Calgary council votes to restart arena talks with Flames

City council wants to re-start talks on a new arena with the owners of the Calgary Flames.

Talks between the two sides ended last summer with the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation (CSEC) walking away from the table.

On Monday, city council voted to set up what it calls an "event centre assessment committee" to examine how to get a new arena built.

Coun. Jeff Davison is among those on council spearheading the effort to get something going again on the arena file.

"If we're going to say we're still at the table, let's act like we're at the table. And I think you're seen an overwhelming amount of support come and say yes, let's get back to a conversation," said Davison.

Since the CSEC left the table, Mayor Naheed Nenshi has consistently said that city officials would be ready to resume talks at any time.

However, CSEC hasn't called.

'The negotiation … will be challenging'

The new committee will include city manager Jeff Fielding, Michael Brown who is the head of the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) and three city councillors.

CMLC is formulating a vision of the Victoria Park area as city council wants to redesign it as a culture and entertainment district, possibly with an arena right in the centre of that area.

Nenshi voted in favour of the new committee.

But he's already warning against anyone getting their expectations up too much.

"Make no mistake: the negotiation — if there is one — will be challenging. Voters, electors, citizens were very, very clear in the last election on what they were willing to stand for and what they were not," said the mayor.

One councillor opposed

The last offer the city had on the table was to contribute up to one-third of the cost of a new arena.

Nenshi said a key issue for council and the new committee would remain how much public money is required to make a new arena happen.

He said one-third "was pretty much the maximum that citizens would bear" but the city should be prepared to look at what he calls "creative solutions" to try to reach a deal.

The only councillor who voted against striking this new committee said during the council debate that she is worried about the price tag going up.

Coun. Druh Farrell said the city's last offer was "extremely generous" that she voted against, even if a majority of council supported it.

"Would we be talking about an additional cost to the taxpayer?" said Farrell.

No comment from Flames

When asked to comment on the new committee, a spokesman for the Flames organization told CBC News b y email that there would be no statement on the matter.

Just getting back to the table is going to be a process in itself.

Although council has voted to establish the committee, it will first have to develop terms of reference and seek approval from council on what exactly its marching orders should or should not include.

For example, the last city council provided the previous negotiator — deputy city manager Brad Stevens — with direction such as any public money had to be used for public benefit and that there had to be extensive public consultation on any arena deal.

As well, any new arena has to fit in with existing city plans for the surrounding area if it's located in the core area. The city's preferred site is in Victoria Park, on city land just north of the Saddledome.

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