Stadiums are public assets; profitability’s not required

For many months now, we’ve heard many arguments for and against the construction of a stadium in Halifax. Many of these points of view make certain assumptions that are simply erroneous, including:

• The stadium must be profitable;

• The stadium is exclusively for CFL football; and

• The stadium will come at a cost to other government programming.

I suggest that these assumptions are false, and I share the following points:

Stadiums are not free or profitable. Stadiums are like other public infrastructure — they cost money. They require up-front capital financing from both private and public sources, and they sometimes require an annual operating subsidy. This is not unlike: the new Nova Centre that received over $163 million in capital funding and is now operating with a deficit exceeding $3 million annually; the Halifax Library Main Branch that cost $57.6 million; the new arts centre that has received $10 million in capital funding; the Bluenose II restoration that cost $24.3 million; and Halifax Libraries that receive an annual operating subsidy in excess of $20 million.

We don’t expect parks, pools, libraries and iconic schooners to generate profits, and we should not expect stadiums to be profitable, either.

A stadium is a community asset: The proposed stadium is not a facility that is for the exclusive use of a pro sports franchise. Furthermore, private investors are not going to arrive in town and build a stadium for the community as a whole. This just does not happen. This public asset would be available for all levels and types of amateur sport, concerts, cultural events and trade shows. Standing on a rain-soaked, muddy field on the Commons or at Magnetic Hill in

Moncton, trying to locate a portable toilet, really is not world class. We can do better.

A stadium is table stakes for a major city: Halifax is the largest urban area in North America without a >20,000-seat stadium within 150 kilometres. Many smaller cities, such as Green Bay (105,000) and Regina (229,000), have impressive infrastructure, with stadium capacities of 81,441 and 33,350, respectively. HRM, with a population of 414,400, is not “punching its weight.” Many of these facilities, once built, operate with no subsidy at all, and they attract athletes, performers, media, fans and tourists to our community.

The net cost, when the capital costs are amortized and related generated revenues considered, is affordable for a growing city like Halifax.

Halifax is a growing metropolis that is finding its way onto the world stage. Let’s not let Stephen Harper’s assertion that we are a defeatist culture ring true, and let’s seize this opportunity. We missed our opportunities with the first Schooners proposal in the ’80s and the more recent Commonwealth Games bid. Let’s stop being the “poor cousin” and let’s get’er done!