Could this be viewed as a threat by the city and Flames fans? As in, we are not pursuing a new arena because we are looking at other cities who are more than willing to pay the freight for a new building.
Or perhaps, a massive renovation of the Saddledome is in order? Spend $200 - $300 million to retrofit the building from top-to-bottom, expand the footprint, dig down below ice level to expand the lower bowl to more modern standards (8-9000 seats vs the current 6500). This versus spending $500 - $600 million for a new arena.
Guess we will find out their true intentions soon enough.