Article content

If he did it again, Arthur Griffiths still wouldn’t ask for government funding to build his own hockey arena.

When Rogers Arena, then GM Place, opened in 1995, long-ago Canucks owner Griffiths financed construction entirely through private means.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Patrick Johnston: The Canucks built their arena all by themselves, so why can't the Flames? Back to video

That the Calgary Flames look set to wrangle money out of the City of Calgary to help build a new arena doesn’t change his mind, either.

Public money means diminished control; the Canucks’ long tenure as a tenant of the Pacific National Exhibition taught Griffiths plenty about having government as a landlord.

“Why in the world would we ever have wanted to go back down that road?” he said this week.

But having government as a partner isn’t something that appears to daunt the Flames, who count billionaire Murray Edwards as their lead investor.

In a plan presented this week by Calgary’s city council, the Flames will put up half the cash toward what’s currently projected as a $580-million arena. The city will cover the rest. Residents there have just a week to provide feedback to municipal leaders.