The Flames owners played this as bad as the Canucks played hockey last year:
- Large undisclosed subsidies not only for the construction of the arena, but veto on on local development, receipt of parking and casino revenue that goes currently to non-profits, free transit for ticket holders, no prop taxes, etc - while all the time calling this a "fair" deal for the City
- Issuing an original proposal to build the arena on contaminated land and have the City clean it up (hundreds of millions in potential liabilities)
- Not disclosing their financials on the Flames (as if any for-profit group seeking subsidies doesn't have to build a financial case)
- Possibly financing their man (Bill Smith) for the election, as Smith is the only major candidate since at least 2010 not to release his donor list (that can't be proven, but why the secrecy?)
- Calling in Bettman (dumb idea to influence Calgarians)
And all of this in the worst economic recession since the 80's here in Calgary.