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That much at least, is something OSEG’s partners can only envy. They did not have the luxury of solid capital gains when it came to negotiating with the city over the terms of the Lansdowne project.

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When OSEG and the city formally concluded their partnership in 2012, the objective was pretty straightforward. Each would pay for specific parts of the project. The city, for instance would finance the stadium, arena, part of the parking lot and the urban park.

OSEG would pay for the rest of the parking lot and the retail shops. It would also be responsible for operating the 30-year Lansdowne partnership with the city, which means absorbing the annual losses in the early years.

The idea was to pool streams of cash from ticket sales, arena and stadium rentals, parking and concessions. These were to be allocated first to OSEG, then the city, according to a formula. OSEG for instance is permitted to earn 8 per cent simple return on the amount it invests (equivalent to less than 5 per cent compounded).

But note the difference in how these partners financed their particular piece. The city in 2013 issued a sinking fund debenture — a loan whose principal drops over time — for $154 million. This was secured against realty taxes paid by Lansdowne’s retail shops among other new tenants, as well as air rights paid by Minto in order to erect condo towers on site. In financing, this is about as low risk as you can get.

On the other hand, OSEG estimates it will have contributed equity of $152 million over the life the project, nearly $100 million more than expected. All of this money comes straight out of the pocket of the five partners, but you can be sure Greenberg and Ruddy have paid the bulk. Since they are entitled to a return on their extra investment, they won’t necessarily incur an actual loss. This will depend in part on Goudie’s success in generating new streams of revenue from the Lansdowne site, and how much new investment will be required to make sure the stadium and arena be up to code by 2044, when the partnership terminates.