Sports economist: 'no evidence' building arenas with taxpayer money leads to improved economic development
Ottawa Senators president Cyril Leeder says he is not expecting taxpayers to pitch in and fund a new arena at LeBreton Flats.
During a news conference Friday, Leeder said "If you look at the history in Canada, public venues, whether arenas or stadiums, have not been funded by the taxpayer. That's the history, it's not the same in the United States, but that's what we've done in this country and that would be our expectation going forward as well."
It's become more common in North America for municipalities to cover large percentages of new sports ventures, including a controversial decision in Calgary to increase public contribution for a new arena.
Moshe Lander is a sports economist and a senior lecturer at Concordia University.
On Friday, he told Newstalk 580 CFRA's Kristy Cameron there is "no evidence" building arenas with the aid of tax dollars leads to improved economic development.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Prime Minister Trudeau to meet Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has landed in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Friday evening to meet with U.S.-president elect Donald Trump, sources confirm to CTV News.
'Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!': Details emerge in Boeing 737 incident at Montreal airport
New details suggest that there were communication issues between the pilots of a charter flight and the control tower at Montreal's Mirabel airport when a Boeing 737 made an emergency landing on Wednesday.
Hit man offered $100,000 to kill Montreal crime reporter covering his trial
Political leaders and press freedom groups on Friday were left shell-shocked after Montreal news outlet La Presse revealed that a hit man had offered $100,000 to have one of its crime reporters assassinated.
Cucumbers sold in Ontario, other provinces recalled over possible salmonella contamination
A U.S. company is recalling cucumbers sold in Ontario and other Canadian provinces due to possible salmonella contamination.
John Herdman resigns as head coach of Toronto FC
John Herdman, embroiled in the drone-spying scandal that has dogged Canada Soccer, has resigned as coach of Toronto FC.
Musk joins Trump and family for Thanksgiving at Mar-a-Lago
Elon Musk had a seat at the family table for Thanksgiving dinner at Mar-a-Lago, joining President-elect Donald Trump, Melania Trump and their 18-year-old son.
Billboard apologizes to Taylor Swift for video snafu
Billboard put together a video of some of Swift's achievements and used a clip from Kanye West's music video for the song 'Famous.'
Weekend weather: Parts of Canada could see up to 50 centimetres of snow, wind chills of -40
Winter is less than a month away, but parts of Canada are already projected to see winter-like weather.
Questrade lays off undisclosed number of employees
Questrade Financial Group Inc. says it has laid off an undisclosed number of employees to better fit its business strategy.