Downtown arena

I have tried to avoid talking about this as I not only have no experience with "public funding" or know how Katz should use his influence to move forward on this, but it continues to be a hot topic in a time of the year when there is little to no news to talk about. So here are a few things I thought would be of interest.

Here is an article from Mark Spector on the value of a new arena in town.

Katz had a website put up, dedicated to supplying information on the new district.

The Edmontonian has a great view on the arena.



The "original" concept:


Daryl Katz lays his vision out for Edmonton.


Moose has a say on the issue:


Kevin Lowe has a say too (go figure)


The people have a say:


So what is MY opinion? well first off I think there is every reason under the sun to put in a new arena. It makes sense for the Oilers, it makes sense for the city and it makes sense for Daryl Katz. This is an opportunity for the Oilers to makes some money off the revenues from more than just the games. (which by the way hasnt been that bad considering the size of the market) The downtown area needs a facelift, this is a great idea for having that done. and Katz will be able to make his investment worth more than bragging rights with his "rich" buddies.

What I dont like is the fact that the idea at the moment is that the city is supposed to pay for the area (minus $200M) but Katz wants full revenues from the arena. That idea is not a sound investment for the city at all.

There are two ways I would personally back my tax dollars going towards the arena.
#1: Considering the entire project will cost close to a Billion dolars, and Katz is offering up $200M I would assume that a 20% share in the revenues for Katz and an 80% share for the city would be in order. This would probably include free rent for life for the Oilers and the Oil Kings, among whatever perks the city offers for "katz owned" buisnesses in the area.

But we all know that Katz didnt make his fortune by simply taking what was offered. He will want those roles reversed. Katz wants to OWN this arena. He wants 100% of the revenues and you cant blame the man for thinking big.

So that brings on point #2.

A good compromise for both the city and for Katz is that the remaining $800M is nothing more than a loan. (with interest of course) The Katz group can repay this loan with a surcharge on all ticket sales, parking and whatever else deemed feesible until it is paid. This allows the city to make a sound investment and make a penny or two in the proccess. There would be the standard land taxes and the arena & surrounding area would be subject to the same fee's as any othe buisness in town. This means that Katz doesnt get a free ride, and the city can actually make this decision fly with the general public. No need to raise taxes or hurt John Q Public in any way. Katz gets what he wants, the Oilers get a new home, the downtown core gets a facelift and the people are happy. its a win win win situation.

Now there will be negotiations of course. And I doubt it will be as simple as I make it sound. I also think that Katz should reconsider his position on Northlands running the new arena. They are not only a community oriented company, but they have a good track record with keeping Rexal 1 busy all year. There must be a compromise there somewhere. The city MUST get its due, and I would like to see Katz happy with it too. Im excited to see what comes of this.

Its about time the Oilers had a new home.

Later

Home sweet home

So I have returned from an amazing trip to the BC coast (Bella Coola to be specific) I came back looking to see what the Oilers have done while I was gone, and instead I find out the Oilers were dealt a Major blow with the news that Khabibulins trial has been pushed back yet again. Now I had wrote some time back that this would be great news for the Oilers as it would give them the opportunity to get themselves out of his horrid contract. But now, since they havent signed a legit goaltender to take over just in case he ends up incarcerated long enough that he misses part of the regular season, they are hooped. They cant go forward for the season with JDD or Dubnik as the starter because neither have shown they can take the workload.

So Sept 29th is the new date. Now the Oilers are hoping he beats the rap and can make it for the regular season because if he doesnt it will be a tough first part of the season. I think right now the Oilers should be focusing on giving the new kids every opportunity to succeed and having less than top notch goaltending will be a direct ticket to sucksville.

I'm anxious to see the direction the Oilers are going to take. Are they going to sign someone and hope that Khabi goes to jail? Or are they going to take this as an opportunity to tank another season so they can make another top 5 pick before they start focusing on winning?

Whatever the decision, hopefully it is made soon. The dog days of summer have settled in and I am going completely stir crazy for some hockey news.

until next time,

Tidbits

--So Khabibulins trial starts today. Now we will soon see what becomes of our starting goalie. Ill be keeping a close eye on that. If he goes to jail for longer than the 30 days, I wonder if the Oilers wont still wash their hands of him. ***edit*** I found here that Extreme DUI in Arizona isnt as bad as originally reported. Khabi should face no more than the min 30 days if convicted.

-- The development camp started yesterday. Everyone seems excited about the young prospects coming up. And for good reason. It isnt too often that there is so many bright spots to watch for. I imagine we will see all three of Eberle, Hall, and MPS playing on the big club next season. Who knows there may be a possibility of one or two more.

-- There is reason to believe that Bucky will no longer be behind the bench. Several people had speculated that this may be the case when the coaching staff was changed over again. I for one like the idea. True, the Oilers want some tradition there. But Bucky is not the right choice for a coach. Maybe he will make a good skate sharpener if they insist on keeping him in the fold.

-- The Oilers have yet to fill a couple more crucial holes in the lineup. Considering they still have not been able to trade Souray, maybe they open their horizons to more types of players to replace him. Understandable that they would want another top 4 D-man as a replacement, but by the looks of things it isnt going to happen. Time to find something else to help the team now.

*******************************************************************************

-- Lastly, this is the last post I will most likely be putting up before the 19th. I will be in B.C. for 10 days as of tomorrow enjoying a very long awaited vacation. I will have my laptop with me, so who knows if any major news pops up and I manage to catch wind of it I may be persuaded to put something up. But for the most part I will be doing nothing more than twitter updates.

Enjoy the summer people. I know I will.