Provided that it does not affect their taxes, a majority of residents would support a new Calgary Flames arena, according to a recently-released poll.
Jointly funded from the communications budgets of eight city council members, the poll by Mainstreet Research found some support for a new venue among Calgary’s populace. The poll was conducted in late April, and surveyed 5,061 residents.
Along with showing that residents could support a project that offers land or using savings but does not affect their taxes, the report also found widespread recognition that the Flames current home–the Scotiabank Saddledome–is out of date. More from the Calgary Sun:
According to Mainstreet, the “single conclusive finding” from the survey of 5,061 Calgarians shows 60 per cent would support the construction of a new arena by providing land or using savings, “that would not impact their taxes.”
“If we get a deal and we have to come back and say to citizens, you know it’s going to be $200 more on your tax bill, just for this particular project, there’s not an appetite for that,” said Ward 1 Coun. Ward Sutherland.
The poll also found 50 per cent of respondents would support a loan from the city to build a new arena, if the loan had to be paid back with interest, and 53 per cent would support a grant if it meant the city would share revenue from the new arena.
It also revealed 50 per cent of Calgarians believe the city needs a new arena and only 19 per cent say the Saddledome is adequate.
The Flames have been pitching a new arena to replace the Saddledome, which originally opened in 1983 and will be the second-oldest venue in the NHL for the 2017-18 season. Discussions of late have included the idea of constructing a new venue in Victoria Park, with the proposed site just north of the Saddledome.
Late last month, the city voted to move forward with exploring the Victoria Park concept. Thus far, no cost estimates have been released on the project, but the Sun reports that officials are hoping to reveal more information soon.
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