Following a marathon City Council closed-door meeting and a secret vote to change the arena deal, several Calgary mayoral candidates called on City Hall to come clean to taxpayers.
On Tuesday evening, city councilors debated several unknown recommendations. However, the city council reconsidered the $550 million arena deal signed in 2019. The cost for the arena and event centre was to be split evenly between the City of Calgary and Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation.
Requiring ten votes in favour, Calgary city council approved the reconsideration 11-3. It was revealed that outgoing councillor Druh Farrell and mayoral candidates Jeromy Farkas and Jyoti Gondek were the only "nay" votes.
"In this town, a deal is a deal, and a handshake means something," said Farkas. "Spending even more taxpayer money to bail out the project is not an option."
In a press statement, he said Calgarians deserve transparency with their money. "Calgarians are owed what they were promised at the original price tag," he said.
He compared the lack of transparency from city council to the closed-door meetings on the Olympics debate. "They left many more questions than answers," Farkas continued.
Sources told CTV News that the Calgary Flames are demanding another $70 million from the city, additional land, and removing CMLC as project manager.
In April, the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) announced that the new Flames Arena/Event Centre project had been paused to resolve "budget challenges." Construction is likely to be delayed past the initial construction date of August 2024.
Mayor Naheed Nenshi said this isn't unusual for a project of this scale, expressing his desire to sort out issues now rather than later on in the project.
In 2019, Farkas raised concerns that have since materialized regarding the budget, transparency, and risk of cost overruns.
Farkas has taken a clear position against additional taxpayer funds for the project, urging other candidates to make their position known.
In April, Gondek indicated that she was on board with the deal and believed future conversations regarding the agreement should be made "very publicly." At the time, neither she nor Farkas thought this should become an election issue.
Zane Novak, a venture capitalist and long-time board member of the Kerby Centre, is also running for mayor. Novak told the Post Millennial that, yet again, the arena is in the news and is surrounded by controversy.
"I support the city by making wise investments in projects that can create employment and positive cash flow," he said.
However, Novak took exception with the constant "bickering, infighting, and grandstanding'' for over ten years regarding the arena.
"Anyone with experience in business knows that project costs go up almost daily, never down, and every single significant project city hall has evidenced this has been involved in," he said. "A robust city hall would have had this arena negotiated, signed, and built years ago."
Flames Nation said some of the benefits of the mammoth project for the city include a 2 percent cut of arena revenues or approximately $3 million over the first five years, $2.5 million over ten years from naming rights, and increased incremental property taxes if the arena helps attract other investment, especially for the city's struggling downtown core.
Further analysis indicates a potential $155.1 million revenue over the next 35 years in "facility fees" from 140 annual events.
With Calgary's municipal election upcoming this October, Farkas posed several questions to voters. "Why is the arena over budget? What changes are being asked for, and by whom? What corners are potentially being cut? And during this pandemic and economic crisis, has Council secretly signed off on more taxpayer dollars?" Farkas asked the constituents.
"Those who supported the deal want to know when it will get built, and those opposed to it are demanding that Council be accountable with the spending of public money," Farkas concluded.
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