Stadiums & Arenas of Canada, Part 3

[craner]

^Nice! - way to go Moncton.
Totally comparable to the ICE District in Edmonton - just on a much smaller scale as you say. It's the ICE District "Downsized".

Originally Posted by Acajack

I may have mentioned this before but friends of ours are involved in high school football with their kids in the northern suburbs of Dallas. (Neither of the parents are Americans, nor are they from countries with a gridiron football culture.)

Anyway, this is the stadium that is used for games by their kids' high school, and a couple of other schools.



It seats about 15,000. The grandstands are pretty bare-bones. Bathrooms and maybe a couple of canteens and that's it. It does have a press box or spotter's booth of some kind. And an electronic scoreboard I am pretty sure.

This totally looks like McMahon when it opened.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by craner

This totally looks like McMahon when it opened

Courtesy Alberta Provincial Archives

[esquire]

^ Wow, the resemblance is uncanny...

[milomilo]

Originally Posted by elly63

Courtesy Alberta Provincial Archives

Holy! What a change. When did McMahon get built?

[milomilo]

From Wikipedia:

Originally Posted by Wiki

The stadium was constructed on the then University of Alberta (Calgary) campus over a 100-day period in 1960 for $1,050,000. It was built as a replacement for the Mewata Park Stadium.

It is named after Calgary residents Frank McMahon and his brother, George McMahon. They donated C$300,000 to the university and the citizens of Calgary, and guaranteed the balance of money for the stadium's construction.

The university acquired complete ownership of the stadium and land in 1985 after the original financing was retired (1973) and a land exchange agreement was signed with the City of Calgary

Originally Posted by Wiki

Francis Murray Patrick "Frank" McMahon (2 October 1902 - 20 May 1986) was a Canadian oilman best known as the founder and first chairman of Westcoast Transmission Co. Ltd. whom the July 15, 1957 issue of TIME magazine called "The man who did the most to open up northwest Canada's wilderness—and convince oilmen of its treasures."[1]

Wow, things were different back then. Frank McMahon could teach Murray Edwards and the rest of the Flames ownership a thing or two about how not to be an awful person.

[Hackslack]

Murray Edwards has provided millions of dollars for various causes, including the Nova Scotia Special Olympics society, Feed Nova Scotia, Wee Care Devleopment, Phoenix Youth Programs, Nova Scotia Hearing and Speech Programs, and Salvation Army, through the Edwards Charitable Foundation. The Calgary Flames Charitable foundation distributed $2.1 million to health and wellness, education, and grassroots causes.

His businesses have employed thousands of people, providing livliehoods to thousands of families.

Not to mention the unpublished amounts he personally donates to various causes.

Please be careful who you call an "awful" person. This man and his family have done so much for so many.

http://www.efcf.ca/work.html
http://www.efcf.ca/management.html

[elly63]

Hmm! What happened to the roof?



Artist Rendering of McMahon Stadium for Opening Ceremonies, Calgary, Alberta
Date of creation 1986-87

[Nathan]

Originally Posted by elly63

Hmm! What happened to the roof?



Artist Rendering of McMahon Stadium for Opening Ceremonies, Calgary, Alberta
Date of creation 1986-87

It was left on the design room floor. Your actual photo is what was done (plus some temp stands).

[milomilo]

Originally Posted by Hackslack

Murray Edwards has provided millions of dollars for various causes, including the Nova Scotia Special Olympics society, Feed Nova Scotia, Wee Care Devleopment, Phoenix Youth Programs, Nova Scotia Hearing and Speech Programs, and Salvation Army, through the Edwards Charitable Foundation. The Calgary Flames Charitable foundation distributed $2.1 million to health and wellness, education, and grassroots causes.

His businesses have employed thousands of people, providing livliehoods to thousands of families.

Not to mention the unpublished amounts he personally donates to various causes.

Please be careful who you call an "awful" person. This man and his family have done so much for so many.

http://www.efcf.ca/work.html
http://www.efcf.ca/management.html

OK, fair come back. We (and you) are still being expected to pay for one of his business locations though.

Edit: He is worth 2.2 billion so he has donated 0.1% of his net worth, which would be equivalent to me donating $100. Not exactly a philanthropist. I don't have to be careful who I call awful either, as we are in a free country.

