Columnist says there’s a long and bitter debate coming over Calgary Next

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The City of Calgary and the Flames just started the debate on Calgary Next, but up in Edmonton the talk is over and the arena, using lots of public money, is almost done.

David Staples is the City Hall columnist for the Edmonton Journal who followed the eight-year debate over Rogers Place. The facility is slated to open in 2016, a decade after the discussions started.

“It was pretty bitter, acrimonious and all consuming in terms of civic politics for about three or four years in there,” says Staples.

Staples says a big difference is that Edmonton mayor and council were mostly behind the project. Here, that seems to be much different with Mayor Nenshi.

“Will the political support be there? Especially at the top, because if it’s not there, these projects are really hard to pull off and suceed. And if most Calgarians are lukewarm, and Mayor Nenshi is lukewarm and most of council is lukewarm, it’s just not going to happen obviously,” says Staples.

His prediction for Calgary Next is that parts of the massive proposal will be hived off and the whole arena and football stadium won’t be built.

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