In the wake of Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation (CSEC) and the City of Calgary scrapping the Event Centre deal, former councillor Jeff Davison “strongly” encourages the two to come back to the table..“The Event Centre was intended to anchor a long-term growth strategy to fix downtown and stop the shrinking property values that are shifting the tax burden onto homeowners,” said Davison, one of the architects of the original deal, on Twitter..“This growth strategy included an expanded BMO Centre, a revitalized downtown, alive with hotels, bars, parks, restaurants and family spaces, an expanded transit system through the Green Line, and an opportunity to attract and retain new investment, new businesses and new jobs.” .In July 2019, council voted 11 to 4 in favour of a new 19,000-seat arena in Victoria Park, led by Davison, council’s chief political driver for the project..“I stand in full belief that this is a fair deal for all Calgarians and that public money is being used for public good,” said Davison of the deal in 2019..“You’ve heard the vision and the promise of a cultural and entertainment district. The numbers have been discussed and debated at length, but, really, what this all comes down to is are we willing to build community?”.In a statement, the CSEC said the cost-share agreement reached with the city in December 2019 was 50% – 50% with respect to design and construction..By July 2021, when costs had increased to nearly $609 million, the city advised CSEC they wouldn’t be able to fund their agreed-upon 50%..Instead of this being a deal-breaker, CSEC agreed to fund a higher proportion of the deal — $321 million to the City’s $287.5 million — and agreed to accept the risk of future cost increases deemed reasonable..Updated costs are now pegged at $634 million — an additional $25.5 million in costs to CSEC..In addition, the city is insisting on an additional $19 million for infrastructure ($15 million) and climate costs ($4 million) leading to an additional $10 million to CSEC, the organization says it is not prepared to move forward with funding the additional costs introduced by the city..“The failure of the city and CSEC to find a viable path forward was not based upon simply the ‘the last dollar’ on the table, but rather was based upon the accumulated increase in CSEC’s share of the costs, including the infrastructure and climate costs, the overall risk factors related to the project and the inability of CSEC and the city to find a path forward that would work for both parties,” said CSEC in a statement..CSEC also blames “supply chain issues and commodity price escalation” due to COVID-19 for not wanting to further commit to what it says is a “high level of risk associated with future project cost.”.“As this was my vision and I guided this project to approval, I strongly encourage the mayor and CSEC to come back to the table and find a way to salvage this process,” Davison tweeted..“This can’t become just another thing that Calgary didn’t do..“The path to ‘no’ is easy. The path to ‘yes’ requires collaboration, compromise, creativity and commitment. The majority of Calgarians understand that this facility will enhance our community in ways that go beyond a basic economic analysis.”.Melanie Risdon is a reporter with the Western Standard.,.mrisdon@westernstandardonline.com
In the wake of Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation (CSEC) and the City of Calgary scrapping the Event Centre deal, former councillor Jeff Davison “strongly” encourages the two to come back to the table..“The Event Centre was intended to anchor a long-term growth strategy to fix downtown and stop the shrinking property values that are shifting the tax burden onto homeowners,” said Davison, one of the architects of the original deal, on Twitter..“This growth strategy included an expanded BMO Centre, a revitalized downtown, alive with hotels, bars, parks, restaurants and family spaces, an expanded transit system through the Green Line, and an opportunity to attract and retain new investment, new businesses and new jobs.” .In July 2019, council voted 11 to 4 in favour of a new 19,000-seat arena in Victoria Park, led by Davison, council’s chief political driver for the project..“I stand in full belief that this is a fair deal for all Calgarians and that public money is being used for public good,” said Davison of the deal in 2019..“You’ve heard the vision and the promise of a cultural and entertainment district. The numbers have been discussed and debated at length, but, really, what this all comes down to is are we willing to build community?”.In a statement, the CSEC said the cost-share agreement reached with the city in December 2019 was 50% – 50% with respect to design and construction..By July 2021, when costs had increased to nearly $609 million, the city advised CSEC they wouldn’t be able to fund their agreed-upon 50%..Instead of this being a deal-breaker, CSEC agreed to fund a higher proportion of the deal — $321 million to the City’s $287.5 million — and agreed to accept the risk of future cost increases deemed reasonable..Updated costs are now pegged at $634 million — an additional $25.5 million in costs to CSEC..In addition, the city is insisting on an additional $19 million for infrastructure ($15 million) and climate costs ($4 million) leading to an additional $10 million to CSEC, the organization says it is not prepared to move forward with funding the additional costs introduced by the city..“The failure of the city and CSEC to find a viable path forward was not based upon simply the ‘the last dollar’ on the table, but rather was based upon the accumulated increase in CSEC’s share of the costs, including the infrastructure and climate costs, the overall risk factors related to the project and the inability of CSEC and the city to find a path forward that would work for both parties,” said CSEC in a statement..CSEC also blames “supply chain issues and commodity price escalation” due to COVID-19 for not wanting to further commit to what it says is a “high level of risk associated with future project cost.”.“As this was my vision and I guided this project to approval, I strongly encourage the mayor and CSEC to come back to the table and find a way to salvage this process,” Davison tweeted..“This can’t become just another thing that Calgary didn’t do..“The path to ‘no’ is easy. The path to ‘yes’ requires collaboration, compromise, creativity and commitment. The majority of Calgarians understand that this facility will enhance our community in ways that go beyond a basic economic analysis.”.Melanie Risdon is a reporter with the Western Standard.,.mrisdon@westernstandardonline.com