[Hackslack]

Originally Posted by milomilo

OK, fair come back. We (and you) are still being expected to pay for one of his business locations though.

Edit: He is worth 2.2 billion so he has donated 0.1% of his net worth, which would be equivalent to me donating $100. Not exactly a philanthropist. I don't have to be careful who I call awful either, as we are in a free country.

"$5-million gift to increase neonatal care

Alberta Children’s Hospital will soon be home to a new neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) thanks to a $5-million gift from Calgary philanthropists Heather and N. Murray Edwards."

https://www.albertahealthservices.ca.../Page5140.aspx

Whatever, if you want to call this man awful, it is a free country, as you say.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

^Resentment (or even hatred) of the rich is the national pastime. It's drilled into us from a young age just as it is in many Western nations. Most people grow out of it. Some don't unfortunately.

Facts are good - keep doing that - but let's not pretend this is a free country. That ship sailed long ago...

[Hackslack]

I agree. But to be clear, I am in no way defending Murray and the Flames to get a publicly funded gift of an arena. That should not, will not, happen. There are certainly benefits to both sides, with both private and public funding, under the right circumstances. I was simply defending Edwards from being called an "awful" person.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by Dr Awesomesauce

let's not pretend this is a free country. That ship sailed long ago...

You are free to leave, ships sail every day.

[EpicPonyTime]

Originally Posted by Dr Awesomesauce

^Resentment (or even hatred) of the rich is the national pastime. It's drilled into us from a young age just as it is in many Western nations. Most people grow out of it. Some don't unfortunately.

Facts are good - keep doing that - but let's not pretend this is a free country. That ship sailed long ago...

People grow out of disliking rich people, but cynicism sticks with you forever.

[WhipperSnapper]

I don't know if Murray Edwards is an awful person or not. Just because he "donates" millions doesn't preclude him from being an awful person.

[DLLB]

Originally Posted by milomilo

Holy! What a change. When did McMahon get built?

Based on its current condition and comparison to most other CFL stadiums, it looks like it could have been 1910

[thurmas]

Does anyone have current pictures of inside the concourses at McMahon stadium? I know in the last few years of Winnipeg stadium the washrooms and concourses were disgusting with seagull shit, overflowing urinal troughs, broken and water damaged electrical and just rust, broken pavement and peeling paint.

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by milomilo

OK, fair come back. We (and you) are still being expected to pay for one of his business locations though.

Edit: He is worth 2.2 billion so he has donated 0.1% of his net worth, which would be equivalent to me donating $100. Not exactly a philanthropist. I don't have to be careful who I call awful either, as we are in a free country.

Net worth is not the same as cash on hand. 0.1% is $100 for you; does that mean that $100,000 is your total net worth, from cash and savings and investments, to all your possessions, such as vehicle, house, and land? Or, is that your annual income?

My point is, if you are unwilling to sell your house or sell land or sell your furniture to give the money to charity, then pointing out his net worth is kind of pointless. You would be interested in how much liquid assets he has (if I have my financial terms correct).

I don't know this guy, so I don't know if he is a good person, average person, or bad person, and I am typically skeptical of using taxpayer money to pay for someone's arena, but you have to be careful when criticizing someone's charitable donations. I don't think it's fair for someone like you or I to criticize a billionaire for donating "only" a few million dollars when you or I only donate $1,000 or $2,000 or $5,000 of cash or goods in a year. Other things the same, people try to donate as much as they can sustain, and everyone deserves some benefit of the doubt.

[WhipperSnapper]

They don't need to sell property or other assets they don't live in or use if they surprisingly don't have tens of millions in cash on hand. They just sell a few shares. It's more wealth than can be reasonable spent in a lifetime. There's no comparison. It's foolish to even try.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by thurmas

Does anyone have current pictures of inside the concourses at McMahon stadium? I know in the last few years of Winnipeg stadium the washrooms and concourses were disgusting with seagull shit, overflowing urinal troughs, broken and water damaged electrical and just rust, broken pavement and peeling paint.

Pretty much from the time that IGF got the green light, any problems that required something beyond basic maintenance (e.g. lightbulb replacement) was ignored. CanadInns Stadium was a mess those last couple years. I can't imagine that McMahon is anywhere close to that point.