Final Arena Vote Rationale
Two years ago I said ‘this is probably the best deal we can get under the circumstances – it’s just the circumstances I have a problem with.’
That comment was more about serious concerns I have about how pro-sports franchises do business with their host cities – and I’m still bothered by this, as are many, many citizens.
The deal I was talking about two years ago had less City money in it than this version. So by that measure, our circumstances have gotten worse.
But this deal also has more Katz Group money than it did two years ago. Not enough to satisfy everyone, but cash up front – even $15 million – is finally an improvement.
I am also pleased that the ill-advised decision to borrow against the provincial MSI infrastructure grants was reversed today. The decision to use the CRL to cover more of the project costs does have risk, but the CRL does have an upside. The City captures not only the new municipal taxes within the boundary but the new education tax revenues on growth in property value, so there’s a gain here.
However, it bears noting that the success of the CRL is contingent on the surrounding development going ahead, and I will say that if the surrounding development does go ahead, this will all work out.
But there is a bet here – because if the development doesn’t go ahead then regular taxpayers will wind up on the hook. So that billion plus dollars better be invested tomorrow.
The provincial angle hasn’t really worked out as originally hoped, but that’s understandable for many reasons. The good news is we can finally quit asking them over and over for funding they’ve insisted they won’t provide. Backing off will allow us to turn our attention back to the City Charter, to getting a fair share in the region, and to securing the real money we need for LRT, roads, and other infrastructure.
The recent regional support is helpful, though I would still have preferred to see that come more directly from the actual people – including our regional neighbours – who will use the building in the form of a broader ticket surcharge. But we don’t always get everything we want.
So – all that being said, I will be supporting this decision today for two reasons:
The first is more of a gut feeling that this will be good for downtown.
I’ve consistently said that a vibrant downtown is about the whole package, from sewers to streetscaping, not just about the arena or its district– and I still believe that – but this project is a vital part of the downtown most Edmontonians would like to see built.
The second reason, and this is the more logical reason, is simply that we aren’t going to get a better deal.
I’ve tenaciously held out for that better deal, and worked constructively towards a better deal, but Council’s been outmaneuvered at a number of points, and I think we pushed back far too late. Hopefully we can learn from this for future negotiations.
Still, this is the best deal this city will get now or in the foreseeable future.
I can’t see any realistic scenario where we’ll come out ahead by saying no today.
If we start over we’ll lose time and costs will rise. And the next election will be about this question rather than where we go next as a City.
If we do nothing, we still have an aging building, a team with no location agreement, and the same owner with the same negotiating position.
As tough as this deal is to swallow, I don’t see realistically how we’ll do any better by dragging this out further.
Since this is the final vote, I can no longer hope to change the deal.
So, I will vote yes, accepting the outcomes of the imperfect process, and accepting that the will of Council is to go ahead in spite of the imperfections in this deal.
I realize this will surprise and disappoint some, but politics exists to answer the tough questions where you can’t please everyone.
Now, with this decision I am shifting my focus and energy to keeping this project on-time and on-budget, and to ensuring the arena and surrounding development delivers on all the promise it holds for our downtown.
44 thoughts on “Final Arena Vote Rationale”
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I am very disappointed Don. It blows me away that council could make a deal on which the entire set of financial logistics depends on future development of which was not contingently agreed upon in the same contract which has the city (and taxpayers by proxy) taking on all the risk.
The only way the taxpayers of yeg could hope this deal in any way makes any sense from a financial perspective is if the taxes outweigh the significant financial investments the city has made in an arena for a private citizen billionaire. This model is similar to that used in Brooklyn for the new Barclay Centre. By they way, the development which was ‘expected’ but not ‘agreed upon’ has been pushed back by the developers for 10 years (I believe). That’s a VERY significant margin for the investment made.
I understand your position on this: we were going to get screwed either way. I totally agree with you. The momentum on this deal was unstoppable. I think your decision to not extend the bleeding is defendable – but this SHOULD be an issue going into the election. It says a lot about what Edmontonians prioritize in the city’s development.
