Following a lengthy closed-door meeting and some spirited debate, Calgary city council voted late Monday night to move forward with negotiations with the Calgary Flames on a new home for the hockey club.
Up to this point, the Flames and the Event Centre Assessment Committee have been chatting in broad strokes about what a deal could look like that would meet everyone’s needs. The committee’s “terms of reference” have bounded the conversation, as has the work done by the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation on the Rivers District Master Plan – the sales pitch is an arena (or “event centre”) would be an anchor tenant in a cultural and entertainment district and draw in outside investors to the area.