The federal government is being pressed to allocate funds for a new hockey arena in Quebec City, in the hopes that the new rink will help lure back an NHL franchise to the hockey-starved city.

While Prime Minster Stephen Harper stopped short of saying a deal had been struck, he stressed that other cities in Canada should also be eligible if Quebec City gets funding.

"In terms of financing major sports facilities, there are demands here, there are demands in Quebec City, I am aware of demands elsewhere," Harper said at a press conference Thursday in Saskatoon.

Regina is also seeking funds to help build a new CFL football stadium for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

"In terms of financing these things going forward, we're going to have to respect the precedents we have had in the past and be sure any treatment we're prepared to make to one city we're prepared to make to all," Harper said.

He stated that no sports franchises would receive financing. Instead, the cash would flow to the construction costs itself if any deals are approved.

For Quebec City, however, building a new, $400-million rink is integral if the city hopes to bring an NHL team back to the provincial capital.

Many residents are still reeling from the loss of their beloved Nordiques 15 years ago. Famously, the Nordiques relocated to Denver and were re-branded as the Avalanche.

Not long after relocation, the team won the Stanley Cup, thanks to the herculean efforts of Joe Sakic and other stars who had donned the Nordiques jersey a short time earlier.

Quebec's provincial government is hoping that Ottawa will offer about $170-million worth of funding for the new rink.

While Harper didn't dismiss the request outright, just the idea of spending public funds on hockey arenas has raised the ire of both Tory critics and loyalists.

Indeed, less than a month ago, Treasury Board President Stockwell Day shot down the idea outright.

"We've been clear that professional sports teams -- including the NHL of which we're all big fans -- won't be receiving federal government dollars," Day said.

Stimulus funding will dry up in March, and the government announced on Thursday that employment insurance would be curtailed after a period of extended benefits.

Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach said federal funding for the Quebec City arena would mean that Tories may be "getting close to an election."

In Winnipeg, a business professor said federal money for the return of an NHL franchise in Quebec wouldn't play well in his own town, without equivalent funding there.

"If the Nordiques come back before the Jets do, that's going to be seen really as a kick in the shins to the people of Winnipeg," said Robert Warren.

Even Harper's former top aide, Tom Flanagan, said the move "has the potential to create backlash not just in the west but all across the country."

With the debate raging, evidence that arenas generate millions in spin-off revenue has been presented. But so has evidence pointing to the contrary.

For example, recent U.S. reports state that Giants Stadium, which was demolished this year, still carries $US110 million in debt which the taxpayers of New Jersey will have to pay.

"If you actually look at the major infrastructure problems we have in Canada, especially in transportation ... it would be very hard to justify the fact that a sports stadium was going to give you bigger economic gains," Niels Veldhuis, vice-president of research in Canadian policy at the Fraser Institute.

With a report from CTV's Richard Madan and files from The Canadian Press