Toronto is the Kanye West of Cities

Did you ever
wonder why Toronto thinks of itself as the
centre of the universe and ROC (the rest of Canada
) thinks of Toronto
as a favorite child?

Do you think
it could be because Toronto’s Sky Dome (now called the Rogers Centre) was
supposed to cost $150 million, but ended up costing $650 million, with the
province of Ontario (which means you and me the taxpayer) picking up the tab
for all its cost overruns? Do you think it’s because Ontario then ultimately sold an asset worth
about a billion for around $25 million, giving its current owner (Rogers
Canada) a huge windfall?

Compare this
with the treatment Ottawa
got when the Palladium (now Canadian Tire Centre) was built with private money
not only funding the building, but also public infrastructure (the Palladium
drive interchange) at a cost of $30 million.

If you are
interested, this and many other stories are in my new book, Don’t Back
Down, the real story of the founding of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators and why big
leagues matter.

I not only
cover the founding of the Sens, but also many real estate and business issues
spanning a period from 1987 to the present. It’s a personal story as well.

I have a
limited number of paperbacks available from my web store (for $20 +
HST or an unlimited number of e-copies for $9.95 + HST).

So far
people seem to like the story:

“I
received my copy of your book, Don’t Back Down, yesterday and I couldn’t
put it down. It’s been a very long time since I read a 600+ page book in
one sitting!” Martin
Read, amateur architect, 2:40 am Sunday morning

“Every
page of Don’t Back Down is full of fascinating detail and great footnotes and
references… it’s a masterpiece and should be a reference book for real estate
development as well as Ottawa and league history. Getting this city into the
NHL has transformed Canada
’s capital and made it a world class place to live and work; even Americans
know where Ottawa
is now! Big congrats!" Michael Cowpland, Corel Corporation founder, Mitel cofounder, Zim.biz founder

"Don’t
Back Down is one of the best books I’ve ever read! It had just the right amount
of facts and humor relative to one of the major milestones in Ottawa ’s history. It not only gives us the
inside scoop on the founding of the modern era Senators and the inner workings
of the National Hockey League, it also shows how difficult childhood
experiences can sometimes help build determination in us as adults to pull off
miracles," Don
Mason

"If
you really want to understand how big league sports expansion works and why it
matters, then this extraordinary chronicle by Bruce Firestone, a terrific
storyteller, is for you," David Perry, author of Hiring Greatness

Best,

Bruce M
Firestone, B Eng (Civil), M Eng-Sci, PhD

Ottawa
Senators founder and Century 21 Explorer Realty Inc Broker

613.422.6757
x 250

bruce.firestone@century21.ca

www.brucemfirestone.com

@ profbruce