'Fire and Ice': Calgary's future event centre to be called Scotia Place (2024)

Calgarians got their first glimpse Monday of the $800-million arena that will replace the Saddledome, while also learning the name of the future event centre — Scotia Place.

City and provincial government officials joined representatives of Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corp. (CSEC) and other dignitaries at Stampede Park for a ceremonial sod-turning and to reveal design renderings of Calgary’s “new heart of entertainment,” which is slated to open in the fall of 2027.

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Scotia Place will be built on four hectares of land about two blocks north of the Saddledome, which will be demolished after the new arena is completed.

An 18,400-seat NHL-regulation arena will be the focal point of the new development, complemented by indoor and outdoor community plazas, an attached multi-storey parkade with exterior artwork, a future redevelopment site and a new community rink that will seat up to 1,000 spectators.

Bill Johnson, design principal for HOK — an international architecture company that worked on the facility’s design alongside local architectural firm Dialog — said the esthetic was influenced by the ancestral and historical land of Indigenous Peoples, with an overarching theme of “Fire and Ice,” with additional nods to the other two elements, land and air.

“We came up with a fairly direct idea — that this is a meeting place, and this was the birthplace of this community,” he said. “People gather around the fire . . . it was designed to bring people together and to actually make reference to that fire and the confluence of the two rivers.

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“Calgary is a cold place, as well. It’s a beautiful city on snow fields, and glaciers (are nearby) . . . so we wanted to balance the idea of fire with ice. That became the theme.”

Politicians express excitement for event centre

Political representatives spoke glowingly of the project on Monday. Mayor Jyoti Gondek called the future facility a “bold step forward” for the city and a message to North America that Calgary is investing in creating spaces that take hospitality and tourism seriously.

“This announcement drives more jobs during construction and during the many attractions this space will bring to life,” she said. “This is another signal to the market that Calgary is making strong investments in its future.”

Premier Danielle Smith also praised the project, calling the unveiling of Calgary’s next major infrastructure project an important milestone toward revitalizing the city’s downtown, as well as its Entertainment and Rivers District.

“Projects like this one give even more people even more reasons to experience its vibrancy 365 days each year,” she said.

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Ward 1 Coun. Sonya Sharp, who chairs the event centre committee, said the arena will become a “hub of activity, entertainment, sport and community” for Calgary.

“This is a place where dreams will be realized, where champions will be made and where our community will come together to celebrate, be entertained and to enjoy,” she said.

“Generations of families will walk through these doors to create an irreplaceable feeling. The impact of this event centre will be felt beyond just memories. It will stimulate our local economy, attract visitors from near and far, and provide a venue for Calgarians and Albertans to engage in this growing district.”

Fourteen years in the making

The road to Monday’s unveiling was a lengthy one, including years of work and rocky negotiations since 2009 to replace the now 40-year-old Saddledome — the NHL’s second-oldest arena after New York City’s Madison Square Garden.

Multiple, ill-fated iterations of a new arena for the Flames had been brought forward in Calgary over the years, including a proposal to build a multi-sport facility on the west end of Calgary’s downtown near the southern banks of the Bow River. That idea, dubbed CalgaryNEXT, tanked in 2017 as a result of increased costs due to contaminated land.

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A renewed proposal to build an NHL arena in Victoria Park emerged in 2019. While that deal made it all the way to 2021, it collapsed at the last minute over cost escalations, just weeks before construction was set to get underway.

The current agreement, which includes the Alberta government as an investment partner, was reached in 2023. It was announced in April and confirmed in October.

City taking on majority of upfront costs, CSEC to pay annual lease

The cost of the total project is pegged at $1.2 billion, split between the city and CSEC. The NHL arena accounts for the bulk of that, at about $800 million, while the parkade, community rink and public plazas bring the cost up to $926 million.

The city is taking on 56 per cent of the upfront costs, or $515 million. Its contribution will be funded by transfers from the city’s major capital projects reserve, the fiscal stability reserve and the budget savings account merged reserve.

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CSEC will pay $40 million upfront, but then pay a $17-million annual lease with one per cent compounded interest over 35 years. By the expiration of that lease — which requires the Flames to remain in Calgary for its duration — CSEC will have paid the city $748.3 million to lease the facility.

The province’s contribution is $330 million to support public realm infrastructure improvements, as well as the community rink and demolition of the Saddledome.

During a scrum with media after Monday’s ceremony, the city’s chief administrative officer David Duckworth said project teams are monitoring any potential cost overruns that could emerge amid the construction period.

Those costs would be shared 50-50 between the city and CSEC, he noted.

“The design team and our staff are closely monitoring costs and budgeting,” he said. “At this point in time, we feel we’re in a really good place. Inflation, I wouldn’t say it’s out of control like it was a few years ago, but we’re closely monitoring that. It’s built into our budget and we’ll continue to report on it.”

Construction is set to begin this fall, pending the city’s approval of a third and final development permit, but excavation of the site will get underway as soon as this week.

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