FLAMES FANS SEE RED OVER TALK OF RELOCATING TEAM
CEO King says it’s not a threat, but ‘solution’ is needed in arena debate
Calgary Flames CEO and president Ken King issued a statement to Flames fans on Sunday, trying to clear the air after suggesting the team could move if a new arena isn’t built in Calgary.
King raised the possibility of the Flames leaving the city in an interview on Sportsnet Fan 590 in Toronto on Wednesday, just days after Mayor Naheed Nenshi declared the CalgaryNEXT project “dead” — and two days before the team clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
“The facts are we need a solution, and if it is deemed that there is no made-in-Calgary solution we will have to make a decision at that time, which logically could include deciding to move the team,” King said in Sunday’s statement, adding moving the team is just one “of a few possible outcomes.”
But King told Postmedia on Saturday his comments about relocating the team shouldn’t be viewed as an ultimatum to city council.
“We’re not threatening people,” King said. “And, furthermore, I think and hope we’re going to get a deal. The truth of the matter is, we would just move. Which is not to be confused as a threat.”
Talk of moving the team caused a stir on social media, with people on both sides of the arena discussion weighing in on the debate.
“Let’s arrive at a solution that works for both sides,” Brian Smolik wrote on Facebook. “Look no further than San Diego and the Chargers to see what happens when civic leaders drag their collective asses on issues like this.”
“If stadiums were a good business move there’d be a mad dash to build them,” Anup Raniga said on Facebook. “The fact is, they’re not. They’re wastes of money that leave taxpayers on the hook for millions of dollars.”
Nenshi also issued a statement on Saturday responding to King’s comments.
“I am confident that a new project that has public benefit for public money exists, and I know both sides are working very hard on that,” Nenshi said.
“The owners of the Calgary Flames have repeatedly assured Calgarians that they would not threaten to move the team, and I assume that they have not shifted from that position.
“I plan to enjoy the playoff run while letting the conversations continue.”
King said CalgaryNEXT — the proposed arena, stadium, and fieldhouse complex in the West Village with a price tag ranging from $1.2 billion and $1.8 billion — isn’t dead but “just sleeping” as Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corp. looks at a Plan B location in Victoria Park at the request of council.
The two proposed projects differ in both location and scope, with Plan B looking at building just a new hockey arena while CalgaryNEXT would be a new home for both the Flames and the Stampeders, replacing the more than 50-year-old McMahon Stadium in the creosote-contaminated West Village.
Despite the mayor’s declaration that CalgaryNEXT is a non-starter, Coun. Evan Woolley agreed with King that the project is simply on pause while council and the Flames weigh both options.
“While I appreciate the mayor has never liked the CalgaryNEXT project, this is a decision of council, it’s not his decision,” Woolley said. “There has been no decision by council; the mayor is not the one who makes this decision alone.”
King said both proposed locations and projects “have merit,” but there is still more work to be done before deciding which project will be most beneficial to the city and Calgarians.
“It’s not us being right and them being wrong,” King said.
“There’s no need for this to be an adversarial process at all … we need to try to find a happy solution that works.”