A Rose?

I’m a little worried, over this whole, new downtown arena thing.  The idea of building a state-of-the art facility that would be the new, principle home to the Oilers, in arguably the best hockey market on the planet, made so much sense when it was first floated.  Apart from the many potential positives that COULD be measured, there was an unquantifiable benefit to the city’s pride.  I well remember the year that Skydome in Toronto replaced the old CNE.  Like venerable Rexall Place, the CNE was home to many magical moments for that city.  But when Skydome opened, it gave the entire city new swagger, confidence that it could take on the world and win.  And it did.  That’s what this new, downtown arena could potentially do for Edmonton.  But this continual back and forth between the Katz Group and City Hall isn’t filling the air with the scent of sweet co-operation, if you know what I mean.  Whether or not Darryl Katz is good on his 100 million dollar promise, whether Hamilton is a
bargaining chip, whether City Hall is looking a gift horse in the mouth.  I know business is business…but what started off smelling like a rose seems a little less sweet, all of a sudden, for the great city of Edmonton.