Right now, I think the message council is sending to taxpayers is: more sprawl, more corporate welfare for the wealthy few.
It’s not much of a vision.
This was the right decision Don and your analysis going back a number of years is correct. The NHL model is flawed and demands far too great a subsidy, but their monopolistic position with regards to providing top tier hockey gives them the ability to do this as does the willingness of various governments to give in. So, as a part of this system, the City of Edmonton also gives in to support the high salaries of NHL teams. Let’s face it, if Cities were not subsidizing buildings like this, NHL salaries would be 20% lower and teams would pay for more of the buildings. Nothing else would change. NHLers are not going to play any less hard for 80% of their salary. There is no alternative league for them to run off to (well the KHL, but there are other costs with that).
However, I also see this as a grand investment in the Downtown and I am thrilled about that. Much of the money will simply recycle in the local economy which is good and it will result in a significantly more vibrant downtown and I expect that it will contribute to some additional developments taking place in the downtown core.
So, on the whole, I am pleased today.
Thank you Don.
I can’t speak for anyone other than myself, but I firmly believe this most arduous victory will benefit the entire City and Region.
I hope council oneday will recognise that it is not beneficial on the whole to continue fleecing downtown to subsidise suburban roads that rarely get more than 40 cars per day. That downtown has been paying five to ten times the amount we reinvest in it for the past several decades is an utter travesty.
“…….because if the development doesn’t go ahead then regular taxpayers will wind up on the hook. So that billion plus dollars better be invested tomorrow.” By your words alone, how does anyone vote yes to any deal with this kind of uncertainity.
Your statement that you will be shifting your “focus and energy to keeping this project on-time and on-budget, and to ensuring the arena and surrounding development delivers on all the promise it holds for our downtown” is a pointless without authority to back it up.
You changed your mind once, what prevents you from doing so again with your ‘focus and energy’ dispersing.
“The second reason, and this is the more logical reason, is simply that we aren’t going to get a better deal.”
This is a terrible way to justify your vote, absolutely dreadful. YEGCC didn’t even really consider other options, at least during publicly listenable meetings, beyond whatever Katz and the city manager offered.
The best deal that I’ve seen thus far was for the city to outright build it without Katz involvement at all. Lease it to Katz, keep naming rights, collect property taxes, etc.
While I am no fan of providing a subsidy to Mr. Katz, the reality of the situation is that we have an old arena that would need a capital infusion regardless of any other potential option. I am confident that the arena development will indeed spur a great deal of development activity in our downtown that would not otherwise occur or would occur much slower. We cannot always have everything handed to us with an iron clad guarantee of success. Edmonton needs to be a world class city and we will not be that without a viable downtown and a viable NHL hockey franchise in our city. Young people look to the amenities available to them when they choose where to take their next job or where to raise a family. Large corporations looking for head office locations are also seeking out locations with some profile. I think we did indeed get the best deal with the circumstances we were dealt. Waiting any longer would have just meant higher costs or money wasted in a Rexall Place renovation.
you have lost my vote. That is all there is to say
Mr. Iveson, well you have not lost my vote, I can’t vote for you, unless you run for Mayor. Anyone who does not support this project will never get my vote. Of course it is controversial, most meaningful council decisions are. However it is absolutely the right thing for this city. In a few years, the folks who supported this project will be viewed as leaders who did the right thing in spite of the adversity. I’m pleased that your analysis revealed this project worthy of support.
Don: finally got to look at your website and your reasoning behind your decision to back the final offer on the table regarding the Arena.
I believe you were more than aware that this deal was going to pass regardless of your nay vote…..this flip/flop to vote yes shows that after all of the questions and concerns you had….bottom line you towed the line you felt was more palatable to the voters….
While I believe you are truly not at a stage in your life to run this city, I am more disapointed that already you have shown that you do not stick with your convictions……
My gut tells me not to vote for you…….think i will go with it
I do not believe City Council fought for a better deal, e.g. Naming Rights. If downtown development does not go as planned taxpayers will be on the hook. I wish you had shown leadership in voting against this deal. Do you really believe Katz will still be the owner if the Edmonton Oilers in five or ten years. The team has not played well in years.
