Flames reveal proposal details
Project is ‘ intriguing,’ Nenshi says, ‘ but there is currently no money’
The Calgary Flames organization kick- started its $ 890- million plan for a new hockey arena, covered football stadium and multisport fieldhouse on Tuesday, but acknowledged significant challenges lie ahead for its ambitious blueprint to remake the west side of downtown.
The megaproject, dubbed CalgaryNEXT, would replace the aging Scotiabank Saddledome and McMahon Stadium.
Spanning several blocks near the Bow River, the plan includes a 20,000- seat event centre for hockey games and concerts.
A neighbouring “multi- sport fieldhouse stadium” that envisions a translucent roof would house a FIFA- sized soccer field, a 400- metre indoor track and a regulation CFL field, with seats for 30,000 fans of the Calgary Stampeders.
“CalgaryNEXT is a bold new vision for Calgary. The question is simple: ‘ Is this good for Calgary and is this good for Calgarians?’” said Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corp. president and CEO Ken King.
“If we can come to an affirmative answer, what we will do is get to the starting line of a very difficult, very arduous process, to bring this home and to bring it to fruition.”
It’s proposed the $ 890- million cost would be paid from four sources — a $ 240- million community revitalization levy, a $ 250- million ticket tax, $ 200 million from the city to fund the fieldhouse ( long a priority on the city’s recreation list) and a $ 200- million contribution from the Flames’ ownership group.
Mayor Naheed Nenshi called the proposal “intriguing,” but said challenges exist that must be addressed.
“There are very significant requirements for public funding beyond the fieldhouse funding, and there is currently no money,” Nenshi, who is on vacation, said in a statement.
However, deputy mayor Diane Colley- Urquhart, at Tuesday’s announcement, said a lack of funding shouldn’t stop the project from taking shape.
“We don’t build great cities by saying, ‘ we have no money’,” she said.
The entire development is proposed for land owned by the city in the community of Sunalta, near an existing Greyhound bus station, auto dealerships, which have demolition clauses in their leases, and a recently built LRT station.
“The reason there isn’t a land debate or discussion is because it does belong to the city and it will continue to belong to the city,” King said.
West Village has long presented an environment headache to the city and developers because much of the area is contaminated by a former creosote plant that stopped operating decades ago.
The project’s price tag doesn’t include the costs of remediating the site, which previous estimates have pegged between $ 50 million and $ 300 million.
King said it will take a group effort to clean up the land and that he wants to get all levels of government involved.
Coun. Evan Woolley, who represents the area where the arena is proposed, said while there are significant environmental challenges, the proposal could bring with it a solution.
“I’m optimistic because this is an idea to take a step forward to fixing a problem that’s been sitting there since the 1950s,” he said.
Fans excited about the prospect of watching the Stampeders and Flames play in a new home will have to wait some time — it’s expected it will be at least a year before work would begin, ( possibly longer, depending on contamination cleanup), and it will take an estimated three years to build the facilities.
King said the nearly billion- dollar project would create jobs and is exactly what Calgary’s economy needs right now. The new arena concept is in its early days and he acknowledged several emerging issues, including funding support and remediation, need to be resolved.
Woolley said many questions remain about the impacts — such as traffic — the massive complex would have on adjacent neighbourhoods.
Nicky Twyman, Sunalta Community Association president, said he’s looking forward to hearing more about what infrastructure work will happen in Sunalta alongside the proposal.
“We want something like this to provide opportunities for people in our neighbourhood and to make our neighbourhood a better place,” he said.
A fieldhouse has been needed in Calgary for decades, said Calgary Multisport Fieldhouse Society chair Jason Zaran, noting King’s proposal made sense.
“It’s amazing how many people still don’t know what a fieldhouse is or why it’s important. Calgary is probably the only remaining city of its size in Canada that doesn’t have one,” he said.
A fieldhouse is a big asset that’s long been missing in Calgary, said Cindy Ady, chief executive at Tourism Calgary.
Ady said she was excited about the concept of an integrated sports complex that will give the city an opportunity to host major amateur and professional sporting events.