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EDMONTON -- The on-again-off-again deal to build a new rink for the Edmonton Oilers is on -- again. City councillors and the Edmonton Oilers agreed Wednesday to split the cost of the final $30 million needed to green light the wavy-shaped steel-and-glass structure in the citys downtown in time for the 2016-17 NHL season. "This has been a long and difficult process," Mayor Stephen Mandel told councillors. "We need to make sure that we build a city that attracts and retains the younger generation." Construction is to start next spring and the city plans to pay off some of its debt through increased tax revenues from shops and businesses expected to spring up around the arena. The total cost, including the rink and surrounding infrastructure, comes in at $604.5 million. Under the arrangement, the Oilers are to pay $161.5 million, the city $279 million and another $125 million is to come from a ticket tax. Last week, Mandel and political leaders from surrounding regions voted to seek another $25 million from the province under a regional grant program. The city says it will seek an additional $14 million in grants for a community rink attached to the project. "The result today is a landmark agreement that enables our city to move forward in an enormously positive way," said Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz, who was not at Wednesdays council meeting, but spoke with reporters via speaker phone. The decision saves a resurrected deal agreed to by council and Katz in January, but which had slipped into limbo after Premier Alison Redfords government refused to provide $100 million. Redford and her predecessor Ed Stelmach never promised any direct funding, but city council struck the deal in January anyway, hoping the money would come through somehow. When it didnt, councillors scrambled to find alternative sources for the cash. Last month, they voted to use $45 million in provincial infrastructure grant money. On Wednesday they changed that plan. They now expect that money to accrue from increased tax revenues around the arena. Political leaders from the capital region narrowly voted last week to back an application for the $25-million provincial grant. That left $30 million. Half of the remainder is to come from Katz and the city expects the other half to be recouped from increased tax revenues arising from the development. The deal has divided Edmontonians into those who want public dollars to go to the arena, those who dont and those who are OK with public money, but say the deal is far too lopsided in Katzs favour. Last week, Mandel got into an argument with hecklers in council chambers, who demanded he put the arena on a plebiscite. The city is to build and own the arena and pay for all major repairs and renovations. The Oilers, in turn, are to pay $6 million a year in lease payments and pay for day-to-day arena upkeep. Katz is to keep all the profits from tickets, concessions and parking for all events -- Oilers-related or otherwise. Katz also is to receive $2 million a year from the city in return for advertising for 10 years and to keep naming rights for the building, estimated at $1 million to $3 million a year. In return, Katz has promised the Oilers will stay in Edmonton for 35 years. The vote was not unanimous. Coun. Kerry Diotte said the deal was poor for taxpayers when it was first struck in 2011 and is worse now. "This has morphed into a Frankenstein monster. Even the worst referee in the NHL could see this is way offside," Diotte told councillors. Coun. Tony Caterina agreed. He said no one knows for sure if the extra tax revenues from the arena will materialize. The risk tolerance for taxpayers, he said, is "way too high." Councils decision wrote what many hope will be the final chapter in what has become the citys longest-running soap opera. The deal has been talked about for seven years and been on a roller coaster for the last two. Councillors and Katz first shook hands in the fall of 2011, but the deal fell apart a year later when Katz demanded an extra $210 million from taxpayers and refused to meet with councillors in public to explain why. He also incurred wrath from fans and councillors when he began talks aimed at moving the team to Seattle. Katz eventually dropped the Seattle threat and the $210-million demand, and in January the two sides resurrected the deal, with Katz off the hook for major repairs to the facility. Katz -- a pharmacy billionaire who owns the Rexall chain of drugstores -- is currently tenant of Rexall Place, where the Oilers now play. Its an arena owned by an arms-length city board. Katz says the Oilers need wider revenue streams to be viable. 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Anyone 10 or younger has never known a South African side that has lost a Test series in Australia and to have added a layer to that legacy is this teams greatest joy.We know how hard it is. We watched on TV for so many years how hard it was to was for South Africa to come here and do well, du Plessis said. I suppose the younger guys looking from back home can see that its possible to come here and to an extent and dominate an Australian team. It is extremely special for us. Its something we will remember as a team. Thats exactly what we came here to do, we want to create memories together.Not since the West Indies between 1984 and 1992 has a team won three successive series in Australia but that is not the only thing that stands out about this South African victory. It is that they did it without the two players who have been stalwarts for a decade - AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn who are both injured - and Morne Morkel about whom there are concerns about match fitness. Also Hashim Amla, the leader of the batting line-up, contributed only 48 runs across three innings.It has taken a total team effort, something du Plessis has lauded. This team has been very close to exceptional, he said. There havent been many things weve done wrong. We have been consistent in the way we perform. We are not relying on one or two players. All XI are putting our hands up at different times and thats what you want from your team.Australia were warned of South Africas ability to spread the load last month in the ODI series. Albeit in a different format, in different conditions, South Africas 5-0 victory did provide the springboard for this series. We came across here with a lot of confidence, du Plessis said.Self-belief helped South Africa bounce back from a poor first day in Perth to take 10 for 86 and set themselves up for victory there. It also propelled them to pluck Australia for 85 in the first innings in Hobart. The twin collapses showed South Africa that Australia had weaknesses they could exploit, especially if they targetted their senior players.When you are a team thats undeer the pump and under pressure and not playing as well as you like, confidence will fade away, du Plessis said.dddddddddddd Its hard to fake it. We didnt give them the opportunity to do it [assert themselves over a long period of time]. It was important to keep the important guys in the team quiet - David Warner and Steve Smith. If you can put a lot of pressure on them, the younger guys wont have that same punch. We made sure those guys have been relatively quiet in the series. Even guys like [Mitchell] Starc, he bowled well in that one spell but if you are on top, thats when you get a five-for and you clean the tail up. We were just really good in making sure we stopped that. On the other hand, once South Africa got an opening, they were unstoppable. It took just 95 minutes for them to finish Australia off on the fourth morning. Du Plessis did not expect the series win to come so quickly, although he suspected victory was inevitable after the pressure his bowlers piled on late on the third day. I didnt expect it to happen that quickly, du Plessis said. Yesterday, our bowling was exceptional. The last hour and a half, we were so good in our areas and relentless. We didnt get the results we wanted but we knew today if we came back, it would change for us. This is one of those sessions we will always remember as a team, that won us the series and it was unbelievable.It was unbelievable because it was more dominant than a South African side has ever been in Australia. Four years ago, South Africa battled through the first two drawn Tests and then won the third. Eight years ago, they won the first two Tests and lost the third. This time, du Plessis wants to take everything South Africa can from this trip, which means a win in their first day-night Test in Adelaide.That is the mission for us now, he said. We want to do that very badly. We wont rest on our laurels and be happy with 2-1 or even 2-0. Weve got Australia in a position where they are under pressure and we dont want to let that go. Its hard enough to get them in this position so we will do everything we can to make it 3-0.What memories that will make. ' ' '