NHL home, part of a $1.22 billion project, to be completed in 2026-27 season
Shovels are to be in the ground in the next few months and the Calgary Flames will finally be in a new home.
The exact dates for those milestones are yet to be announced, and actual renderings are not available, but the province, city, Calgary Stampede board and Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation have in place the agreements to fund and build a new arena.
The project on the eastern edge of the downtown core near the Saddledome comes with a $1.22 billion price tag, and will include an event centre, a 1,000-seat community rink (which would also be a practice rink for the NHL club), parking structures and plaza.
The Flames are committed to remain in the Stampede City for 35 years.
The City of Calgary is on the hook for $537 million, while CSEC will put up $40 million initially and pay an estimated $316 million through yearly lease payments.
The province is pledging $330 million over five years, with most going towards the transportation and utility work surrounding the new rink, but also to fund some of the costs for the community rink and demolition of the Saddledome.
The City of Calgary is to cover most of the potential cost overruns, with the CSEC to cover overage on certain parts of the event centre.
Utility work is to commence before the end of 2023 and completion is expected during the 2026-27 season.
The Saddledome was built in 1983 in anticipation of the 1988 Olympic Winter Games. It is officially the NHL’s second oldest building, behind only New York City’s Madison Square Garden, home of the New York Rangers. However, while originally built in 1968, MSG completed a US$1 billion renovation in 2013.
The next oldest buildings in the NHL are Anaheim’s Honda Center and he SAP Center in San Jose. Both were completed in 1993.
A new arena would put Calgary back in the league rotation for both the All-Star Game and the draft. It would also allow for more concerts to be held in the city.
Discussions regarding a new arena have been held for nearly two decades. The Flames presented a plans for a rink and field house for the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders west of downtown in 2015, but it was rejected.
CSCEC and the city reached an agreement in 2019, also near the Saddledome, but it fell apart.
