Downtown arena? Think again, council

It was interesting to note the results of the Nov. 13 Calgary Olympic plebiscite. Calgarians have clearly stated that they are very concerned about perceived unnecessary spending, the lack of certainty in Olympic cost estimations and overall benefits to the citizens who have to foot the bill.

Our city council should learn from Calgary’s experience when thinking about how to spend our (taxpayers’) money on anything except necessary infrastructure and services. A local example of how things can go wrong is the huge cost construction overruns and ongoing public purse costs at Remai Modern. Do we really want to see this repeated with an impractical new downtown arena at four times the cost of the Remai?

Council needs to consider whether we actually need a new arena and why. They also need to visualize what parking and traffic chaos would result from a downtown arena. Can realistic and firm cost estimates be guaranteed? Most of all, the city should think about what other things we can do with the $400 million.

Council must be prepared to listen to the people of Saskatoon regardless of Darren Hill’s thoughts about acting unilaterally.

If need be, I will be more than ready to sign a petition requiring a plebiscite on a new downtown arena. He was correct in thinking this will be an election issue in 2020 ... as I hope every taxpayer remembers the names of councillors who continue to promote the concept of a new downtown arena. Dan Jiricka, Saskatoon