The City of Calgary will not reveal how much money it paid to an American firm hired to be its negotiator for a financing deal on a new downtown arena.
The agreements clearing the way for the construction of a new $926-million arena in Victoria Park have been completed and construction will start later this year.
Denver-based CAA ICON was hired in 2022 to represent the city in negotiations with the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation (CSEC), which owns the NHL’s Calgary Flames.
The Calgary Stampede and the provincial government are also parties to the arena agreements.
The arena deal was unanimously approved by city council last year.
On its website, CAA ICON describes itself as “the industry-leading owner’s representative and strategic management consulting firm for public/private sports and entertainment facility owners and operations, professional franchises, and leagues.”
It has been involved in event facility projects in the U.S. as well as 10 other countries.
‘Commercially confidential’
The city refused to do an interview about why the fee it paid to CAA ICON must remain a secret.
But in a statement provided to CBC News, it said, “At this time, the City of Calgary is unable to provide the commercially confidential third-party information that was requested. As the project progresses, the city intends to release relevant information, including further costs, when it is able to do so.”
Despite the fact it will not reveal how much it paid CAA ICON to be its negotiator, the city has disclosed it will pay the same firm $18.9 million to be the development manager in charge of delivering the arena project.
It said that contract was the result of a competitive bid process and was awarded to CAA ICON after the arena agreements were reached in principle in April 2023.
A former member of Calgary city council, Jeromy Farkas, said the negotiator contract involved public money and Calgarians have a right to know how much the city paid the company to do that work.
He blamed city bureaucrats for the secrecy.
“When it comes to these controversial issues, the default or the preference is to hide these details behind closed doors,” said Farkas.
“There are very certain parameters that this information can be withheld on. But the excuse that the city is dealing right now is piss at best and I think it’s going to ultimately undermine public confidence.”
He questioned why the information is being withheld when that decision actually harms the city’s reputation.
“It’s counterproductive. The city thinks by refusing to release this information that they’ll make this issue go away. Maybe that’s true. But I think for an awful lot of us out there in the public, it helps feeds a certain narrative of secrecy,” said Farkas.
Headache for council
A political studies professor at Mount Royal University, Lori Williams, said the decision by the city’s administration to keep the information from the public may ultimately cause more political headaches for members of city council.
She said many Calgarians are unhappy with council right now because of property tax increases and the recent contentious vote on rezoning much of the city.
So Williams said this decision on the arena file might rankle some Calgarians, who could just blame council for the lack of transparency.
“We might have a Calgarian who simply knows that information relating to how their tax dollars are being spent is not being provided and whether it’s a bureaucrat or has something to do with an elected official, that’s a subtle distinction that may not be one that they recognize,” said Williams.
WATCH | Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek explains the project after deal announced:
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Officials announced a deal in principle in April to replace Calgary’s Saddledome. The project will include a new community rink, public infrastructure, and transportation connections.
She said city council could take action and direct administration to reveal the cost of the contract.
As well, Williams said CAA ICON should not be surprised that eventually the dollar amount of this contract will enter the public domain one way or another.
“A commercial entity would have to expect that this kind of information would be available publicly. After all, it’s tax dollars that are being spent here.”
Design coming
A design is expected to be released in the coming weeks for the city’s new arena and the parties involved will soon be applying for a development permit.
Preliminary work in Victoria Park started in January and the city anticipates construction on the arena site will begin later this year.
No estimate is available yet on when the facility will be open. Under the terms of the agreement, the city-owned building will be the home of the Calgary Flames for 35 years.
CSEC will operate the building and earn revenues from the use of the facility.
It has agreed to pay the city $17 million per year for the use of the building, an amount that will escalate by one per cent annually over the term of the deal.