fieldhouse funding, and there is currently no money.
While he’s not totally against the idea, Nenshi is clearly against using funding the city doesn’t have for a project so expensive. He continued to write how he believes public money should benefit the public not the private profit.
I have said for a long time—and continue to strongly believe—that public money must be for public benefit and not private profit. The question for Council, the ownership group, and all Calgarians is whether this proposal meets that test.
That said, I truly appreciate the efforts of the ownership group in bringing forward an innovative project in a thoughtful, professional, and ethical way. I firmly believe that these Calgarians want to do something exceptional for our community.
City Council will ensure that that there is significant public engagement and will work cooperatively with the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation and the other orders of government to determine whether this project is viable.
The logistics behind this move likely mean even if it was funded, we wouldn’t see a new arena in Calgary for a long while. Adding in the fact the city of Calgary doesn’t seem to be big on the idea of using public money, it could take even longer. Either way, it’s the start of the next step for the Flames to possibly get a new arena.