The City of Calgary has recruited three people from the commercial real estate industry in an effort to get a new event center to replace the aging Scotiabank Saddledome.
CBRE Executive Vice President John Fisher, NAIOP Calgary Director of Strategic Initiatives Guy Huntingford, and Ayrshire Group CEO Phil Swift have been hired to engage both the city and the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation. (CSEC) to reach a new agreement.
At Wednesday’s meeting, city planning and development manager Stuart Dalgleish told committee members the group had already begun work.
“We are at a stage where our third party is discussing with both the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation and Calgary City Council, with the goal of determining whether there is interest in discussions toward a new center. events and a new deal for the new event center, “Dalgleish said.
Mayor Jyoti Gondek is optimistic that the team will be able to break the deadlock between the city and the CSEC.
“Today’s news is good news and we need to be patient with what comes after that,” he said.
Event Center Committee Chair and Ward 1 Coun. Sonya Sharp says appointing a third party to help with the negotiations is a big step towards seeing a new field of ashes emerge from the failed deal.
“I’m very pleased. A lot of work has been done to get to where we are today,” he said.
“Everyone wants to build an event center.”
However, sports economist Moshe Lander says it may not be as big for most Calgary taxpayers.
“The question of who has to pay for it is something that happens in every city, more or less, whenever there is a discussion about the stadium or the stadium,” he said.
“In almost all cases, the public sector blinks first and ends up throwing money at a project that will not recoup its costs.”
“Really, it’s just a matter of how much money Calgary City Council wants to invest in this project, realizing it won’t get it back. How much do you want to sell to taxpayers? will city residents not use this scenario in any way? “
CTV contacted CSEC on Wednesday to ask if the owners still had any interest in reactivating the deal. There was no response within the publication deadline.
The original agreement was signed in December 2019. In it, the city and CSEC agreed to split the cost of the project by $ 550 million. When the price rose to more than $ 630 million, the Flames property group rejected and canceled the deal. The New Year’s Eve 2021 has officially expired.
Earlier this month, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman met with CSEC to discuss the arena, among other topics. At the time, he told reporters he hoped an agreement could be reached.
“I’m always optimistic,” Bettman said. “There is nothing at this time to report that there will be a solution immediately, but my hope is that everyone can find out.”
Bettman also warned that without a new track or updated Saddledome, Calgary would miss important NHL events, such as the All-Star Games.
Saddledome is the second oldest NHL stadium just behind Madison Square Garden in New York.