Thread by @sprawlcalgary

With the arena deal at #yyccc again tomorrow, let's dig in. Here are some salient points from recent Sprawlcasts (with some extra goodies thrown in!). THREAD

In January, #yyccc had 4 possible capital projects on the table: arena, BMO Centre expansion, Arts Commons expansion, fieldhouse.

They were supposed to choose which to prioritize.

They didn’t.

thestar.com/calgary/2019/0…

On March 4, the city CFO recommended that council approve just 1 of the 4 projects. She cited:

—upcoming elections
—limited capital $
—Green Line costs

Council disregarded her advice.

At that March 4 council meeting, councillors Demong, Farkas, Farrell and Woolley all raised red flags about moving ahead with all 4 projects. They were voted down.

As an aside: when we talk about the "4 projects," we're really talking about the arena + BMO Centre. These account for more than 90% of city funds allocated for the 4 projects.

Councillor @peterdemong said council should wait 9 mos to see what the city’s true financial footing would be after prov & fed elections—especially given scale of the Green Line.

That project, he said, "deserves our full-time attention." (March 4)

Councillor @EWoolleyWard8 said he wanted to do all 4 projects, but it would be irresponsible.

“I cannot stress how worried I am about this.” (March 4)

On the other side of the arena/BMO Centre debate, Councillor @Ward4Ward1 dismissed the dissenting councillors' warnings as "scare tactics."

"It is now time to stop fearmongering and move towards a can-do attitude that used to be in this city." (March 4)

Councillor @JeffDavisonYYC said moving ahead with both arena + BMO Centre (against CFO's advice) was "about priorities."

"It makes no sense today to wait for a rainy day. The rainy day is upon us, and to kill this today is extremely shortsighted." (March 4)

Mayor @nenshi was in favour of arena + BMO Centre, but warned that it would tie council's hands in future. (March 4)

Here's how #yyccc voted on moving ahead with both arena + BMO Centre, against city CFO's advice, on March 4.

FOR
Sutherland
Magliocca
Gondek
Chu
Chahal
Davison
Carra
Jones
Keating
Colley-Urquhart
Nenshi

AGAINST
Farrell
Woolley
Farkas
Demong

All of this is covered, in more detail, in Sprawlcast Ep 22. sprawlcalgary.com/sprawlcast-han…

Little-known fact: the city has more $ tied up in the BMO Centre than the arena.

The city made a loan to cover the provincial portion, and that $ is eventually supposed to come back in the form of a CRL—but not until 2028 and beyond.

Here's how Nenshi put it in July. #yyccc

Former Calgary chief planner Rollin Stanley warned, in July, that convention centres don't pay off as predicted.

"Underperforming convention centres are money pits for public debt, and lock up highly valuable real-estate for largely vacant space."

theglobeandmail.com/opinion/articl… #yyccc

On July 22, city admin announced that it had reached a tentative arena deal with the Flames and Stampede, and would be seeking council's definitive vote in a week (it was eventually extended to 8 days).

On Jul 22, @EWoolleyWard8 made a motion to have city admin develop a public engagement plan on arena deal & report back in Sept.

@JeffDavisonYYC said if council approved it, "you will forever be known as the council that likely lost the Calgary Flames."

#yyccc voted it down.

@EWoolleyWard8 @JeffDavisonYYC Here's how #yyccc voted on @EWoolleyWard8's Jul 22 motion to have admin develop an arena deal engagement plan & report back in Sept, thereby delaying the final vote.

FOR
Demong
Farkas
Farrell
Woolley

AGAINST
Nenshi
Carra
Chahal
Chu
Davison
Gondek
Keating
Magliocca
Sutherland

@EWoolleyWard8 @JeffDavisonYYC The #yyccc vote on the arena deal was held July 30. Here's how they voted.

FOR
Nenshi
Sutherland
Magliocca
Gondek
Chu
Davison
Carra
Jones
Keating
Colley-Urquhart
Demong

AGAINST
Chahal
Farrell
Farkas
Woolley

@EWoolleyWard8 @JeffDavisonYYC Our tags are all messed up so we're going to end this thread here. But there's more—much more—in the latest Sprawlcast. You can listen or read here: sprawlcalgary.com/steve-allan-an… #yyccc

@EWoolleyWard8 @JeffDavisonYYC And if you're so inclined, toss us a few dollars eh, because covering this stuff is a lot of work! sprawlcalgary.com/support