Quebec City citizens have a reputation of being more “right wing” than other Quebecers. The region has elected Conservative MPs  and talk-radio hosts there tend to question government intervention more than those in Montreal.

However, these ideals seemed to go missing when the provincial government agreed to use public funds to build the Centre Vidéotron, the city’s new “state of the art” arena … which is already cracking up, according to Twitter users. (Photo: iceberg9999/Wikipedia)

Notwithstanding any apparent architectural faults, the arena will likely become a new white elephant in the herd if no NHL team moves to the city. Indeed, the hope that the Nordiques would come back after leaving for Colorado in 1995 was the motivation for building this new arena beside the old one, considered obsolete by major-league standards.

Even if the Nordiques return, nothing justifies the use of $400 million in public funds to build the arena. Granted, the arena was under budget and on schedule — although Mayor Régis Labeaume used the remaining $30 million for other purposes. Furthermore, nothing justifies the preferential treatment given to media mogul Pierre Karl Péladeau, CEO of Quebecor, which will manage the arena for the next 25 years. (Some wags have nicknamed the arena “the Péladôme.”)

When Quebec City announced its deal with Quebecor in 2011, two businessmen contested the agreement because it was against the Loi sur les cités et ville. This law states that there must be an open call for tenders for such a project and that a municipality cannot build something and then rent it to a private party.

To resolve the problem, the Parti Quebecois deputy (from Quebec City) Agnès Maltais introduced Bill 204, which effectively sealed the agreement; the bill passed by a very wide margin. However it caused a great division in the PQ and triggered the resignation of heavyweights Lisette Lapointe, Louise Beaudoin, Pierre Curzi and Jean-Martin Ausant, who later founded his own party.

Finally, Quebecor’s deal is so sweet that it’s almost nauseating. Indeed, Les Affaires newspaper reported that the arena will pay no property taxes (a $9-million saving) since a non-profit organization will be responsible for the lease. And the rent is not fully indexed to inflation, meaning that the real rent will decrease over time. Finally, Quebecor will pocket 100% of hockey-related profits, while Quebec City will receive a meagre 10-15% from other shows and is responsible for any losses the arena might incur.

Unless the Nordiques do come back to Quebec City, the Centre Vidéotron will become Quebec City’s version of the Olympic Stadium: an expensive structure with little use. Péladeau must be grinning when he thinks about his deal, while Labeaume will probably do a yearly pilgrimage to Ste-Anne-de-Beaupré to pray that the Nordiques do come back.