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Fanning The Fire

Evan Spence | 2002-01-22

Howdy.

I would like to share with all of you my terrible, shameful secret:

I would like every level of government to subsidize Canadian hockey teams.

There. I’ve said it. My deep, dark secret. I would like the federal, provincial and municipal taxpayers to give money, by whatever means, to the millionaire owners and players, so that my team won’t leave for a warmer climate.

This doesn’t have to be cold hard cash on the nail. Assistance can come in many other forms: Skip the property tax, give them a share of Sports Select revenues, or build sexy new arenas. (Actually, I’m fairly sure the existing rinks are perfectly satisfactory, and I’d be a little saddened to see the Flames leave the Saddledome. Contrary to popular belief, the ’Dome is a pretty cool place to watch a hockey game.)

I look at it like this:

If a government doesn’t spend the money helping out my team, that same money is not going to make it back into my pocket. As an otherwise rational libertarian, I don’t expect the government to do anything on my behalf, and once the money has left my hands, it’s gone for good. So I don’t really care about any of the other so-called good causes on which they could blow their wad.

I love my hockey team. They haven’t been especially strong in recent years, for a number of reasons, but I don’t mind so much. I like the ritual of driving downtown, parking for free outside the Chrysler grocery, walking up the C-Train ramp with the rest of the inbound fans, past the scalpers looking to ‘buy’ tickets, and into that unique, undulating, perfectly circular home of the 1989 Stanley Cup champions.

It’s quiet in there, and corporate, and it’s a long way up to the $15 nosebleed section, but how many cities can actually boast a $15 NHL ticket? The long walk up also means a long walk down during the first intermission for the ritual malted, but at least the line at the ice cream counter no longer takes an entire intermission.

I was eight years old when Nelson Skalbania moved the Flames to Calgary, so I don’t have a very good grasp of what the city was like without the hockey team. I’m sure the city and the people would change little in the absence of the Red Shirts, but we would lose a portion of our otherwise meagre pageantry. My Calgary Flames tenth year anniversary year book is now itself over ten years old, so we’re starting to accumulate a pretty decent amount of history. This year the franchise turns 30.

Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal and Ottawa are four teams which cannot be accused of being reckless with their finances. Year after year they make fiscally prudent moves, while doing their best to preserve their cores of young, talented players. It hasn’t been a great success for most, but at least Ottawa is ascendant. Toronto and Vancouver can probably afford to be a little more spendthrift, but the Canucks have that penchant for losing. Money, hockey, whatever.

I will happily cheer my team through this down cycle, missing the playoffs, looking for next year, spring after spring. But I cherish the possibility of knowing there always will be a next year, and that some day, the Flames will come out on top.

So please listen, Dave, Ralph and Jean: I know you all think you’ve got better things on which to spend your money. And please note that I said your money. I lay no further claim on any portion of those ill-gotten funds. But since you don’t seem to want to spend it on optional extras like replacement hardware for the Sea King helicopters, or high speed transit infrastructure, how about cutting a cheque to the teams in red, blue, and whatever colour Vancouver is wearing these days?

Yours truly,

Evan Spence

Tuesday, January 22, 2002
PD DXXXI

Responses

February 4, 2002

Dear Mr. Spence:

I wish to acknowledge your January 22, 2002 letter regarding government funding for Canadian hockey teams.

I have noted your comments and have taken the liberty of forwarding a copy of your correspondence to the Honourable Ron Stevens, Minister of Gaming, for his review and further response on behalf of the Alberta government. Please be assured that you will be receiving a reply in the very near future.

Thank you for taking the time to write.

Sincerely yours,

Ralph Klein

cc:

Honourable Ron Stevens, Q.C.
Don Tannas, M.L.A, Highwood

February 27, 2002

Dear Mr. Spence:

Your letter of January 22, 2002 to Premier Klein regarding assistance for Alberta’s NHL teams, has been referred to me for response on behalf of the Alberta government.

I certainly appreciate your support for the lottery product (Breakaway to Win) dedicated to assisting the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers. The government committed its assistance to the teams without drawing tax dollars, and without reducing the benefits currently received by the Alberta Lottery Fund recipients. Our involvement was leveraged by the strong support of both Calgary and Edmonton and from other communities across Alberta.

The lottery tickets are scheduled for sales launches twice annually (January and October) with all marketing and promotions being provided by the two teams. The Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission (AGLC) is making the tickets available through more than 2,000 lottery ticket retailers across Alberta. While the estimated lottery revenue to the teams ($3 million) is not expected to solve all the funding requirements, it will assist their operations considerably.

The Cities of Calgary and Edmonton have also provided generous support for their teams. I expect they will provide you with further information in that regard.

We have received very positive feedback on this lottery initiative and I believe we’ve achieved a “win-win” situation for the communities and the teams. We believe any small market teams in Canada could adopt the Alberta model in their communities.

Thanks again for providing your comments and your interest in this matter.

Yours truly,

Ron Stevens, QC
Minister

copy:

Honourable Ralph Klein, Premier
Don Tannas, MLA Highwood

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