I’m so disappointed in this decision. “We aren’t going to get a better deal”. It was the job of every member of City Council to either get us a better deal or not vote for this one.
Susanne
Don, as someone who is working very hard to establish and grow my business in Edmonton, more specifically, the downtown area, I want to thank you for voting in favour of the arena deal. All those who are against the deal seem to forget that NHL is a business; that an NHL team has an owner who can in fact move the team to a different city who will be all too willing to provide all that Edmonton would not and then some. Who will replace the lost jobs? Who will replace the lost business that reastaurant owners will experience? Who will lease downtown office space left empty after the few remaining corporate hq’s have moved to Calgary?
Anti arena crowd does not think of these issues, but, I am glad there is one candidate that does. For supporting the arena deal, you have my vote sir. Thank you for thinking of Edmonton as a major north american city, and not a minor one.
There has been a lot of “talk” about how we get payback from our investment in the new arena but I have yet to see a DETAILED pro forma Income & Expense Statement. Perhaps if City Council could publish such a statement in sufficient detail, it would help taxpayers better understand the rational for the decision.
Don,
I am extremely disappointed that you changed your mind.
As all intelligent people know, a politician should never change their mind. You should never use new information and rationale to develop new views on difficult topics.
It would be better if you just blindly followed your first statement on the matter, despite being given new information in the many months since that time.
I will be saving my vote for a politician who always sticks to the same idea no matter how ridiculous or shortsighted.
I am interested to know specifics.
How has council learned from its actions and decisions? …regarding your statement that council…’pushed back far too late. ‘
What will you do on this arena plan to keep expenses at or under budget?
What will you do differently in negotiations for Edmonton in respect to future business deals and offers?
Is 4 to 5 times INCREASE in debt service capital interest cost (in the six years ending 2012) enough? What will you do to control this?
Will you openly discuss these increased debt service numbers?
It will be important for the next mayor to hold the deal together by holding firm on the terms agreed to. I am committed to that.
I have written about the larger question of borrowing here: https://doniveson.ca/2013/07/30/borrowing-responsibly-for-city-building/
I love Edmonton and will vote for you.
Edmonton is behind about 20 years in its development due to past backwards city councils and mayors . I am thrilled how much has been accomplished in the last 6 years.
I am not a hockey fan and am not crazy about subsidies to billionaires but…
This arena deal is not just about hockey or the arena it is about investment in Edmonton !
If it takes spending a billion dollars of taxpayer dollsts to spark 5-6 billion dollars in private investment in Edmonton then it is a good deal period. I am loving the bee luxury high rise condo developments.
We need investment downtown Edmonton and population density, with this businesses will thrive, investment into Edmonton will continue and will become the Edmonton that is amazing.
Keep up the great work!!
You will probably get my vote for mayor, but I will be holding my nose while I vote. As Mr. Diotte says, the arena deal stinks., but it is signed, so we have to go ahead with it. As a senior, I cannot afford to attend the arena now, and the increased prices won’t allow me to do so in the future. Oh well, the Oilers are not much to cheer for anyway.
“on-time and on-budget” is only 2/3. Please also keep them “on-quality”! The quality and promise of many projects have been gutted to meet time and budget demands.
I look forward to voting for you as I have been pro arena from the start. Edmonton needs to invest in Edmonton. As an owner of a downtown business I look forward to the increased profits which I will in turn spend in my domicile area of North Edmonton. Everyone seems to focus on Katz and what he gets out of it. But no one sees the benefit the rest of Edmonton gets from every aspect of this Arena. I look forward to investing in my Edmonton, in Edmontons future, which looks a bit more rosy now.
My gut feeling… you lost my vote!
I support a previous comment. If only the flawed NHL model was adjusted, reducing player salaries by 20% , all owners could afford to build/finance their own buildings.
City councils could give tax breaks or incentives or assist land price negotiation but not serve as the bank for these developments.
Sport franchises count on the emotional support of sports fans and civic pride to back the flawed financing model.
