Calgary’s mayor and the CEO of the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation (CSEC) held back-to-back press conferences Wednesday to address the inflating costs that collapsed Calgary’s long-standing new arena deal.
Calgarians learned the controversial and over-budget deal for a new events centre — which would have replaced the iconic Saddledome in Victoria Park — was dead on Tuesday, when Mayor Jyoti Gondek announced that the Flames were ready to pull the plug.
After the CSEC released a statement on Tuesday, its CEO, John Bean, reiterated in a Wednesday press conference that there is no viable path forward to complete the Event Centre Project.
A new rendering of the Calgary arena was presented to the Calgary Planning Commission in November. (City of Calgary)
The corporation is unwilling to take on additional risk and rising costs, which are largely related to surrounding sidewalks and climate change initiatives, Bean said.
“This isn’t us looking for a way out,” Bean said.
WATCH | Expectations were clearly outlined for arena, Calgary mayor says
Calgary’s mayor Jyoti Gondek discusses Calgary arena deal collapse
2 hours ago
Duration 1:59
Calgary’s mayor says there have been a lot of questions about the arena’s costs 1:59
“We genuinely believe that the right-of-way costs and the climate costs … really should not be for the account of CSEC. And we tried our best to convey that to the city.”
However, Gondek said in a press conference immediately following the CSEC’s that the corporation was already well aware of what the climate mitigation expectations for the project were.
“[And] we are insisting on things like sidewalks, because you need them for a good … experience,” Gondek said.
She said the city is hoping the CSEC will find the money, and is considering next steps if they don’t.
“It’s an unreal sense of loss right now.”
WATCH | CEO of the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation talks collapsed arena deal
CSEC CEO, John Bean, says city insisted upon additional costs
2 hours ago
Duration 1:18
Bean says CSEC was prepared to move forward, but not prepared to fund infrastructure and climate costs 1:18
Rising costs present sticking points
In 2019, the city and the Flames agreed to terms on the Event Centre replacing the Scotiabank Saddledome, the home of the Flames since 1983.
The original estimate of $550 million to build the new 19,000-seat arena was to be split between the city, the CSEC, the Western Hockey League’s Hitmen, the Canadian Football League’s Stampeders and the National Lacrosse League’s Roughnecks.
Earlier this year, however, it was revealed the deal was close to $60 million over budget, and the arena is now projected to cost $608.5 million.
During the summer, both the city and the CSEC agreed to pay an additional $12.5 million for the arena — and agreed that the CSEC would cover any more cost overruns.
However, after costs for climate mitigation, such as solar panels, and right-of-way issues for road and sidewalks were identified, new costs totalled $16.1 million.
Mayor Jyoti Gondek said the city asked the CSEC to contribute $9.7 million of that amount, in addition to what had already been agreed on.
On Tuesday, Gondek said she spoke with Murray Edwards, primary shareholder of the CSEC, who informed her the events centre deal would not be going forward.
“It appears that they’re unable to make that financial commitment following the approval of their development permit, so it would appear that they are ending the deal,” she said Tuesday.
Neil deMause, a journalist who has covered sports stadium controversies for more than 20 years, told CBC News that he couldn’t recall another arena deal that got this far before reaching a major roadblock.
“As I have told people for years now, the only sure estimate of how much a sports facility will cost is: more than you expected,” deMause said.
‘This can’t become just another thing that Calgary didn’t do’
Meanwhile, onetime Calgary mayoral candidate and former Ward 6 Coun. Jeff Davison, who previously led city negotiations on the deal, said in a statement Wednesday that the majority of Calgarians understand the importance of the project.
It was intended, Davison said, to anchor a long-term growth strategy to “fix downtown and stop the shrinking property values that are shifting the tax burden onto homeowners.”
1/ 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. This can’t become just another thing that Calgary didn’t do. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/yyccc?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#yyccc</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/flames?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#flames</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/community?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#community</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/citybuilding?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#citybuilding</a>
That strategy included an expanded BMO Centre and revitalized downtown — with more hotels, bars, parks, restaurants, and transit through the Green Line LRT — that Davison said would attract investment, businesses and jobs.
“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 said.
“This can’t become just another thing that Calgary didn’t do.”
Abandoning the project would compromise critical investments in community vibrancy, talent attraction and economic recovery, said Deborah Yedlin, president and CEO of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, in an emailed statement.
She said that in addition to creating jobs, the events centre would have a positive impact on property tax generation, support for local sports organizations, community engagement programming and the ability to hold concerts.
