Calgary Flames reach initial agreement with city, province for new arena
There has been an initial agreement reached for the construction of a new hockey stadium for the Calgary Flames.
The various stakeholders involved in the project — the Flames, the city of Calgary, the province of Alberta, and the Calgary Stampede — presented a project on Tuesday that will cost more than $1.2 billion when all is said and done.
There it is. It's official. The city of Calgary is getting a new events center!
And the scope of the project has grown drastically.
There will be an event center, a community rink, and more businesses and commercial spaces than the original deal in 2021. pic.twitter.com/kYLB5O3TNa
As of now, there is no timeline for the start of this project. However, the announcement is a big step towards a new building that will house the Flames. The Flames currently play in the Scotiabank Saddledome which opened in 1983, making it one of the oldest NHL rinks.
Besides the new NHL-caliber rink, this project also includes various other pieces of infrastructure that will work to improve the space. This is mostly what caused the projected budget to balloon to $1.2 billion, more than $500 million larger than the proposed plan that was agreed upon in 2019.
What’s included in the plan?
The new event centre is the main focus of the project but there are other aspects that will affect the surrounding area. To start, a second rink will be built adjacent to the first one. That second rink will act as a practice arena for the Flames as well as a community space.
There will also be a significant amount of money spent to improve transportation to-and-from the new arena district as well as build up the surrounding infrastructure.
“Calgary will be home to one of the greatest arenas and event centres in North America,” Alberta premier Danielle Smith said during Tuesday’s announcement.
Who is bearing the cost of the project?
The costs of the project are split between three parties: Calgary Flames ownership, the city of Calgary, and the province of Alberta.
The province of Alberta will be contributing $300 million. However, none of that money will be going towards building the actual arena. Instead, the province will be paying for the various improvements to infrastructure involved with the project, such as building roads and demolishing the Saddledome.
The city of Calgary will be contributing $537.3 million to this project. That money will be used on the development of the new arena, the construction of parking in the area, building an enclosed plaza in the area, and funding a portion of the community rink.
Finally, the Calgary Flames ownership group will be putting up $356 million. This includes $40 million upfront and then $17 million per year, increasing by one percent per year. This money will go towards many of the same things as the city’s money including the development of the main arena, the community rink, and an additional plaza.