In a prairie dog blog post 15 months ago, I opinioned that nobody has mentioned why a 35,000-seat football stadium in Regina will cost nearly $300 million while a 33,000-seat football stadium in Winnipeg had cost about $200 million to build.
Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz has come up with the information that I requested, and, in truth, it appears as though that the saga of the University of Manitoba Institute For Mosquito-Breeding Studies is a case of haste makes waste.
And the president of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers is trying to make sure that reporters and the public don’t learn of the full extent of the damage, even though the public, through their tax dollars, are the ones who are paying for the stadium, and for the damage from the flood waters. We’re just supposed to take his word for it that the stadium is in fine shape. Because football.
I looked at Costco and it’s true that 2,000 additional stadium seats run between $85-$100 million a piece, so, there you go.
TL;DR: Because football.
What is the actual capacity of the Riders’ new stadium? I’ve seen lower numbers than the 35,000 that PD is reporting.
I think the stadium costs is a big version of a 3 card monte game.
When Winnipeg budgets $180 million they are vilified when it costs $200 million.
So the crafty cats in Saskatchewan budget $280 million and will claim to be master tacticians when it comes in at “only” $275 million.
Of course $75-95 million will have disappeared before your eyes, but that’s how a 3 card monte scam works… they take your eyes off the ball and make you miss what’s really happening.
Reader – According to this link, the capacity of the stadium, for most events, is set at 33,000 but can be expanded to 42,000. It’s possible SL made a type and meant 33,000.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-s-stadium-loan-63-easy-payments-of-2-8m-1.2513449
TYPO – not type. My mistyped error.
opined