CSEC pulling out of Events Centre deal: Calgary Mayor

In a series of tweets posted late Tuesday afternoon, Mayor Jyoti Gondek says she spoke with Murray Edwards, the primary shareholder of Calgary Sports and Entertainment, and he informed her of the team’s intention to pull the plug on the deal for the city’s new event centre.

The mayor says Edwards informed her it was over additional costs, which the city and CSEC were working on.

1/6 Today, I spoke with Murray Edwards, primary shareholder of Calgary Sports & Entertainment Corp (CSEC), about the future of the Event Centre project.

He informed me of the Flames intention to pull the plug on the Event Centre deal.

Why? Here’s what I know:

— Jyoti Gondek (@JyotiGondek) December 22, 2021

The city and CSEC originally agreed to split the costs of building an 18,000 seat arena — estimated to be between $550 million and $600 million.

In April, the project hit a snag during budget negotiations and a development permit wasn’t granted until November, months after the original August groundbreaking date. After the permit was granted — by a unanimous vote from the city’s planning commission — an early 2022 target was set to begin construction.

“The City came to the table to assist with $6.4m in roadways leaving $9.7m for the Flames. Based on this gap, CSEC informed me they are walking away from our deal,” the mayor wrote on Twitter.

“On a project worth over $650m, to have one party walk away for 1.5% of the value of the deal is staggering.”

Gondek says she didn’t support the changes to the deal agreed to in July of this year, which saw the city and team put in more money, but the Flames were to pay any further cost overruns.

Adding that since she was elected mayor her administration has been working with the team on additional costs, saying two were identified… dealing with climate mitigation and road and sidewalk issues.

CityNews and Sportsnet have reached out to Calgary Sports and Entertainment for comment but neither have heard back.

READ MORE:

• Environmental concerns surrounding new Calgary Event Centre
• Development permit for Calgary’s new arena approved by planning commission
• Calgary event centre inches closer to construction

The Flames have played at their current home — the Scotiabank Saddledome — since 1983.

City council voted 11-4 in July of 2019 to approve the project, with then-Mayor Naheed Nenshi stressing the deal provided “a great balance of social and financial return” for the city.

“It was important on this particular deal that we had a great financial deal and I think we did,” Nenshi said at the time. “It was also important for us to think about the intangibles that we’re investing in, those things that make a city work.”

The late Ken King, who was vice-chair of CSEC at the time of the announcement, said it was “a great deal.”

“The most fun will be proving to the city of Calgary we can exceed their expectations,” King added.

-With files from Lisa Steacy, Cole Fortner, Stefanie Lasuik and Sportsnet