Who wins – the players who become enormously wealthy ( Hall, Eberle, Hopkins). Those 3 will earn over $120,000,000 in the next 7/8 years alone. What’s that – 25% of the stadium cost.
We – the fans of hockey – are the stupid ones. We allow a select few to become prohibit-ably wealthy while we cobble together a few hundred dollars of our wages to attend a hockey game.
As Ceasar would say – fill the coliseum and entertain the rabble with circus and spectacle – that will keep them content for another day.
Too bad politicians don’t standup and confront this flawed model but if they did who would invite them into the skyboxes to rub shoulders with the movers and shakers.
No valiant leaders in this city, just glad handing, social climbing sycophants …
All I can say is that you lost my vote for mayor when you supported the arena deal. You appeared reluctant to do so and should have stuck your ground. Most Edmontonians did not support it.
After reading the contents of your website for where you stand on issues, I thought we would be voting for you as Mayor. However, after reading your comments regarding the arena deal, we will NOT be voting for you.
After numerous years of having the worst city council that I can ever recall during my 40+ years in Edmonton, NOW is the time Edmonton desperately needs a Mayor who demands more than for tax payers! “Gut feelings” do not help tax payers when their home taxes continue to climb while Billionaires get richer off the backs of regular working class citizens.
You have lost our 2 votes.
As many have said, Edmonton is behind the times in terms of downtown development. As the old saying goes…..you have to spend money to make money. Yes, it may not have been the best deal for Edmonton but it represents a new chapter in our history which will no doubt create lots of new development and opportunities. “Build it and they will come”! You have my vote Don, thanks for not just thinking short term but what this will bring long term for the city!
Dear Don,
This is a gutless position you have taken!!!!! This is a rotten deal that will end up all paid by the tax payer.
The special levy for area around the arena is a big dis-incentive for development. I have been to San Diego were they did this to fund the Padres Stadium. What ended up happening was development outside the zone. Nobody wants to pay extra to be by an stadium. So, they ended up with a six block dead area of parking lots and derelict buildings. The slums they wanted to redevelop.
You must end this madness of free Arenas. No taxpayer money period. Katz wants it, let him fund it himself. If you go ahead with this scam, sell it to Cerbus or Fairfax as a ‘investment’. Get out tax dollars out of it!!!!!
Dave
Although imperfect, we think the arena deal is great for the City of Edmonton. You’ve made it clear that you will focus on getting it done as best you can. You have 4 votes in our household. Thanks.
The Katz arena deal is a poor deal for citizens and we are liable for cost overruns. Based on the city of Edmonton’s poor performance with a previous major project-the 23 rd Avenue and Gateway Boulevard Interchange Project Review –I am not optimistic that this project will stay within the estimates provided to us.
The municipal act requires that citizens be billed when there are cost overruns to a project and I believe this was written into the bylaw for the Katz arena. So my feeling is that this new fiasco will cost us over a billion dollars, but the current elected officials who pushed it through won’t be on city council to face the citizens for their failures in governance. I think that your vote would not have made any difference to the final outcome because Mandel and crew were determined to shove the deal down our throats before they made their exit but I was really disappointed that you did not take the high road and refused to sign on with the Katz Krew.
But you are a young person and this might be the reason for the change in your vote.
I can’t say that this makes me feel better about your decision to be a politician rather than an ethical citizen but that’s just my feeling and my opinion.
You did what you felt best. You did what would get you the campaign dollars to make a credible challenge to the other candidates. This is politics.
I understand why you voted for this project. You are a politician and pragmatically speaking you agreed to this mess so as to appear to be of the business family.
I think you are probably the best candidate of the poor batch we are offered but it stings that you voted for this arena deal knowing full well it was a corporate subsidy of the billionaire and the Downtown Business Association. I don’t for one minute believe that the downtown recapitalization required this elephant of debt–but somehow this is the story we are being fed. In my opinion, the downtown was developing quite well without this corporate subsidy. Northlands hasn’t also been mentioned in this entire mess. What will happen to Northlands now that you have another arena competing for the same business? Will we have to pay for Northlands because it loses the hockey business? Why didn’t the city renovate Northlands and use it? Why did the city of Edmonton go this route of jeopardizing our financial situation when we are already facing an infrastructure deficit that is estimated to be $19 billion and will probably be even greater if we include the drainage problems experienced by citizens in parts of the city.
