CALGARY - The Calgary Flames say they’re pulling out of talks with the city for a new arena.

Flames president Ken King said Flames owners believe they can’t make a deal because negotiations have been unproductive.

"The building's very important. We've been working on it for a long time," King told reporters on Tuesday.

"But it doesn't look like we're going to get there. And I think it's time we stopped pretending and we're a little honest with our fans and our city on that fact."

King said the Flames owners remain committed to staying in Calgary for now.

A proposal to put an arena, football stadium and field house on the west side of downtown took a backseat to talks of building an arena on the east side of downtown.

"I thought we really had something that would work and it would seem pretty clear that it's not," King said. "I think there's a different view of what's fair and of what the kind of participation should be."

The announcement comes in the run-up to a civic election next month. Mayor Naheed Nenshi is running for a third term.

Nenshi said he would comment Wednesday as he was in council meetings when the Flames made their announcement.