Flames president: Brian Burke not team spokesperson regarding new arena

The Calgary Flames are trying to extinguish a bit of a public relations fire.

Hours after Brian Burke - the team's head of hockey operations - brought up the possibility of relocation should a new arena not be built, team president Ken King released the following statement on the Flames' website:

Brian Burke runs Hockey Operations for the Calgary Flames and he and many Calgarians have strong views about this topic. However, he is not our spokesperson regarding a new events centre for our city. We remain committed to our dialogue with the City and very optimistic we will get to a positive conclusion. We admire everyone's enthusiasm on this subject.

An $890-million proposal for a new multi-sport arena complex has been put on hold, with little hope of ground breaking anytime soon.

Built in 1983, Calgary's Scotiabank Saddledome is the second-oldest building in the NHL, next to the recently renovated Madison Square Garden in New York.