In a huge piece of news today, the Calgary Flames announced a new arena deal for their organization. The deal, worth north of $1.2 billion, detailed the future construction of a brand-new Event Centre. The building becomes the new home for the Flames as soon at it reaches completion. Their current building, the Scotiabank Saddledome, continues to deteriorate with age, so this announcement solves tons of concerns for the team and city as a whole.
New Arena Deal Announced for Calgary Flames and their Fans
Although the Saddledome remains “structurally sound”, plenty of issues swirled around the building. New problems crop up as time passes, including flooding and roof deterioration and collapsing. The Saddledome originally finished construction in 1983, and immediately the Flames moved in. The city hosted the 1988 Winter Olympics as well, and the Saddledome initially helped Calgary win hosting rights for the event.
Tune in now as the @cityofcalgary, along with partners the Province of Alberta, CSEC and the @calgarystampede discuss a future Event Centre. https://t.co/5KFqWTxc1s
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) April 25, 2023
Obviously, as time passed, so did the functionality of the arena. As a result, the NHL wouldn’t consider Calgary as a site for the NHL Draft or All-Star Game events. Unofficial complaints exist too from players, fans, and anyone else who’s been in the building.
Plans for Calgary’s New Event Centre
In order to raise the funds needed for such a large project, multiple groups contributed time, effort and money to the plan. Of the $1.2 billion, nearly $900 million comes directly from government funding. The City of Calgary unanimously voted in support of the plan, which ponies up over $500 million directly. Another $330 million sources from the province of Alberta, to be used on supportive city infrastructure rather than the arena itself.
Aside from government support, the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation makes up the remaining funds pledged. Plus, the Calgary Stampede agreed on specific land deals that enable the Event Centre’s development and construction.
In addition to the Event Centre, the plan covers the construction of a new community rink, the aforementioned supportive city infrastructure improvements, and an enclosed plaza. The Saddledome’s demolition is wrapped up in the plan, too. While no official dates or construction timeline came in the announcement, the Flames’ future rests on more certain grounds now. Plus, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman noted that the city can enter rotation to be considered for the NHL Draft and All-Star Game events again, too. All-in-all, this comes as a major win for the Flames, their fans, and the city of Calgary as a whole.
Main photo by: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY
