Calgary is evaluating “all viable options” for the location of the new Flames arena

A new arena for the Calgary Flames may not be that close to their current home.

Events center committee is reviewing “all viable options” in downtown Calgary, committee chair Coun. Sonya Sharp told reporters Monday after the group first met in 2023.

The previous venue contract, which fell through over a year ago, placed the new arena just a hundred yards north of the Saddledome – the Flames’ current home.

“If you go back to the conversation we had in the fall, we talked about this being a fresh start, so this is a fresh start,” Sharp said. “We are considering building an event center within the city, within downtown, and all possible options are being presented.”

The previous deal, a $550 million agreement that rose to $634 million between the city and Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation (CSEC) — the Flames’ owner — collapsed over disagreements over cost overruns. It was to be built around the Stampede site.

CSEC originally proposed CalgaryNEXT, a mega-venue center and field office for the Flames and Calgary Stampeders, in the West Village in 2015 at a cost of $1.8 billion.

New arena talks began last October, with the city represented in the talks by CAA ICON, which has created structured agreements for major sports and entertainment venues across North America and Europe on behalf of communities and sports teams.

The Flames leased the Saddledome, the second-oldest facility in the NHL, for over a decade. Madison Square Garden is technically older, but underwent a major $1 billion renovation in 2011-2013.

There is no set timeline for the completion of a new events center, but Sharp said the city intends to be “as aggressive as possible” in resolving the matter.

“We know that because time is of the essence, we are also working with cost increases,” said Sharp. “We know with projects that the earlier they are done, the better when it comes to time and money.”

Source: dailyhive.com