Details on new downtown arena deal expected to emerge today
CBC
It's possible the final wording on a deal for a new $800 million downtown arena will be made public today.
An agreement in principle between the City of Calgary, the government of Alberta and the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation (CSEC) was first announced in April.
It would see the city pay most of the upfront costs for the new arena in east Victoria Park and recover those costs through CSEC making annual lease payments to the city over 35 years.
Those payments would start at $17 million a year and escalate by one per cent annually.
The provincial government agreed to commit $330 million for a community arena that will be attached to the event centre and cover the cost of other infrastructure in the new entertainment district.
The agreement in principle was unanimously approved by all members of city council.
Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt said he's not expecting anything in the final arena agreement to sway public opinion on the deal.
He said he doubts most Calgarians will care about the final wording.
"I think their minds are made up one way or the other," said Bratt.
On one hand, he said some people don't care who's paying what because they just want a new arena and the NHL's Calgary Flames to stay put.
"Then there's another group that will say, 'I don't care what the deal is. If there's public money in there, I'm not gonna like it,'" he said.
He said he'll be looking for more information about the city land parcels that are part of the deal.
The city is offering CSEC the right to purchase four pieces of land near the arena site as well the land that's now the site of a transit maintenance garage.
Bratt added it will be worth watching in the final agreement how any potential cost overruns on the project will be handled.
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