Prime Minister Harper’s latest comments about funding pro-sports facilities have got to be making Premier Wall lean towards a referendum for the dome project. It makes sense on so many levels.

First, follow the money trail...or the lack thereof. The City of Regina claims it has a $1 billion infrastructure deficit, the provincial government is running a $622 million deficit and the federal government has racked up a mind boggling $49 billion deficit.

Not only are finances “tight” to say the least, the cost of building a dome is a lot higher than reported.

It’s not simply a $431 million project as some have suggested. On top of that is the cost to buy the land, cost overruns and interest. Assuming the province secures a very optimistic loan for the project – a 25-year loan at 4 per cent (the province currently borrows at about 5 per cent) – interest alone will tack on another $258 million.

Once you calculate that in today’s terms, the true cost has a present value of at least $527 million. Clearly retractable domes aren’t cheap.

That’s why the Wall government was hoping the feds would kick in approximately 20-25 per cent or approximately $86-107 million for the project (not including interest).

Yet, Prime Minister Harper recently stated that any funding for pro sports facilities should be ‘equitable’ with what has happened in other cities and the bill for such projects “first and foremost is the responsibility of the private sector.”

Not only is the dome project without a wealthy business partner, the ‘equitable’ comment also does not bode well for proponents.

Consider that the new stadium underway in Winnipeg didn’t receive a single cent in federal funding. Yes, contrary to what you may have heard, the federal government’s $15 million contribution is "strictly limited to the amateur and community sports components” of the complex being built at the University of Manitoba.

There may be a bit of a shell game going on, but the feds have insisted their funds are for the non-stadium amenities.

Despite that, assume for a moment that the federal government, Rough Riders and City of Regina contribute a generous $50 million, $30 million and $100 million respectively. That would leave the Wall government left to pay the remaining $251 million; plus cost overruns, interest, and the bill for land.

Given the provincial deficit, spending $251 million on a dome is not only a difficult financial issue for Premier Wall to manage, it’s a difficult political situation to navigate.

On the one hand, there’s a sizeable segment of the population that is more concerned about government debt than they are about a new dome for the Riders. On the other hand, there’s also a die hard, ‘spend whatever it takes’ crowd.

That’s why a referendum makes sense – you let taxpayers make the decision. After all, taxpayers are the ones that would have to pay for the project.

And talk about timing, there’s a province-wide election scheduled for November 2011 and a federal election constantly looming on the horizon. It would be very cost-effective to simply give citizens an extra ballot during either election and ask them what they think about funding a dome.

For the Premier, a referendum takes the difficult decision of his shoulders. For taxpayers, it gives you some say in the matter. A win-win situation if there ever was one.