Danielle Smith pushes Calgary arena talks in a new (and old) direction
CBC
Calgary's arena plans had been mostly comatose for some time.
And just as private negotiations resume, what did city hall just do this week? Revive talk of an earlier location it left for dead years ago.
It's a strange, zombie-like turn in the long-winding saga to find the Calgary Flames a new home, with missteps by all sides.
But there's a new player involved — one even wealthier than hockey team owners.
The city's deal with the Flames owners to replace the Saddledome with a new arena a few blocks to its north fell apart in December 2021.
It was supposed to be "fresh start" when talks restarted last fall between the city and the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation (CSEC), said Coun. Sonya Sharp, chair of council's event centre committee.
That meant the financial arrangements. The building's design. Yep, even the location.
"We're looking at building an event centre within the city, within downtown, and all possible options will be presented," Sharp said this week.
She was asked this week if possible arena sites include the CalgaryNext site west of downtown that CSEC previously pitched.
"At this time, I can't confirm that," said the councillor. That's definitely not a no.
CSEC envisioned CalgaryNext as an arena/stadium/field house complex on environmentally contaminated land known as West Village.
City officials determined the project was "not feasible" in 2017. Council unanimously voted against proceeding, and then-mayor Naheed Nenshi declared that it was dead.
But Ken King, CSEC's president at the time, insisted CalgaryNext wasn't dead. It was sleeping.
There were many reasons city hall was done with the West Village idea back then.
