OLD STADIUM, NO NEW SOLUTIONS
CFL commissioner says its past time to replace antiquated McMahon Stadium
OT TAWA Randy Ambrosie admits he has an emotional attachment to McMahon Stadium, but insists it won’t get in the way of him trying to have it replaced.
“I played in that stadium and happen to love it because I can go in there and look at the locker I sat in for the 1993 Grey Cup with fond memories,” the CFL commissioner, a first- round pick of the Calgary Stampeders in 1985 who won his only Grey Cup as a member of the Edmonton Eskimos in 1993, said with a laugh.
“But I don’t think that’s a reason to keep the stadium.”
There are no good reasons left to keep the 57- year- old stadium other than there’s little hope whatsoever a new home for the city’s CFL club will be built any time soon.
Mayor Naheed Nenshi dismissed the possibility of a new football stadium/ field house/ arena known as CalgaryNEXT proposed by the team’s owner, Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation ( CSEC), several years ago.
Talks of an alternative arena next to the Saddledome, which wouldn’t have included a football stadium, have since broken off as part of a shockingly dysfunctional relationship between the City of Calgary and CSEC.
And so, at a time when the CFL is boasting $ 2 billion in investments in new and improved venues around the country, one of its flagship franchises will have to continue playing in the league’s most dilapidated stadium for the foreseeable future.
“I’m very worried,” said Ambrosie, 54, when asked how concerned he was with the situation.
“Perhaps the most successful team in the last 20 years in the CFL has one of the poorest stadiums in the CFL. I think that’s a tragedy.
“And when you go across the country to see what has happened — the renovation at B. C. Place, the renovation at Brick Field at Commonwealth in Edmonton, ( new stadiums in) Saskatchewan, Winnipeg and Hamilton and what they’ve done here in Ottawa. BMO Field ( in Toronto)…
“I think it’s terrible.”
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman feels much the same way about the situation as it pertains to CSEC’s inability to replace the 34- year- old Saddledome, also the oldest venue in its league.
Seeing how dire a situation it is for the Flames and their future in Calgary, Bettman has tried hard to apply pressure to the mayor and city councillors to play ball on negotiations for crucial city infrastructure.
Reminding people there would obviously be “consequences” if a new arena couldn’t be built, his thoughts leading up to the civic election weren’t well received by many in Calgary, including a mayor who has long suggested a New York City lawyer had no business weighing in on Calgary issues.
Given the city’s leadership and financial struggles of late, private/ public partnerships to build new rinks and stadiums will be tough — if not impossible — to sell in this climate.
Although a CFL commissioner can carry about as much weight as Bettman can on a civic debate like this, Ambrosie said he’s willing to do his part to help remedy a sordid situation.
“I think we need to find a solution to that problem and I’ll do anything I can to work with ( CSEC CEO) Ken King and the Calgary organization to press for a solution because I think our fans need a state- of- the art place to come watch world class football,” he said.
Fact is, without being able to piggyback on a larger arena project or land a stadium as part of a potential Olympic bid for 2026, the situation appears futile for the Stampeders.
For a team that plays eight home games annually, it’s hard to justify the expense of a new stadium without the aid of a financial partnership with the city, which must see the value in spending money on a multisport facility that would include a much- needed field house.
Frustrated by stalled negotiations, King insisted in the fall CSEC is no longer interested in pursuing new venues, ensuring Ambrosie will, sadly, have many more years to visit his old McMahon Stadium locker- room stall.