There are countries and people who, when you see them on the 11 PM News, you know that the news is not going to be something you want to hear. So when Abbotsford’s Mayor Peary’s face appeared, I and many other citizens of Abbotsford braced ourselves to hear about City Council’s latest ill-fated decision.
It seems that Mayor Peary and his merry band of mis-adventurers do not want to participate in the large potential economic gains to be found in the fast growing Ultimate Fighting craze.
After all, being associated with a venture that will result in a cash flow into the city coffers, reducing the strain on taxpayer’s packets, is not what Abbotsford City Council is about.
City council is about committing the City of Abbotsford to ten years of assuming the multi-million dollar liability for a professional hockey team, subsidizing the ownership of that professional hockey team by hundreds of thousands (potentially millions) of dollars per year, subsidizing the travel of other professional hockey teams to/from Abbotsford and paying the million (or millions) of dollars per year it costs to operate the arena for the professional hockey. All paid out of taxpayer’s pockets.
Income for Tradex, possible future dates for the Sports and Entertainment Complex? No, chase any current and future business to Vancouver.
Oh, and in order to maximize the damage to Abbotsford reputation as a place to do business come up with an excuse about attracting gang members to this type of event, as if gangs would have no interest or would not attend the motorcycle or tattoo shows held at Tradex; or numerous other events (concerts, sports, etc) held in Abbotsford.
Because once started down the path of cancelling events gangs might (gasp!) attend where do you stop? Clearly cars, motorcycles, tattoos all have go. And concerts. Better start closing the weight rooms at ARC and MRC at 6PM because gang members are known to like to pump iron. Movies, have to delay the opening of new movies in Abbotsford until they have been playing for six weeks elsewhere or even limit movies shown in Abbotsford to documentaries and films for children. And so on, and so on ….
One also wants to have, when the press inevitably asks why it is OK to attract gangs with motorcycle or tattoo trade shows but not with an ultimate fighting trade show, a brilliant explanation such as “that’s different”.
With this one action Abbotsford City Council delivered a black eye to doing business with or in Abbotsford; an economic blow to Tradex and the Sports and Entertainment Complex – as if the Sports and Entertainment Complex needed further help from council to become more of a money devouring black hole; and confirmed Abbotsford as the laughing stock of the lower mainland.
Leaving the rest of Canada and the world with an image of Abbotsford as a city where gangs and violence are beyond the ability of the Abbotsford Police Department to control – Abbotsford as Tijuana north.