Do you support the proposal for the new arena?

  • Yes

    Votes: 102 67.5%

  • No

    Votes: 39 25.8%

  • Maybe

    Votes: 10 6.6%
  • Total voters
    151
I think the reason for the short timeline is they want to limit the chances of it getting delayed due to debate. And like Surreal said, I wonder if most of the councillors haven't already made up their mind, so they don't see any point of waiting? I'm on the fence for this. I really would like to see an new arena, but wish this was all handled differently.
 
My reason for support mostly comes down to this. Not the redevelopment and economic stuff, but the fear that if it doesn't work out now, CSEC may not come back with another option, and instead sit quietly for a few years while plotting out a plan that doesn't involve Calgary. I could be worrying for nothing, but I agree that if they did move or sell the team, our chance of getting a new arena is done for good without a partnership. QC managed to get Quebecor to pay for half their arena, but the city still had to pay half. I also suspect Quebecor's half involved something behind the scenes.

Zoom said:
- The window of opportunity. While it doesn't seem like the Flames would leave, the potential is still there for them to do so if a new arena doesn't get built. The dome can still host some sports teams and the odd concert but that won't last forever (Some say the dome has another 10-20 years before it gets torn down either way) The only way to get sports teams and concerts at that point is for the city to build one themselves (not happening) or try and get a new team and be back to where we are now 10-20 years from now. Or be like Quebec city and let the team leave, and end up building a new arena with city money and without an anchor tenant in hopes of luring an NHL team
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Two years has gone by since the West Village proposal from CSEC. I don't see why they would have patience for further delays. I think the message of moving on to other markets has been delivered to city council. For all we know, there could be an offer on the table from Houston or Kansas City. Council knows they have to act now without further dithering.

p.s The city hired an outside consultant with the express mandate of negotiating the best deal on behalf of the city.
 
The fact that we’re speculating about what’s going on behind closed doors is exactly the problem!! City hall works for us, the public. They need to be making these decisions in open, transparent ways and they should be presenting us with the facts not trying to sell us on the project by manipulating the numbers.
 
Silence&Motion said:
5. We've been given a week to make a decision about a deal that was made completely behind closed doors. Restaurants need to do more public consultation when they want to build a sidewalk patio! What's the rush? Again, the city has the upper hand. There is no need to rush this decision.
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This exactly. There are two tracks here - sport teams with dubious economics, shifty deal-making and multi-hundred million dollar public subsidies, and everyone else.

I get the world of north american stadium economics is unfortunately shit - pay the extortion fee or don't have nice stadiums or sports teams. But can we at least even the playing field? If we can give the Flames a few hundred million and a week engagement, surely we can waive all public engagement (or put a 1 week limit) on all bike lanes, patios, infills, secondary suites as well?
 
I totally get everyone's concerns about the sketchiness of some aspects of the deal, and even the councilors and mayor have admitted the optics of approving funding for a sports facility while cutting funding to key public services is ludicrous. At the same time I'm sure you guys can tell based on how much I talk in the Flames thread, I'm a massive Flames fan. Obviously from that side I'm all over this, can't wait to watch games in the new building. Don't get me wrong, I love the 'dome, tons of good memories, and no matter what this new arena looks like I'm 99.9% sure it won't have the same character as the Saddledome did. But it really is time to move on. We'll get a few more years to enjoy the 'Dome as we watch our new arena rise up, and it'll be a very tearful day when we watch the old building come down.

I think this article breaks it down pretty well. Say we cancel the plans and stick with the 'Dome. Best case is the Flames choose to stick it out and stay in Calgary. Even then, we've got an old building with no real value left in it that will need serious repairs soon enough. It's surrounded by parking lots and a generally pretty empty, derelict district in Victoria Park, so there's no real tax income or anything else that the dome provides for us. At least with the new arena there's a chance, and the city seems to be pushing hard for it, for significant development around the arena. Someone said earlier our best comparison is probably Edmonton. You're right. There's still arena haters up there and I get that, but their $500M arena is now surrounded by a $2.5B arena district.

And hey. We missed out on Amazon, on the Olympics, we're in a pretty crappy rut economically. We need something to look forward to as a city. Even if you're not a huge hockey or concert fan, you must at least RECOGNIZE how this city comes alive, how the arena becomes the beating heart of this city, especially during playoffs. We need that civic pride, that cultural atmosphere in this city. We also greenlit a $500M BMO Centre expansion. Is that publicly funded? If so you would think people would have a much bigger issue with that, because it's likely much less economically and culturally significant than an arena would be.

Regarding the Inverted Bowl design, it LOOKS dope as hell, but in practice who knows. I'd hope that the seats at the top are tilted inwards slightly or something because it would absolutely ravage my neck with the amount of 3-hour games I plan to sit through up there every year lmao.
 
Done deal... to nobody's surprise. Now the question is what design features do we want for this puppy? Someone mentioned some retractable panels on the roof. Could be pretty cool.
 
I don't know if retractable panels would get used much. They would be cool when used, but it would be infrequent. Natural lighting in the ceiling would be cool.
 
I don't care much for the design but it needs to look good (doesn't need to be fancy), be a high quality finish like the Central Library (not like the Edmonton library), and integrate well into the entertainment district. As long as these 3 points are ticked off for me I'll be more than happy. Im more interested in how the district will be built out. East Village is slowly starting to become a hotspot and its just not because of the Public Library. It has a well designed river walk system, public spaces, a basketball court, hotels, well designed streets, etc. All these things have contributed to shaping EV so Im more interested to see what they do with the district rather than just the arena.
 
Reading more about the inverted bowl, I am intrigued to see it be built, as it sounds like that is what we are getting.
197087

"By leaning the seating inward, The Inverted Bowl creates interior voids and porous perimeters, which allows for programmed spaces and integration into the city streetscape. This programmable space allows for a mix of uses independent of the arena, contributing to more active street life at all times of the day with shopping, dining and other daytime uses."
 
It'll be interesting for sure. It reminds me of some of the older type arenas where the upper deck seating almost overhangs the seating below. One thing about those old arenas, was they felt more intimate and action packed, compared to some of the new arenas where the seats move horizontally away from the rink.
darwink said:
Reading more about the inverted bowl, I am intrigued to see it be built, as it sounds like that is what we are getting.
View attachment 197087
"By leaning the seating inward, The Inverted Bowl creates interior voids and porous perimeters, which allows for programmed spaces and integration into the city streetscape. This programmable space allows for a mix of uses independent of the arena, contributing to more active street life at all times of the day with shopping, dining and other daytime uses."
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