ACC, Private vs Public money

[Guest speedmonk42]

I am curious why no one has mentioned this fact.

The argument over facilities built with private funding vs those with public money, such as the hockey arenas seems to leave out one very key point. Those organizations utilized publicly built facilities for decades. Without doing so it would have been more difficult to build the sports popularity and financial stability to undertake those projects. If they had to build them from scratch, they may never have got started at all.

[DoyleG]

Yet all the hoopla about an arena being built is only for the short term. Once you get the first tennant into that facility, they can control a lot more aspects of it's operation than what's told on a piece of paper. The only way additional tennants can get in is if they take a financial hit and risk long-term survival or have the primary tennant buy into you. That doesn't count creative accounting by the tennants to improve their position.

The city can choose to try and keep it open but face the reality that they would be on the hook for all losses which only burdens the taxpayer much more. Once you give out the tax cash, it's gone and there's no way it's going to come back.

This is why people don't like MLSE. It's an organization that can easily raise the funds on it's own to fun such a stadium without even a dime a taxpayers money.

[Richard]

If you were the president of MLSE would you invest $65 million of your shareholder's capital in a SSS in Toronto when there are already government agencies offering all but about $20 million of the cash necessary, especially if you can negotiate a deal to operate/control said facility?

I also haven't seen anybody else step forward willing to do as much or more than MLSE has on this project.

[Elias]

Well the Argos were going to put up $20-million, so lets not turn MLSE into saints just yet.

[RealGooner]

quote:Originally posted by Elias

Well the Argos were going to put up $20-million, so lets not turn MLSE into saints just yet.

OK so why didnt we villify the Argos for not putting up all of the cost for a stadium? Whats good for the goose.....etc.

[Richard]

The Argos walked away from the project in the end.

[Udinese]

quote:Originally posted by DoyleG

Yet all the hoopla about an arena being built is only for the short term. Once you get the first tennant into that facility, they can control a lot more aspects of it's operation than what's told on a piece of paper. The only way additional tennants can get in is if they take a financial hit and risk long-term survival or have the primary tennant buy into you. That doesn't count creative accounting by the tennants to improve their position.

The city can choose to try and keep it open but face the reality that they would be on the hook for all losses which only burdens the taxpayer much more. Once you give out the tax cash, it's gone and there's no way it's going to come back.

This is why people don't like MLSE. It's an organization that can easily raise the funds on it's own to fun such a stadium without even a dime a taxpayers money.

If you had a clue, you would lose it. Tell my why such a great city like Edmonton has 37 losers running a ****y hockey team?

[Guest speedmonk42]

quote:Originally posted by Richard

If you were the president of MLSE would you invest $65 million of your shareholder's capital in a SSS in Toronto when there are already government agencies offering all but about $20 million of the cash necessary, especially if you can negotiate a deal to operate/control said facility?

I also haven't seen anybody else step forward willing to do as much or more than MLSE has on this project.

I am not sure if people understand what I am saying. I am trying to say that the Gov/public support of getting soccer started this way is no different than hockey was decades ago. It's exactly this support that allowed things like GM and ACC to get built with private funds but decades later.

I am saying it is not fair to compare the two when in fact one has already gone through this process, while the other is just beginning.

[Richard]

Well said speedmonk42, important to be sure one is comparing apples with apples and not oranges.