Bombshell: Canadian NHL team at risk

The owners of the Calgary Flames are no longer going to pursue a new arena. After months of talks with city officials, it became clear the city has is not interested in helping to fund a new arena. Calgary Flames president and CEO Ken King said during a news conference:

We're no longer going to be pursuing a new facility. The owners' group are pretty clear and pretty definite in their view on that. We'll just go on and run our business and do what we can to operate and try and figure out what the future will look like at some point later.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the 34-year-old Scotiabank Saddledome is affecting the team's ability to remain profitable.

They're going to hang on as long as they can. At least, that's the current view. That's not a prospect that thrills them or anybody else. But it is a realistic assessment of the situation they find themselves in.

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The Flames are owned by filthy rich Canadians. For example, co-owner Murray Edwards has a net worth of $2.96 billion, and is the 28th wealthiest person in Canada. Some cities help fund new arenas for their NHL teams, although arenas can also be built without taxpayer dollars.

Seattle is currently finalizing a memorandum of understanding with a group offering to renovate its KeyArena for US$564 million. Seattle plans for the new facility to be used for large scale concerts, and to attract a NHL team.