Nenshi and King both make my blood boil.
However, this is a negotiation and it is only natural to want the other guy to pay to as much as possible.
I'll never be involved in negotiations of this magnitude, but I have negotiated on smaller items.
I'll make a comparison to a situation that many of us can relate to.
I want a new truck. A new 3/4 ton GMC to be exact. Only an idiot would walk into the dealership and say that they really want a new truck and that they have been envisioning a new truck in their driveway and that the truck has to be a GMC. Nobody does that because they know that they would be tipping their hand and costing themselves money.
Back in April the city of Calgary released a preliminary report regarding the Victoria park location. There was nothing firm; it was just an initial look at an alternative to the CalgaryNext proposal. This is the type of response I would expect; vague and non-committal, yet putting forth an alternative, more appealing(?) possibility.
Quote:
The new centre, for which there are no plans yet, would include an NHL-level arena along with other “ancillary services” that are yet to be determined, the report says.
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http://globalnews.ca/news/3396365/pr...rena-released/
Now, jump forward to Nenshi's Monday news confernece regarding his vision for Victoria Park redevelopment. Nenshi said,
Quote:
But it makes so much sense for the arena to be part of it as well,
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http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...ames-1.4284699
For a number of years, Nenshi has been downplaying Calgary's need for a modern facility to replace the Saddledome.
With an election around the corner, he is seeing that his ambivalence does not play well with a large number of Calgarians. Hence, his vision for Victoria park development with a new arena being the focal point.
Quote:
Many, many people have been misrepresenting my position, so I thought it was important to actually get it out so people could remember what it actually was.
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Nenshi has tipped his hand. He has said what he wants and where he wants it. This only plays into the Flames hands. It is only natural that the Flames would be wanting some consideration in return for going along with his vision.
Nenshi wants to be elected for a 3rd term. By releasing his vision, he placates a segment of the voters, but at the same time he is costing taxpayers money by letting the Flames know what he wants in terms of an arena. IMO, as long as he gets elected, he does not care if it costs taxpayers.