As well as the fact that this arena is using up taxpayer money that we will all end up contributing–involuntarily –in my case—there is the small matter of why this issue had so much energy devoted to it by this city council when we have a homeless issue, when we have rotting roads and pavements and when we are ignored as a group of citizens for the most part?
What will you do to address the alienation of citizens from their elected municipal officers—that was most clearly evident to me when I attended the public hearings on Food and Agriculture Strategy? In my opinion there was a chance for the city of Edmonton to listen to a committed group of people in the city who were interested in preservation of agricultural lands and yet the response of the councillors and mayor was very sad. I was going to write about these hearings because I feel every Edmontonian should listen to their councillors ignoring the wishes of citizens. We all felt very small in these hearings.
We felt we were living in a deMockracy.
And when the Horse Hills ASP went through as have all the other ASPs that I reviewed (except for one) I really felt that the city of Edmonton —the elected councillors and mayor—simply do what they want to do. Citizen consultation and engagement is a joke. Or at least this is how it feels–that developers have all the say and citizens are ignored and laughed at.
I hope you get elected. But I hope you don’t do this sort of expedient decision making as the Mayor. We have had enough of this under Mandel and it’s time for a citizen representative —who represents all citizens and not just the developers in our city.
I’m going to go with my gut & not vote for someone who thinks that a gut feeling holds ANY place in a decision to waste hundreds of millions of dollars on entertainment. The only way this deal would ever make sense is for the city to own & profit from their investment. I love hockey, but I hate hockey fans & this city would be better off without the team anyway. This deal is an example of a billionaire squeezing the balls of politicians by manipulating the fragile emotions of hockey fans in order to get tax money to build an asset for said billionaire so that he can make more money. I hope they use a ticket tax & bleed those stupid fans dry.
Anyone who makes decisions on a gut feeling does not deserve to be Mayor let alone a councilor. If he had was waffeling and went with his gut he should have gone to the people who elected him and asked them for their input.
The past council include Don did little to engage the general public on a number of decisions. For a project like the Arena it should have gone to a plebisite. That would have forced Council to open the full cost of the project and instead of decisions behind closed doors and negotiations that were done in secret it would have exposed the risk that the city is in.
So Don when will the citizens have the right to see the full agreement that has been signed between Katz and the city. What are the out clauses that Katz has put into the agreement. This is not your or councils money but the money from the citizens of Edmonton and we have the right to know how you are spending it. One of the things that I am hearing at all the election forums is that the people are sick and tired of not being represented. We saw it especially with the last council.
What will happen when the fixed price comes in higher than the $480 million that has been approved. Will you have the guts as mayor to pull the plug on the project then or are you going to again have a gut feeling that we as taxpayers will have to cover the extra expenditures. Council has voted numerous times on this over the past 3 years and each and every time the rules have changed and not in our favour.
On a final note I would like to know if the arena is built and the redevelopment occurs around the arena which area of the city are you going to put the shelters and the low income housing.
i have been a vocal opponent of this deal from almost the beginning (at least after Katz walked away from his second promised 100 million and then stafrted the “oh i meant: two step. council should have had the courage and judgement to start from square one. instead they chose to be bullied and backed into a corner by KAtz. Don, this is NOT the weak leadership we need.
you can go for the rexal place but i don’t think people of Edmonton will agree with you . YOU WILL LOUSE. what you gone do for poor people?(and i am talking about people who has just one or two kids not east Indians or Africans who are give birth of five up to ten here in CANADA and live very well with the help of the government. are you help them or are you gone help somebody who really needs you( a theenagear who was bullied and committed homicide) . These are Canada’s futures Tell us more open what do you want to do for Edmonton.
