Calgary arena will keep music fans in town: experts
CALGARY This year, the only way Calgary music fans could see Justin Timberlake, Ariana Grande or Carrie Underwood live was to drive to Edmonton and buy tickets to the superstars’ dates at Rogers Place.
With Calgary city council approving funding for a new event centre and home for the Calgary Flames on Tuesday, there is hope on the horizon for music fans that those days will be over.
“It’s great, it’s exciting,” said concert promoter Live Nation Canada central region president Ian Low, who is based in Calgary. “Obviously, long overdue. I’m tired of going to Edmonton for shows.”
Although no technical details on the new event centre have been released, the loads and requirements of modern touring concerts are part of the considerations that will go into a new centre, according to the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation, which will oversee design and construction.
“Those are some of the considerations that have impacted the Saddledome and will certainly be part of the considerations leading into the new event centre, so that you provide a building that’s flexible to accommodate the wide spectrum of events and concerts that need to take place in a facility like that,” said Clare Lepan, CMLC vice-president marketing and communications.
The Scotiabank Saddledome’s roof can only handle a weight load of 36,280 kg (80,000 lb.) in the summer, and less in the winter to account for the weight of snowfall. The lighting, video and sound rigs for modern touring acts are now much heavier than that. Grande, who played Rogers Place in Edmonton on April 25 this year, brought 65,770 kg (145,000 lb.) worth of gear to hang off of the roof. Big acts usually have 10 to 15 semi-trailer loads of equipment, according to Low. Grande had about 22 and he said at least one band that has played here had more than 30 semi-trailer loads for their tour.
There aren’t specific numbers on the cost to the city of missing out on these shows, but Ernst & Young conducted a study for Calgary Economic Development to assess the economic effect of building a new event centre and expanding the BMO Centre and Arts Commons on the Rivers District, an area of the city that is bordered by Arts Commons on the west, the Bow River on the north, and the Elbow River on the east and south. Ernst & Young estimated that the three capital projects will generate $168 million annually by 2024, mostly adding to the local GDP.
“It’s a big attractor for us,” said Calgary Economic Development board chair Steve Allan. “We see the ability of not only retaining our major league hockey team, but the ability to attract those kinds of concerts are part of what makes us a great city to live in.”