Based on my assessment of news coverage in St. John's, the potential return of an AHL team to St. John's seems to be a pretty big story at the moment. An aspect of the story that seems to be getting the most coverage is whether or not the municipal and provincial governments would provide the team with some sort of subsidy/incentive to help the whole relocation process along.
A few days ago the city decided it wouldn't offer such an incentive and just a few moments ago I heard that the provincial government has also decided against providing such an incentive. Apparently Terry French went so far as to say that the government would be 'philosphically' opposed to such a subsidy.
And while I don't happen to be a particularly big fan of subsidies to pro sports teams I do find it funny that the same government that actively subsidizes the TV and film industry, among other industries, would go so far as to suggest professional sports are a lesser (in terms of meriting public support) form of mass entertainment or employment. I have to imagine that the number of jobs associated benefits that could be almost guaranteed by the arrival of a pro hockey team would be of greater economic significance than frequently arise due to other industrial subsidies.
If you don't want to subsidize a particular company, fine, don't subsidize it, but to suggest that you are philosophically opposed to a particular aspect of the entertainment industry seems a bit much, particularly on a day that the same government announced funding for the acquisition of lighting equipment for the TV and film industry.
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