Working as a city employee I am extremely disturbed by the information I received from a reliable source…..The City of Edmonton has borrowed against city employees pensions for this arena. Very nice area to be responsible for the risk if for some reason the city should default.
So,
not only did we not get a chance to vote on such a large amount of our tax moneys demise, but now I have to worry that I will be eating cat-food in my golden years and
FAT KATZ can live large on everything I worked for.
It is ridiculous to say that we had to go for this deal…we could have waited 5 years and charged a $15-$25 surcharge per ticket that would have gone towards the new arena.(depending on ticket cost level, if you can afford a more pricey ticket, you can afford a larger ticket surcharge. As someone who attends some of these entertainment functions I would have understood this charge if I was made aware of it). That way only the people that access the entertainment would be directly out of pocket. Katz would have obviously had a large part still in this development, but he would not have had his hands so deep in our pockets.
Understanding all of this, we are too far gone to go back, but as with Pocklington, I feel we will be suffering repercussions for this at some point.
I think what you can give us that no-one has so far is to give the public full disclosure on what risks our tax dollars are under. If you cannot change the arena deal then we want some re-assurance of what happens if Katz develops financial problems.
Who is on the hook if he becomes financially unstable? Who is able to take the arena from us to cover his debt? Does the money we contributed (we as in all the money funded by government and tax dollars, oh and our pensions) get sucked up with this? How many threats are we going to bend to now that we have signed the deal?(We were threatened before the boat even started taking on water!)
I am sure you understand that the feeling of un-ease about this is very strong for a LARGE majority of the people In this city, and I am certain that if we were given some ideas about what could happen we would feel more a part of the decision.
I resent the fact that I am feeling like we are being treated like cattle, can you change that?
Oh, I am only writing because I do stand behind you for many issues, I guess I should have mentioned that. If you could let us in on some(obviously not all) decisions, and why,
I think you could offer something no-one else has.
I still hadn’t decided who I would vote for, I knew who Wasn’t getting my vote but that did not make the decision any easier. I wanted someone in favor of the Arena because, unlike many others, I get that the development is vitally important. Building the Arena will have a ripple effect and turn DEADmonton (as many refer to this great city) into a viable and thriving metropolis. It’s sad people can not see this. I have to say I am moderately impressed by what I have read so far but I do need to read a bit more but you have caught my attention!
I’m going to take a different tack on this.
Don, while I actually think that other options were before you and Council, and I think that the excuse of ‘well, there was too much ‘momentum’ behind the deal’ is there to mask the actual machinations of what happens, I actually think that part of the reason you ‘had to’ agree is because an anti-arena-deal base wasn’t physically mobilized to provide you space to hold out any longer.
When faced with a combination of the absence of substantial pressure from the public, and the presence of heavy pressure from business lobby looking for its usual quick fix, councillors opposed to business plans will eventually buckle.
I’ve lived outside of Edmonton for the past few years, but what always surprised me about the widespread hostility to the arena deal was that there was never a true ‘popular movement’ against it. The only pressure called for was phoning and lobbying councillors. This is a relatively passive set of actions, and I’m surprised that this never escalated into civil disobedience and nonviolent direct action that targeted both Katz and City Council.
Direct action may be ridiculed and scorned in many parts of Alberta (as part of the fallout of battles between oil companies and environmentalists) but we have to admit one thing: these sorts of actions, which are commonplace in most other places in the world, does bring results. It causes politicians and corporations to have to stop, re-group, re-explain, compromise, and at very least be more transparent. Or else suffer the consequences of resisting organized citizens and voters who will intervene more directly in council proposals.
I think that the world is waking up to the idea that while a lot of civil and social rights have been advanced, economic rights have not — indeed the individuals and communities is a new concept for many people. People deserve the right, ultimately, to veto economic decisions that affect them.
Thus, I think that nonviolent direct action would’ve been completely fair game to stop the arena deal from going forward. If we don’t think the other side is bringing its particular brand of pressure on Council behind the scenes, we’re mistaken. Civil disobedience would’ve given councillors opposed to the bad array of options before them the breathing room and confidence necessary to stick to a progressive proposal. Taking the fight to Katz would definitely have made Katz compromise further, and quelled his demands somewhat.
