“Definitive agreements in place” for Calgary’s new arena

Whether people are happy about it or not, the Calgary Flames are getting a new arena. A deal was signed today between the City of Calgary, the Calgary Flames and the Calgary Stampede to build a new arena/event centre in Victoria Park, with the Flames signing on to be the primary tenant of the building for the next 35 years.

City Councillor Jeff Ward took to Twitter to make the announcement, calling the signings the “definitive agreements” in getting the new facility built. While many might think this would be a happy moment for Calgary and its residents, his Tweet was met with plenty of backlash as many aren’t happy that taxpayers are on the hook half of the arena’s $550-million cost. The city is also responsible for the demolition costs of the Scotiabank Saddledome, estimated at $12.4 million, as well as land and other costs at $3 million. That’s a whopping $290 million in total, and that’s only if everything comes in on budget!

There is some revenue for the City of Calgary with the arena. As it will own the facility, Calgary gets a quarter of an eight per cent ticket surcharge as well as $250,000 per year for 10 years in naming rights revenue.

The Director of the Alberta Chapter of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation blasted the decision in an interview with Global News.

“The most frustrating part here is that city councillors think that it’s better to prioritize getting a ton of money to a professional hockey team than putting that money back into the pockets of Calgary families.”

The new arena is expected to be completed by the spring of 2024 and will have a seating capacity somewhere between 19,000 and 20,000.