Scott Taylor on the new stadium

http://www.hotdoghockey.com/
Ask David Asper the right question about his proposed football stadium at the University of Manitoba and he will be amiably forthright. Ask him the wrong one and he’ll bristle. Right now, there aren’t a lot of “wrong” questions. In about five weeks, there could be many...

read more at the hotdog hockey post.

note... apparently they think it will cost 45 million now to repair the current stadium..

interesting... isn't that about what the feds and province have committed to a new stadium?

". However, David cautioned last week that the finished project might not be as lavish as his original design. “We might have to scale things down,” Asper conceded. “It is a difficult economic climate out there right now and construction costs are also rising."

Interesting.....

now after reading all that I am more then a little bit pissed.

HE gets to decide if HE gets longer then originally planned to make the deal happen
HE gets to decide if HE builds something less then originally promised.

When is a deal a deal? Should he get to keep deciding things like this?

Its time for this project to go back out for tender. TOO many things have changed since Mr Asper was awarded the right to build a new stadium by the bomber board. It is very apparent that the bomber board is not looking out for the bombers. The Feds and Province have enough money on the table to do the fixing that is needed. Can we just tell Asper to frick off? Can we fire the entire Bomber board?

I would like to see all the Aspers "frick" off.....

I hate the idea of a scaled down new stadium. I'd prefer we did this right or not at all.

I wonder how pressing some of the repairs at the existing stadium are? For example, are there any structural or mechanical/electrical repairs that simply cannot wait much longer? That building is a sh1thole and I'd hate to see any more money thrown into it especially if temporary.

Maybe we can get the Saskatchewan to foot the bill for a new domed stadium here as well...

"I hate the idea of a scaled down new stadium. I'd prefer we did this right or not at all."

Exactly....you know just the same that since we HAVE to build the museum most of us would want to see it built right, not scaled down.
Dont think for a moment that come September David wont be putting his hand out asking for more money from the Governments to do the Stadium properly. How could they refuse? Its only another X million on top of what they have already promised.

I happen to like the current location for the stadium. If 45 million is what is needed to fix it and that gives us another 30 years use... Is that reasonable? Do we need all that room for parking on the West side of the Stadium? Since that land is "so valuable" why not simply sell it to a developer. Use that money to help fix the current stadium?

bullshit after bullshit after bullshit. Asper was awarded the "deal" for the new Stadium based on the concept that he redevelop on site at a cost of 120 Million, funded by the government to the tune of $80 million. The deal has changed too many times. ReOpen it to EVERYONE. Put the money on the table that the governments are willing to give and let the "bids" go from there. And in the end if the just fix is the most viable option. Then do it.

Quit with this fricking around making Mr Asper look like he already owns the Bombers.

I don't know if we can realistically get another thirty years out of that nasty stadium.

Let's reopen the RFP for the Bombers. List the must haves as part of the bid process. Then let's see what comes out of the ether...

Short time it as well.
Give it 3 months and only 3 months. With a two week turn around in the decision with FULL PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY. Asper has been given too long of a rope to run with for too long.

Miz point wrote:I would like to see all the Aspers "frick" off.....

Why? This family is willing to pump $$$ into Winnipeg, something that very few people are willing to do in a city that has very little private investment. I don't hear people in Edmonton cursing Darryl Katz for fronting money for a new NHL arena, quite the opposite. Edmontonians are very proud to have someone like him investing in the city and are very thankful for his commitment to Edmonton.

Why are so many Winnipeggers bitter towards people with money? Envy?

grumpy old man wrote:I hate the idea of a scaled down new stadium. I'd prefer we did this right or not at all.

100% in agreement.

"Why are so many Winnipeggers bitter towards people with money? Envy?"

I dont think we would have a problem if MOST of the money they were using was their own.

Deank wrote:"Why are so many Winnipeggers bitter towards people with money? Envy?"

I dont think we would have a problem if MOST of the money they were using was their own.

Exactly.....spot friggin on!! Nothing wrong with being rich and having dreams and such - just don't expect me to subsidize you.

I'm not in favor of a scaled back version. I'll have the version that was agreed to when the public monies were committed. Anything less is a ripoff, and the public monies should be clawed back.

Don't start a PR sales campaign for a project like this, making promises, 3D models and the like, and then change the plan a little later on down the road due to "rising construction costs" and "economic" issues....those were issues at the time, and always will be issues.

Maybe if CanWest didn't have so many creditors after them, this wouldn't be an issue!

This is not a Canwest deal.

My cynicism was boiling over.....apologies

Same guy involved though.

If the Askers do to the Museum and the stadium that which they've done to Canwest, we are in big trouble!!!

Miz point wrote:

Deank wrote:"Why are so many Winnipeggers bitter towards people with money? Envy?"

I dont think we would have a problem if MOST of the money they were using was their own.

Exactly.....spot friggin on!! Nothing wrong with being rich and having dreams and such - just don't expect me to subsidize you.

I think it may boil down to a different mentality in Winnipeg. I hear no bitching and moaning about some public funds being put towards a new arena here in Edmonton. It will add a sense of pride and asthetics to the city. I also don't see constant polls about "leave my tax dollars alone from x project" around Edmonton. People are just a little more laid back here. I wonder why that difference exists between the two cities.

Edmontonians feel they have money to burn whereas Winnipeggers feel that they need to make do with what they have?

Dont know.. you would think that given the different Parties in office in the two provinces it would be the other way around.

Good luck comparing Edmonton to Winnipeg. What's next....Paris and Plum Coulee?

Deank wrote:Edmontonians feel they have money to burn whereas Winnipeggers feel that they need to make do with what they have?

Dont know.. you would think that given the different Parties in office in the two provinces it would be the other way around.

I don't think that Edmontonians are so much more well of than Winnipeggers. These two cities are very much alike in so many aspects. I know that my wages wouldn't be that much less in Winnipeg; it's the quality of life that differes in a large scale. Edmonton is willing to spend $$$ to keep the quality of life, including sports venues which obviously seems worthless to many Winnipeggers, ever increasing. Not the case in Winnipeg and with many Winnipeggers, otherwise we wouldn't be having these constant debates about "leave my tax dollars alone from x project!!!!"

JTF wrote:Good luck comparing Edmonton to Winnipeg. What's next....Paris and Plum Coulee?

Sorry JTF, but you are foolish to think that Edmonton is at such a higher scale than Winnipeg. Just not true. We are not talking about Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver here

Well I for one tend to think there is nothing really wrong with our current stadium so I fail to see why we need a new one. Never mind all the other aspects of this project.

Lets remember way way back to 2006 when the website of the building itself had the listing of all the recent upgrades and how great of a facility it was at the time. Now all of a sudden we have the Magical number of $45 million that it will take to fix it? Lets see the details with some proof that is what fixing it will cost. Real details.

heck its still on their website

"
Major overhauls, improvements and renovations have turned this once simple football stadium into a multi-purpose venue with 30,000 permanent seats, and the conversion capability to increase seating to 50,000+, making it the optimum host for a wide variety of events. In 2006 alone, improvements to the stadium bowl included a state of the art sound system as well as ultra modern production enhancements to the Jumbotron. Improved signage throughout the facility, and extensive painting and renovations to the concourse area and meeting spaces enhance the overall experience."