Before anyone ridicules my line of thinking, I’d like to mention that I’ve spoken with many currently active and retired politicians in my lifetime, and all of them basically agree with me. In so many words, every politician has told me, “What the system of governance needs is more people-pressure from the outside, to resist governments from having to cave to business interests.”
People are fond of saying “if you don’t vote, you can’t complain.” My retort to this is always “If you don’t hit the streets, you can’t complain when what you voted for doesn’t happen.” The simple facts are: Edmontonians didn’t hit the streets and mobilize a campaign with their bodies behind them. Therefore, an extremely flawed deal, with all the business momentum behind it, went through.
I am just going over my options for mayor and find them very limited. I agree with a lot of the objectives of Don Iverson but the arena vote has changed my mind completely. We and our children are now committed to an arena deal that (1) will not come in on budget or time (name one large project that did – remember the Shaw conference centre anyone???? (2) that WILL NOT revitalize downtown (did the Colliseum revitalize the area??? (3) we will be so far in debt – it will take us years to pay off and vital educational and infracture projects will be left undone because city council and the mayor could not say no (and mean it) to some developers and hockey fans. I definitely will not be voting for Don Iverson!!!!
You are an optimist Mr. Iveson. While I dislike the idea of so much city money going in to fund the arena project, after reading your writing, I also see why you chose to vote for it.
I hope too that the down town revitalization that will come with this project will be successful.
I hope also that you’ll stand by your words, if elected as mayor, to make this project on time and on budget, so that not a penny more of city money will go into this project.
You were my top pick BUT I cannot vote for corporate welfare and that is undeniably what is happening with the arena project. There is only six other NHL teams that make more money than the Oilers. Where else could the team go to make that kind of cash. Nowhere in Canada or the USA I can think of. And please do not say Seattle, half of that city’s sports fans are Canadian. But I’m sure you already know this, but are you sure you are from Edmonton, because down town revitalization is a political pipe dream. Now If Edmonton was spending that money to buy the Oilers you would have my vote! So for that reason, I’m sorry, your out.
Just more nose bleed seats…
All you people against the Arena deal should talk to people in Winnipeg and Quebec to find our how important an NHL team was and is to their city. Thanks for voting for the arena Don. The silent majority supports you.
Why do we keep playing the fool just to keep the Pocklingtons of the world happy?
Remember, Fool Me Once, Shame On You; Fool Me Twice, Shame On Me!!
This Arena deal just keeps on stinking.
Now that the arena deal has been shoved through and infrastructure is falling apart, Mr Mayor would like us to join his social media campaign to beg other governments to pay for our LRT which we can’t afford because fools chose the arena. The LRT which would serve a far greater portion of the city’s population, including senior’s, students, low income and fools who can afford ridiculous ticket prices.
Well it is now September 2016 and the arena will open in a few days.
I have just read this mayor’s post and its comments. Funny how nobody in 2013; no citizen, no councillor, no mayor, no billionaire NHL owner, no Northlands employee or manager ever mentions a single word about the destruction of Northlands business. So now taxpayers are stuck with another $200,000,000 in costs to bail out a bankrupt Northlands and build something, anything, to fix the mess and prevent another 160 acres of prime land from turning into another Fort Road/Gainer’s empty wasteland.
Another thing no one mentions until Summer 2016: these new office towers in the “Ice” district are not being filled with new businesses and new investment. They are simply re-locating current businesses and their employees from current downtown Edmonton office space to shiny new buildings. No one mentions the 9 big holes being created by moving City of Edmonton employees to a new Katz-owned tower. No one mentions the 3 or 4 holes being created when Stantec consolidates all its employees into its new super-tall tower. We are gutting the rest of downtown to make this glitzy new “Ice District.”
What are we up to now after including the Northlands mess. About $850-million? Will it top $1-billion before or after the new year? Thanks Mr Iveson. Thanks Mr Mandel.