Generally it makes little sense for cities to pony up for a private business.
In Edmontons case it makes a little bit more than zero sense since the stadium was part of a larger development plan.
Well.... sort of.
When there isn't a sports team to occupy the building, often the relevant government(s) will build one themselves to A) attract sports teams and B) support concerts and other events. The fact of the matter is the local governments subsidize a lot of things, and few of them generate as much tourism and revenue as an arena.
I
hate the rabble-rousing that occurs whenever something like this comes up, because it always boils down to people who can't get past the idea that billionaires are profiting off of city funds, when they don't see that
if this is done right, the CITY also profits. Which is why they'd do it on their own, eventually, if the Flames weren't there.
Now, it hasn't ALWAYS been a win-win. It has the be the right mix and the right deal. In Edmonton, no property taxes were spent. No money came out of infrastructure or schools. It had the right partners and the right designs to guarantee that it would eventually pay for itself. It is in the process of meaningfully redeveloping a part of downtown that has needed work for decades, and tbh, fell into disrepair because of mismanagement for city officials who clutched at their purse strings for too long.
Calgary can argue it doesn't need that like Edmonton does, but Calgary's downtown is in the early stages of trouble. Last year,
it was reported that one third of their downtown office space could be vacant by next year.
Calgary, moreso than Edmonton, is dependent on the volatile and impermanent natural gas industry and could do well with some diversification. Edmonton didn't just build an arena for the Oilers, they're in the process of building a world class entertainment and shopping district which will redirect dollars from shopping centres at the center of pseudo-surburban neighborhoods to downtown where it belongs. The City of Edmonton profits from this as much as Darryl Katz does. Even cities like LA have benefited from this kind of district (see LA Live), and Calgary could as well.
People ask: "Why don't the billionaires just build it themselves". The answer is in modest markets, the profit margin doesn't justify the expense. They don't get to collect that higher property taxes from businesses in the area. A Casino can afford to build one right across the street from their world-famous Vegas hotel, but in a market like Quebec City (or Calgary), it's going to take some public dollars. It's unreasonable to say that CSE should spend ~20% of their collective networth on a building that will take decades to recoup it's cost - if it ever does. And again, Calgary would build it completely on their own if they didn't have a hockey team.
That being said, the Flames are going nowhere. This is merely public pressure on Mayor Nenshi (a vocal opponent of public funding for the arena) 5 weeks before their election. Eventually, they will come together with a public-private mix that is livable for both parties.
