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But University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe said it’s important to remember how spread out the returns would be.

“The city, in adding it up to that $400.3 million, is not adjusting for the fact that dollars tomorrow are worth less than dollars today. Dollars from 35 years from now are worth way less than dollars today,” Tombe said.

“It is extremely misleading to quote $400 million as the benefits associated with the project cost.”

It’s also difficult to pinpoint how much credit should be attributed to the arena for future development in the Rivers District.

Tombe said many new properties — or existing ones such as The Bow tower — were to be built in the district regardless of whether a hockey-focused facility was the centrepiece. Those all count toward the city’s CRL revenue calculation.

“So disentangling what is truly incremental due to the arena from what would have happened anyway is tough,” Tombe said.

“There’s a lot of asterisks and caveats to that number.”

Concordia University sports economist Moshe Lander said the city’s estimates are likely overstated, pointing to studies that suggest new sports stadiums often displace economic activity from one part of the city to another.

“They’re not factoring in the cost side of things. If you believe that there’s going to be some sort of incremental economic activity in and around the new arena, what’s that going to do to the local bar owners on Stephen Avenue, on 17th Avenue?” said Lander.