“At this critical stage of the development process, and given the resources already invested, the business community encourages shareholders and stakeholders to demonstrate flexibility and finalize this agreement for the benefit of Calgarians today and tomorrow.”
The CSEC said the Calgary Flames will continue to play at the Saddledome.
EDMONTON – The Edmonton Oilers signed defenceman Travis Dermott to a professional tryout on Friday.
Dermott, a 27-year-old from Newmarket, Ont., produced two goals, five assists and 26 penalty minutes in 50 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season.
The six-foot, 202-pound blueliner has also played for the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Toronto drafted him in the second round, 34th overall, of the 2015 NHL draft.
Over seven NHL seasons, Dermott has 16 goals and 46 assists in 329 games while averaging 16:03 in ice time.
Before the NHL, Dermott played two seasons with Oilers captain Connor McDavid for the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters. The team was coached by current Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam singles champion, led the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan vote her first year on the ballot — an important part to possible selection to the hall’s next class.
The organization released the voting results on Friday. American doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan finished second with Canada’s Daniel Nestor third.
The Hall of Fame said tens of thousands of fans from 120 countries cast ballots. Fan voting is one of two steps in the hall’s selection process. The second is an official group of journalists, historians, and Hall of Famers from the sport who vote on the ballot for the hall’s class of 2025.
“I am incredibly grateful to the fans all around the world who supported me during the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan votes,” Sharapova said in a statement. “It is a tremendous honor to be considered for the Hall of Fame, and having the fans’ support makes it all the more special.”
Sharapova became the first Russian woman to reach No. 1 in the world. She won Wimbledon in 2004, the U.S. Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008. She also won the French Open twice, in 2012 and 2014.
Sharapova was also part of Russia’s championship Fed Cup team in 2008 and won a silver medal at the London Olympics in 2012.
To make the hall, candidates must receive 75% or higher on combined results of the official voting group and additional percentage from the fan vote. Sharapova will have an additional three percentage points from winning the fan vote.
The Bryans, who won 16 Grand Slam doubles titles, will have two additional percentage points and Nestor, who won eight Grand Slam doubles titles, will get one extra percentage point.
The hall’s next class will be announced late next month.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew as they bicycled on a rural road had a blood-alcohol level of .087, above the .08 legal limit in New Jersey, a prosecutor said Friday.
Gaudreau, 31, and brother Matthew, 29, were killed in Carneys Point, New Jersey, on Aug. 29, the evening before they were set to serve as groomsmen at their sister Katie’s wedding.
The driver, 43-year-old Sean M. Higgins of nearby Woodstown, New Jersey, is charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. At a virtual court hearing Friday, a judge ordered that he be held for trial after prosecutors described a history of alleged road rage and aggressive driving.
“’You were probably driving like a nut like I always tell you you do. And you don’t listen to me, instead you just yell at me,’” his wife told Higgins when he called her from jail after his arrest, according to First Assistant Prosecutor Jonathan Flynn of Salem County.
The defense described Higgins as a married father and law-abiding citizen before the crash.
“He’s an empathetic individual and he’s a loving father of two daughters,” said defense lawyer Matthew Portella. “He’s a good person and he made a horrible decision that night.”
Higgins told police he had five or six beers that day and admitted to consuming alcohol while driving, according to the criminal complaint. He also failed a field sobriety test, the complaint said. A prosecutor on Friday said he had been drinking at home after finishing a work call at about 3 p.m., and having an upsetting conversation with his mother about a family matter.
He then had a two-hour phone call with a friend while he drove around in his Jeep with an open container, Flynn said. He had been driving aggressively behind a sedan going just above the 50 mph speed limit, sometimes tailgating, the female driver told police.
When she and the vehicle ahead of her slowed down and veered left to go around the cyclists, Higgins sped up and veered right, striking the Gaudreas, the two other drivers told police.
“He indicated he didn’t even see them,” said Superior Court Judge Michael J. Silvanio, who said Higgins’ admitted “impatience” caused two deaths.
Higgins faces up to 20 years, a sentence that the judge said made him a flight risk.
Higgins has a master’s degree, works in finance for an addiction treatment company, and served in combat in Iraq, his lawyers said. However, his wife said he had been drinking regularly since working from home, Flynn said.
Johnny Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” played 10 full seasons in the league and was set to enter his third with the Columbus Blue Jackets after signing a seven-year, $68 million deal in 2022. He played his first eight seasons with the Calgary Flames, a tenure that included becoming one of the sport’s top players and a fan favorite across North America.
Widows Meredith and Madeline Gaudreau described their husbands as attached at the hip throughout their lives. Both women are expecting, and both gave moving eulogies at the double funeral on Monday.
