With the exception of any office party hijinks, the week leading up to Christmas typically lacks scandal. Of course, if 2021 has taught us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected and wouldn’t you know it, Calgarians actually saw an announcement that made serious waves on social media. This Tuesday, in a lengthy post written by Mayor Jyoti Gondek, those following the event centre project learnt that the Flames intended to pull the plug on future construction due to an increase in costs.
“As the City and CSEC have been unable to resolve these issues, CSEC has determined that there is no viable path to complete the Calgary Event Centre Project,” the company behind the project wrote in a statement responding to Gondek.
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“While not ideal for Calgarians nor competitively for the Flames, the people of Calgary should understand that nevertheless, CSEC’s intentions are to remain in the Scotiabank Saddledome.”
As you can imagine, after years of renegotiations, this sparked quite the Twitter debate around whose responsibility it was to maintain the ever-evolving budget which today, is $25 million higher than the agreed-upon $608.5 million.
For this, the jury is still out 50/50, but nevertheless, most people still want to see the new arena built.
In fact, in amongst all the chatter, one popular Canadian company offered to lend Calgary a HUGE hand to see it come to fruition.
If you need the 9.7m, and wanted a hybrid solution, I’d be happy to step up and bridge the gap in exchange for naming rights we can agree on TODAY, and let’s move on with bringing Stanley home where it belongs! @NHLFlames & @JyotiGondek you know where to find me! #Flames🎄
— Rajen Ruparell (@rajenruparell) December 22, 2021
In an effort to bridge the gap between city council and the CSEC, Rajen Ruparell, owner of Canadian mattress company, Endy, hopped on the platform to propose a “hybrid solution.” One that he hopes will bring “Stanley home where it belongs.”
The deal? $9.7 million to pay for Saddledome’s replacement in exchange for naming rights. Tempting, no?
As of right now, Mayor Gondek has yet to reply – but this is definitely one story worth keeping an eye on.
After all, crazier things have happened and Endy Arena really doesn’t sound all that bad.
