Border Tunnels And Arenas

Here is a question based on pure speculation on my part: Have Eddie Francis and Mike Hurst buried the hatchet in their past relationship and are they now working together on the "Mother of All Deals" in the City of Windsor?

I am sure that many of you are mystified by the subject matter of this BLOG. What has an arena for sports and entertainment got to do with tunnels for a border? And what does that have to do with Eddie and Mike?

Of course I will explain now to show you how nice packages can be put together with a bit of creativity, well-placed press releases, rallying calls, joint meetings and a lot of OMERS cash.

Have any of my BLOG readers ever been recently to the old Coliseum at the CNE in Toronto now renamed the Ricoh Coliseum? The Toronto Maple Leafs AHL farm team, (the Toronto Marlies) play their home games at there.

It is described this way when its renovation was announced:

• "November 2003 will mark the opening of Ricoh Coliseum, Toronto's newest sports and entertainment complex. Situated within the award-winning National Trade Centre, this $38 million dollar arena renovation project broke ground on January 15th, 2003 and will open November 1, 2003 with the inaugural home game of the Toronto Roadrunners, Toronto's new American Hockey League (AHL) hockey club.
  
  Ricoh Coliseum's 10,000-seat capacity will fulfill event planners, show organizers and promoters' needs for a midsize event venue. Ricoh Coliseum will have multiple seating configurations, which range from approximately 3,500 to 10,000+ seats."

Just an interesting aside about the world of sports "I think a lot of people feel betrayed because the city (St. John's, Newfoundland) went into the hole (spending $40 million) to build that stadium a few years ago and now the team is leaving anyway." It went to Toronto.

What interested me is that one of the companies involved in the Ricoh redevelopment was BPC Coliseum Inc. (BPC), which has a 49-year lease on Ricoh. "BPC is owned by Borealis, a unit of the pension fund for Ontario's municipal employees called OMERS. When the Roadrunners were looking to refurbish the Coliseum building at Exhibition Place to the tune of $38 million two years ago, Borealis put up $9 million, which matched the city of Toronto's $9 million."

As you know, Mike Hurst is CEO of DRTP one of whose owners is OMERS/Borealis

Here is what was said when the Leafs' team moved there: "We're excited about bringing in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment and the Leafs as the new arrangement satisfies our pension fund objectives for long term stable returns," said Michael Rolland, senior vice president of Borealis Infrastructure."

Now I am sure that you know where I am heading with this.

1. What have the Mayor and Council been rallying for this time on the border: tunnelling.
2. What is the #1 issue that Windsor Council wants to talk to Detroit Council about: the Detroit/Windsor Tunnel
3. Didn't we just have a so-called Public Information session on the new Tunnel Plaza that most members of the public did not know about
4. Why would Mike Hurst of DRTP owned by Borealis issue a press release out of the blue a week before the City's strategy session on Friday talking about tunnelling?
5. What does Eddie desperately need to be re-elected: an arena
6. What does Eddie want to do with the Tunnel: own/operate/lease it
7. What does Borealis finance: tunnels and arenas

One of the items to be discussed at that strategy session is the new arena for Windsor or refurbishing the old Barn. And co-incidentally we have a new ownership group of the Spitfires who would love to play in a new arena and a Mayor who seems to want to accommodate them in order to get re-elected no matter what it may cost taxpayers:

• "The new owners said they would like to see a new rink replace the aging Windsor Arena...
  
  Windsor Arena has no luxury boxes to sell and decent parking has always been in short supply.
  
  Mayor Eddie Francis attended Monday's news conference and said a new arena isn't a dead issue. "Windsor's on a roll and we need to continue that momentum," Francis said. "We've seen from the Super Bowl and (Major League Baseball) All-Star game what it takes to attract those types of events."

What is happening today:

• "On Tuesday, February 28th the Detroit City Council and the Windsor City Council will hold a joint meeting... The bodies will be discussing issues related the Ambassador Bridge / Detroit Windsor Tunnel and other Border Crossing issues. The meeting will consist of a discussion between the two city councils (no public comments will be accepted). "

If one puts it all together, can we say a DRTP tunnel (financed in the billions by taxpayers to make them mega-billions), a new arena financed by Borealis for our new Spitfires and a long-term Tunnel finance deal as Eddie saw his Chicago Mayor friend do there also financed by OMERS. It just seems to come together too nicely doesn't it. Or as Gord Henderson wrote:

"Now or never. And if it's now, what a coup that would be for city politicians in an election year."

And if one really wanted to go hog wild, what about Borealis financing a new bridge for Eddie or helping him buy out the Bridge Co. Now THAT would be a complete deal wouldn't it!

Was that what Mike and Eddie really talked about during their "transition" meeting right after the election? Who knows!