Having been a Jets fan for the last 35 + years I can tell you I’ve seen this movie before, and it can end terribly.
The script goes something like this:
Local fans and team start talking about the need for a new facility. There’s all kinds of reasons for it; some valid, some not so much and some self-inflicted by ownership/management and yes even local governments.
That brews for awhile eventually percolating into local media then becoming a local public debate. People on both sides for and not for an arena weigh in, now it’s an issue.
Eventually, the issue finds itself on the national stage with scenes of empty seats at games then ownership, government and the league (and Grapes!) start pointing fingers. Then, the threats start.
In the case of Ottawa and Calgary it’s government that will have to save the day. They either will, or they won’t. But don’t kid yourself into thinking government will save the day because history (Winnipeg, Quebec) tells a different story.
In the end we (you and me) pay, and we do so with a smile.
In my opinion Ottawa absolutely positively needs a new, smaller multi-complex downtown to stay economically viable. Whoever thought that monstrosity rising out of nowhere in Kanata was a good long term idea?
