Skating around the subject of an NHL franchise returning to the Quebec capital, premier Jean Charest and the mayor of Quebec City have announced their plan to build a "multi-function amphitheatre" in the city, whether Ottawa kicks in some cash or not.
Accompanied by Quebec City Mayor Regis Labeaume, Charest told reporters the province and the city have agreed to split the cost of the project down the middle.
"In our dreams we want this city to become a driver in the economy of Quebec, and to do so the capital city needs to have all the tools necessary," Charest said in French, explaining that a multi-function amphitheatre is one of those missing pieces.
"We're announcing today that Quebec City and the province of Quebec have concluded a partnership where we will both contribute 50 per cent top the building of a multi-function amphitheatre, up to a maximum of $400 million."
Although he did not announce any other government or private commitment to the project, Charest said the door remains open to participation from either of them.
In the meantime, Charest said the plan is to have the arena up and running by 2015.
"And on that date we will make sure Quebec City and the whole of Eastern Quebec will have a very important tool for its development," he added.
With six Conservative MPs currently in the Quebec City area, its potential as a key battleground in the next federal election had fuelled speculation Ottawa would get on board.
But no one was at the announcement from the federal government or Quebecor Inc., the private media company that recently said it would be willing to spend several tens of millions of dollars to replace the city's current rink, the aging Pepsi Colisee.
The hope is a new facility might entice the NHL to return a franchise to the one-time home of the Quebec Nordiques, despite the league's insistence there are no guarantees.
Quebec City lost the Nordiques franchise in 1995 when the team was moved to Denver, Colorado and rebranded as the Colorado Avalanche.
Ever since, there have been rumours and rumblings about restoring Quebec City's status as an NHL town. However, without a world class arena, the city hasn't really been considered a contender.
In September, the idea seemed to gain momentum in Ottawa when a number of Tory MPs from Quebec -- including Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Josee Verner -- donned Nordiques jerseys for a photo opportunity.
But since then there has been little progress in Labeaume's talks with Ottawa, and he appears to have abandoned his goal of getting all three levels of government to participate.
At the announcement Thursday, Mayor Labeaume said he was not going to waste any time raising the matter with the NHL.
"I will announce in the coming hours to the commissioner of the National Hockey League, Gary Bettman, that Quebec City will go ahead with the construction of a new multi-purpose amphitheatre in partnership with the Quebec government," Labeaume said.
In recent comments, Bettman has cautioned the Quebec contingent against getting too excited about their possible future with the league.
"We tell people who are building buildings, don't build it with the expectation you're going to have a team because we're not going to make you that promise," Bettman told The Canadian Press late last month.
In a report released last year, Ernst & Young concluded that a new arena would likely generate $7.8 million a year in revenue, while the arrival of an NHL team could potentially nudge that figure to $8.4 million.
Various critics have said that is not enough to justify private investment.
With files from CTV News Montreal and The Canadian Press
