Down, set, shovel ...

The Ottawa stadium debate isn't happening in a vacuum.

Almost half the cities in the CFL have irons in the fire when it comes to new stadiums. Regina is toying with the notion of building a dome; Hamilton's seeking one as part of the drive to bring the 2015 Pan-Am Games to Southern Ontario (everyone is just clamouring for that) and Winnipeg will soon have a new stadium.

Yours truly has no special insight into how it all might shake out in each case. The movers-and-shakers in Ottawa, who have dithered over what to do here for some time, give or take 25 years, are not alone. The real question, as Cam Cole noted, is if the R-word is D-word and if there really is a historical precedent for the economic circumstances which are about to be visited upon the world of fun and games.

There are the standard arguments over whether it's the best use of taxpayers' money to invest in a stadium and that the income generated is really just money moving from one area of the economy to another. At the end of the day, having stadiums and sports teams does tend to make people feel better about the place they live. Never say never, but that doesn't seem likely to change soon.

Related:
R-word spells building-boom times for CFL (Vancouver Sun)
Regina needs partners for a new stadium (Regina Leader-Post