Boosters worry no Games would delay field house
New $300 million facility called ‘critical’ to city’s sporting needs
If Calgarians decide against bidding for the 2026 Winter Olympics, advocates of a long-awaited multi-sport field house worry the project may take even longer to get off the ground.
A field house — an indoor facility with a running track and full-sized field for sports such as soccer, football, field hockey and lacrosse — has long been the city’s top unfunded recreation priority, and advocates say it’s been needed for at least three decades.
It’s one of two new sporting venues proposed to be built as part of the Calgary 2026 bid corporation’s hosting plan. The field house would host figure skating and short-track speedskating events, with a legacy ability to host high-performance sport including basketball, volleyball, soccer, tennis and track-and-field events.
It would cost an estimated $300 million.
“The facility needs to be built with or without the Games. The field house is a critical piece of sports infrastructure that this city desperately needs,” said Jason Zaran, chair of the Calgary Multisport Fieldhouse Society.
“It’s kind of a summer sport facility, so to speak, that’s indoors. We’re the only major city that really doesn’t have a place where you can play, practise and compete in an indoor facility like that.”
But without the 2026 Games in Calgary, he wonders how long it would take the city to build one. Zaran pointed out that Edmonton already has three such venues.
“I’m not worried that it will never happen. I think it will happen … but I am very worried that it will get pushed down the road,” he said.
“There is a genuine concern. I’m an eternal optimist so I would like to think that, no, the field house doesn’t drop off the radar and it still becomes a relevant topic, if not this year, for next year for budgeting purposes. We would rather not play that risk game, that the field house does just drop off the radar again for another few years.”
Zaran said that as Calgary’s population becomes younger, the city will be short by several recreational facilities needed to serve the basic athletic needs of the community, especially for youth.
He said the 2026 Olympics represent a chance to leverage tax dollars from other levels of government and private investment.
Calgary 2026’s draft host plan includes renovations worth about $500 million for 11 existing facilities, including McMahon Stadi- um, the Scotiabank Saddledome, Olympic Oval and the ski hill at WinSport.
Along with a field house, the only other new sporting venue that would be built for the Games is a mid-sized arena, with about 5,000 to 6,000 seats, at a cost of $100 million.
The arena would have two ice sheets — one for community use — and the field house would serve as a training hub for Olympians hoping to compete in either the Summer or Winter Games, according to Calgary 2026.
“It’s tax dollars that us as Calgarians are going to need to spend, regardless,” Zaran said of the field house.
“In this sense, we spend that money, but now we get $2 billion invested in our city from other sources into other much-needed infrastructure as well. It would be kind of like the citizens of Calgary paying for the library, and getting Rocky Ridge and Seton YMCA facilities and half of the Green Line paid for by someone else.”
I’m not worried that it will never happen. I think it will happen …but I am very worried that it will get pushed down the road.