On Thursday, December 5th. The Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation, the group that owns the Calgary Flames, the City of Calgary, and Calgary Stampede Rodeo all agreed on splitting the cost of a $550 million entertainment/Calgary Flames new arena.
Calgary Flames Will be Getting a New Arena
What has been long overdue, has finally come to fruition. The Scotiabank Saddledome has been in need of upgrades for quite some time and everyone’s known it. In an article from TSN, City Council member Jeff Davidson said, “We have, for the past two years, been working on putting together something transformational for the city.”
Its time for a change. The Flames Scotiabank Saddledome arena has been the home of the Flames for 36 years now. Currently it is the second-oldest building in the league. It is set to be demolished sometime between 2024 and 2025. In this new arena, the fans will be able to watch their Flames do battle for the next 35 years.
What This Means Going Forward
Furthermore, in efforts to help improve the city, the new event centre and the arena is part of a much bigger plan of revitalizing the city’s east side of downtown. Above all, the plan is to develop the land so as to not grow just through sports. Likewise, it will also include both entertainment and culture. The end goals also look to be helping to grow and develop the land located around the new site. In conclusion, the arena will bring a new sense of life and excitement to the city and its residents.
The new arena is set to be located in Victoria Park, just north of the old Saddledome. The construction of the new arena will begin towards the end of 2021. With the plans of being finished by the start of the 2024-25 NHL season. The new arena is expected to seat 19,000 loyal fans, all who will be seen in red.