Gretzky As The Opiate For The Masses

There is no doubt about it. Gord's column the other day must mean the Arena deal at the Raceway must be almost dead. [Fortunately to keep the arena dream alive, there is a rumour circulating about another downtown arena involving the Spits. I contacted the suggested developer and he wondered who started it using his name.]

Whew, the scandal with the Spitfires will be a great excuse for the Councillors walking away from the deal and not having to make enemies by giving their real reasons to kill it(and then replacing it with the urban village dream just in time for the next election)

Oh well, the Mayor can tell Tony Toldo that he tried so that Tony will not still be angry at Eddie when he was Councillor for voting against giving money to Hospice.

Frankly it will be personally embarrassing for the Mayor if the Arena deal dies. Remember what he said during the election campaign: "Eddie Francis portrayed himself Tuesday as the only mayoral candidate who can bring a new multi-use facility to Windsor. "I am standing here today to correct the inaction of the past" No checkmark on the Report Card now.

I hardly think that the Spitfire story will kill the deal. By my count, at least 5 Councillors were against it at the time that Beztak was run out of town during Council's Spanish Inquisition. And the Casino project is moving ahead nicely now.

But killing it now would not be good for some people so we need to keep the dream alive for a couple of more months. Out comes the Gretzky story again. I am sure you remember this line from Gord Henderson's column over three years agao "'It's a crying shame. Windsor could have had a big piece of that," groaned city businessman Dave Batten as he contemplated Wayne Gretzky's elevation from retired hockey superstar to national hero." This was after the Olympics when Canada won the gold medal in hockey.

The column continued ""It's too sad for words. Gretzky is going to play a big role in everybody's lives from now on and we could have been part of that," said Batten, a partner in the Jebb arena proposal that was nixed by the city a year ago on the grounds that the numbers didn't crunch."

Gretzky can still be part of Windsor's life...for a few more months anyway. My wife had a better idea. Make his restaurant part of the new Casino expansion. And then we can use the $15 million to move the University downtown to become a true focus for our new "urban village."