Danielle Smith says she's 'confident' Calgary's arena deal will go ahead
CTV
A day after taking part in an announcement that Calgary's arena deal would go ahead with contributions from the city, the province and the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation (CSEC), Premier Danielle Smith says she's excited the agreement was struck.
A day after taking part in an announcement that Calgary's arena deal would go ahead with contributions from the city, the province and the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation (CSEC), Premier Danielle Smith says she's excited the agreement was struck.
"I feel really confident in this," Smith told the media at a conference in Calgary Wednesday. "It was really excellent yesterday to see all the players at the table.
"The fact that we had a unanimous vote of council that affirmed that – that was very positive."
On Tuesday afternoon, Smith, along with Mayor Jyoti Gondek and Ward 1 Coun. Sonya Sharp and their partners with CSEC, announced details of a $1.2 billion project that would see a new arena for the Calgary Flames, a community arena for the public and a revitalized entertainment district in the downtown core.
Given Smith's strong Calgary background, she said a new arena was always high on her priority list as premier.
"It's no secret that I wanted this deal to happen. I wish it had happened months before. It was one of the first actions I took as premier – I got sworn in on October 11 and I wrote a letter on October 25," she said.
In her remarks, Smith says she took taxpayers into account when she made her decision about the provincial funding commitment.
