Global Courant 2023-04-27 22:48:38
One of the lessons we learn with the new Calgary Flames arena deal is this: A surefire way to break any deadlock is with giant bags of cash worth $330 million, branded with an Alberta government emblem.
The UCP, Danielle Smith and the rest of the Albertans are about to learn another big lesson: whether it is politically advantageous or not to provide a huge government grant in 2023 to benefit a major private sporting organization.
Because we know the answer to that question has been flat out negative the last two times it was asked, in the 2017 and 2021 Calgary municipal elections.
In 2017, one of the main points of Mayor Naheed Nenshi’s reelection bid was his skepticism of an arena deal the Flames owners had made. Those side glances were popular enough to secure him a third term.
In the ensuing election to chart Calgary’s post-Nenshi future, mayor hopeful Jeff Davison was the ranking booster for the “event center” project, while fellow council members Jyoti Gondek and Jeromy Farkas were more critical. The arena champion was the choice of just 13 percent of the Calgars, finishing in third place even in Davison’s own division.
But there was Smith, a Flames jersey tucked under her overcoat at a joint press conference, positioning herself as the willing financier and savior of the on-again, off-again arena venture. She was not shy about using her government position to boldly and publicly declare that re-election of her party was necessary to win this deal.
This was not an off-the-cuff, politically opportunistic remark. She underlined it with a bright red marker in a press release hours after the announcement Tuesday: “To be clear, a vote for the UCP is also a vote to go full steam ahead with this arena project.”
This is Smith’s biggest guess – that provincial politics are different than municipal on this issue, and that Calgary’s vote on arena building has shifted since 2017 and 2021. (Or 2012, when Smith was voting-hunting as Wildrose- leader, and promised no provincial dollars for the precious arena of the Edmonton Oilers.)
The old saddle
The history of voters’ aversion to publicly subsidizing professional sporting venues will certainly weigh against Smith. But is there anything to be said about the public’s growing desire to finally get something done and say goodbye to the Saddledome?
Nearly seven years have passed since Edmonton got its largely city-funded Oilers venue, the streamlined Rogers Place with that square where the city’s hockey fans gathered during playoff games.
And that city is now getting more concerts from major acts, whose fancy lighting and video setups are too much for the Saddledome’s concave roof.
Perhaps the “what about us?!” sentiment has grown as the Flames venue has become the oldest in the National Hockey League.
Built in 1983, the Scotiabank Saddledome is now the oldest arena in the National Hockey League. (Genevieve Normand/CBC Radio-Canada)
Ultimately, more Calgarians will now think it’s worth digging deeper into taxpayers’ pockets to get Son of Saddledome built.
And sheesh, a lot more money is needed for this project than in 2019 when the project tab was $550 million. Now it’s $800 million for the professional sports venue itself, rising to $1.2 billion when all supporting costs are added up.
Smith also bets it’s more attractive for a county government to fund that surrounding infrastructure, rather than the professional sports venue itself.
“This is not money going to an arena. Nothing has changed,” Smith told reporters on Wednesday. “This is money going to infrastructure support.”
She was wearing a Flames jersey, not an Infrastructure Support jersey, but it doesn’t matter. It is substantial what Smith came to the table with in this regard.
A lot of expenses
County funding will cover the demolition of the Saddledome, which will be in the past deal was the burden of the city. It will fund a Green Line LRT stop, and probably those wider sidewalks that the Flames camp was unwilling to pay for when the deal fell through last time. Half price for a new Flames practice range that doubles as a community arena – junior event center? – at.
There’s also an unsung star of county generosity: a new underpass at Sixth Street SE to connect the East Village to the arena district, under CPR train tracks. The price tag isn’t mentioned in this new deal, but likely above $100 million, a source familiar with the project said.
Two aspects of this are noteworthy. First, the provincial government is never in the habit of financing city-owned roads, which are usually built and financed exclusively by the city, sometimes with the private developer/beneficiary sharing in part. Smith’s pre-election money for the sake of the arena sets a precedent. (Deerfoot Trail remains a county road, so they’re paying to upgrade it.)
Second, there’s the fact that these underpass costs and many details of this deal remain murky or undisclosed, with only a memorandum of understanding between the city, county, Flames, and landowner Calgary Stampede so far.
The new arena for the Calgary Flames will be completely reimagined under the recently announced $1.2 billion deal, which the champions hope will spark several new tower developments in the blocks around it. The county will build a new Sixth St. SE underpass as part of its $330 million contribution. (City of Calgary)
The public won’t know the details of who pays for cost overruns, or the timeline of the project, for months on end. That signed memorandum of understanding remains a private document after May 29, when Albertans vote for or against Smith’s party and this deal.
Smith seems to have cornered NDP leader Rachel Notley, given the prime minister’s “re-elect us or lose beloved Flames” game. Comes across as overly critical and the NDP leader risks appearing anti-Calgary.
For now, Notley has found a political escape hatch by stating that she cannot simply agree to a deal the terms of which she does not know. She goes so far as to claim hidden taxpayer costswhich to some might be seen as a line between skepticism and saying no – but again, facts are elusive.
And many interpretations of Smith’s arena deal will be in the eye of the beholder.
The UCP leader praises this as her version of downtown revitalization. That’s a long term used by business leaders and City Hall to refer to the problem of Calgary’s vacant skyscrapers in the business core — not the vision to add more towers and liveliness in Victoria Park, several large blocks southeast of those struggling high rises.
Northern discomfort
And while Smith counts on Calgary’s gratitude, what will voters in ridings in Oilers country think about the type of arena/infrastructure deal their opponents got in the Battle of Alberta?
The NDP is targeting half a dozen seats in Edmonton and surrounding communities to expand its stronghold in the capital region as part of its route to a majority.
New Democrats could use the cries of dishonesty, but these days it’s hard to shout something in northern Alberta and hope no one wearing the C for Red notices.
This is all going to be one giant political gamble, with $330 million in chips.
