CALGARY — Alberta’s premier has said she supports a new arena in Calgary to house the NHL Flames and wants the province to get involved.
Danielle Smith said in a statement Tuesday that the 39-year-old Saddledome has served the community well, but can no longer compete with new buildings across North America for events, concerts and sports.
“One need only look north to Rogers Place to see the multitude of world-class events drawn to Edmonton as well as the continued economic revitalization this facility has brought to downtown,” Smith wrote.
“Simply put, Calgary needs a new world-class event center and arena, and now is the time to begin that project.”
Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation (CSEC) and the city have resumed talks on a new event center after a previous agreement fell through last year.
The province did not contribute financially to the construction of Rogers Place in Edmonton, which opened in 2016, nor did it commit funds for the new building in Calgary.
Smith wants to find ways the province could help the city and the Flames complete the project.
She named Calgary-Hays MLA and former city councilor Ric McIver as the province’s representative.
McIver is the former Alberta municipal affairs minister who was sacked from the United Conservative Party cabinet last week.
“I asked him to contact both the city and CSEC to find out how the province can be helpful in this regard,” Smith said.
“As someone who has lived most of my life in Calgary, I know the Flames are an integral part of the fabric of the city, not to mention a key direct and indirect economic engine and job creator. for the community.
The original estimate for the Calgary event center was $550 million split between the two parties, but that figure has risen to $634 million.
Shovels were supposed to hit the ground this year for a 19,000-seat hockey arena and concert hall, but the Flames pulled out due to rising costs.
Calgary City Council voted in January to hire a third party to get the project back on track.
Commercial real estate moguls John Fisher, Guy Huntingford and Phil Swift were tasked with determining whether the Flames still wanted to partner on an arena, or whether the city should seek out other potential partners.
The job ended with the Flames agreeing to resume arena talks with the city.
The city will be represented in the negotiations by CAA ICON, which has managed the development of other arenas and stadiums, including Rogers Place.
Edmonton’s new arena cost $483.5 million to build, but the additions of a pedestrian corridor and transit connection, community arena and convention space called Winter Garden brought the total cost of the project to $613 million.
The Saddledome is the second oldest arena in the NHL behind Madison Square Garden in New York.
The proposed event center on a parcel of land north of the Saddledome is envisioned as the heart of a larger revitalized commercial and residential district on the east side of downtown near the Stampede grounds.
Just weeks after the Flames and the city agreed to a modified deal in July 2021, it fell apart when the city added an additional $19 million in roadwork and climate mitigation to the project, and wanted that the Flames pay $10 million for it.
CSEC President and CEO John Bean said at the time that not only would CSEC’s share be $346.5 million compared to the city’s $287.5 million, but that the Flames supported the risk of additional cost increases.
CSEC also owns the Wranglers of the American Hockey League, the Hitmen of the Western Hockey League, the Stampeders of the Canadian Football League, and the Roughnecks of the National Lacrosse League.
After moving from Stockton, Calif., for this season, the Wranglers joined the Flames, Hitmen and Roughnecks in playing home games away from the Saddledome this season.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on October 25, 2022.
Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press
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