CKUA studio being built in Calgary
CALGARY — If you want to show you’re fully committed to a relationship, one of the best ways is to move in. You could probably say CKUA Radio is in it for the long haul in Calgary.
On Tuesday it was announced the Calgary Foundation has donated $2 million to the National Music Centre (NMC) and $1 million to the Alberta radio station to help build and equip a storefront studio in the NMC’s new home, Studio Bell, currently being constructed in the city’s East Village. It is set for a spring 2016 opening.
The space will be situated at street level on the north side of the restored King Eddy Hotel part of the 160,000-square foot facility, which NMC president and CEO Andrew Mosker thinks is fitting considering Calgary’s relationship with Canada’s oldest broadcaster. CKUA began in Edmonton in 1927.
“They have a lot of supporters down here that have been championing their work for many years and now they’ll have a more pronounced presence here, probably one of the most visibly amplified presences they’ve ever had in their history in the province, particularly in Calgary.”
Mosker says discussions with CKUA, which is based out of its home on Edmonton’s Jasper Avenue, have been going on for “well over a decade.” When the funding was offered by the Calgary Foundation, it made perfect sense to both parties.
“We’ve been in touch with Andrew over the years and I know that we’ve shared a similar vision,” says Katrina Ingram, CKUA’s chief operating officer. “And so when this opportunity came up it just seemed like the natural fit.”
Ingram concedes the station’s presence in the city has been somewhat less than they would have liked, pointing to budget cuts and the departure of longtime Calgarybased host David Ward.
“We know that approximately a third of our donation dollars and a third of our listeners are in Calgary, so it just makes sense to up our game as far as Calgary is concerned.”
The $3 million in funding from the foundation, along with last week’s announcement of $1 million from the RBC Foundation, brings the total raised for the new $168-million National Music Centre to $126 million.