(Calgary) Mayor Jyoti Gondek has said the Calgary Flames will do an about-face on the new arena project, the Event Center.
Through several tweets, the mayor mentioned that Murray Edwards, president of Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation (CSTC), informed her on Tuesday that the Flames are planning to “pull out of the project.”
“We came to the conclusion that the agreement about the Event Center was no longer valid,” she said at a press briefing.
“There were some additional sums that had to be absorbed by the CSTC. It appears that she is unable to make this financial commitment after their planning permission has been approved, so it appears that she is terminating the deal. ”
Tuesday’s news came after several years punctuated by pauses and restarts. The city and the Calgary Flames initially agreed to terms in 2019 on the amphitheater that would replace the Scotiabank Saddledome, the home of the Flames since 1983.
The initial estimate of $ 550 million to build the 19,000-seat arena was to be split between the city and the company, which owns the Flames, Calgary Hitmen, Western League (WHL), Calgary Stampeders, Canadian Football League and Calgary Roughnecks, National Lacrosse League.
But Gondek said some costs, including $ 4 million “climate change mitigation” and $ 12 million “road / sidewalk right-of-way issues” were still being negotiated.
“City came to the table to help with $ 6.4 million for roads, leaving $ 9.7 million for the Flames,” Gondek said. Based on this $ 9.7 million discrepancy, I am told that CSEC is withdrawing from our agreement. ”
Gondek said she was disappointed that “on a project worth over $ 650 million that one side is pulling out for a deal of 1.5% of the deal value is staggering.”
“I wanted Calgarians to be the first to know. I am as disappointed as all of you that this is how it ends. ”
The Flames did not immediately want to speak with The Canadian Press.