The City of Edmonton has released some preliminary design images of the proposed new downtown arena to replace Rexall Place as the home of the Oilers.
According to the Canadian Press, the “city says the pictures are part of preliminary design work that provides a starting point for evaluating other options.”
In other words, there’s no guarantee the Oilers’ new rink will look like a big backwards P. Or if you’re looking from the opposite direction, a big lowercase b. Or from another direction, a gas-station nozzle. Not sure what it looks like from the fourth direction – an igloo?
The $450-million project is still $100 million short in funding commitments, and both the provincial and federal governments are ideologically opposed to subsidizing private businesses.
However, it’s unimaginable a new arena doesn’t get built somehow. No government wants to be the one that allows an NHL team to leave Canada. Might as well walk around punching voters in the face.