Olympic proposal includes plan for $272M field house
City gaffe reveals cost of facilities for 2026 Games would be $733M
New figures accidentally released by city hall on Monday show a $272-million field house as part of plans for a potential 2026 Olympic Games, spurring advocates to wonder if the mega-sporting event is what’s needed to finally bring such a facility to Calgary.
A field house — an indoor facility with a running track and fullsized field for sports such as soccer, football, field hockey and lacrosse — has long been the city’s top unfunded recreation priority.
“The requirement for a multisport field house has been overwhelmingly demonstrated time and time again over multiple years,” said Sport Calgary CEO Murray Sigler. “It’s always at the top of the list, whatever list it is,”
During a lengthy conversation in council chambers Monday about continuing to explore a bid for the 2026 Winter Games, six printed pages of PowerPoint slides detailing confidential financial figures were accidentally made available to members of the public.
The city eventually decided to release the slides, which peg the cost of sports venues and media facilities for a 2026 Olympic Games at $733 million, including a $272-million field house, $80 million in upgrades to the BMO Centre, $55 million for a “Hall F Expansion” at BMO Centre, $10 million in upgrades to the Saddledome and $50 million for McMahon Stadium.
No one from the city was made available to comment on the figures on Tuesday.
Sigler said regardless of a potential Olympic bid, a field house should be a priority for council, but he noted the cost-sharing nature of the Games between three levels of government could be the push that’s needed for the project to finally move forward.
“If the process can lead to getting senior orders of government participating in cost sharing, towards some of the much-needed sport infrastructure, that would be good,” he said.
“It could help as a catalyst for moving (the field house) forward faster.”
The single line in the city information about the field house titles it a “field house (+ ice plant)” and previous work by the Calgary Bid Exploration Committee has said a Foothills field house would be used for curling and wheelchair events during a potential 2026 Olympics.
Jason Zaran, chair of the Calgary Multisport Fieldhouse Society, said while the group’s previous plans haven’t included an ice surface, such an addition would add value to the facility.
But he said regardless of whether council decides to pursue an Olympic bid, Calgary desperately needs the sporting facility.
“We’re pushing for it aggressively, Olympics or not,” he said.
“If they chose to build it so it’s got the flexibility to play a role in a future Olympics, then so be it. But the field house itself has to stand alone on its own right now.”
Ward 7 Coun. Druh Farrell, who has voted against dedicating money to explore an Olympic bid, said the massive sporting event shouldn’t be used to justify building critical infrastructure.
“We have an obligation to build a field house regardless of the Olympics,” she said.
Advocates have pushed for a field house for years and their hopes were buoyed in August 2015, when plans unveiled for the mega Calgary NEXT proposal, which is currently on pause, included a field house in the West Village.
We have an obligation to build a field house regardless of the Olympics.