Bring Back The Sanity
May 09, 2007
The recent announcement by Progressive Conservative Leader Hugh McFadyen that he would bring the Jets back to Winnipeg is an incredibly curious one. Even those who would love nothing more than to have the NHL back in Winnipeg have to be shaking their heads. Will voters really believe that would happen if only we had sufficient political will? It’s economics, plain and simple. Whatever promises McFadyen or any other leader make have to be taken with a grain of salt. Because they don’t have the ability to make such a thing happen.
And then there’s McFadyen’s Stockwell Day moment – in his Winnipeg Jets jersey at the MTS centre raising his arms in victory with Thomas Steen. It just made the whole event seem that much more surreal. And it highlights the crass political posturing that this is really about, rather than a sober, realistic look at whether the NHL could survive in a market like Winnipeg and in a 15,000 seat facility. If you’re going to make a commitment of this magnitude, it should be accompanied by some detail as to how much public money would go towards it. Are we talking about $20 million? $50 million? More? Where will those funds come from?
Some might think that this kind of posturing, if ridiculous in believability, is at most harmless. But what if the powers that be were in sensitive discussions with an NHL team looking to relocate to our market? Wouldn’t a stunt like this be somewhat of a concern to any potential suitor?
So, to sum up: the announcement was unbelievable; it lacked in any kind of substantive detail; it was almost comedic in the form of its announcement; and it could be detrimental to any real negotiations that could have taken place. Yes, thousands of Winnipeggers and Manitobans would love to see the Jets back in the NHL. But our provincial leaders should know better than to make commitments that they really have no chance of being able to deliver. The people of Manitoba deserve better.
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http://blackrod.blogspot.com/2007/05/hughie-hughie-and-je-eh-ehts.html
intersting - 2007-05-11 15:03