The Calgary Flames will continue to play in Scotiabank Saddledome indefinitely. The agreement the team had ith the city of Calgary to build a new $634 million arena was terminated on Tuesday.
“We have always believed that Calgary needs a new Event Centre,” John Bean, president and CEO of Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation, the company that owns the Flames, said in a statement Tuesday, per NHL.com. “However, under the current circumstances we do not see a path forward that would create a viable partnership with the city, which is essential for a new Event Centre to become a reality.”
The Flames have been playing at the Scotiabank Saddledome since 1983. However, back in July 2019, city counsel approved the project for the new arena, with then-Mayor Naheed Nenshi adamant that the deal provided “a great balance of social and financial return” for the city.
An issue came to light on Dec. 22nd when “the Flames ownership group said it would not be able to move forward because of increasing additional costs that were being borne only by CSEC.
The city and CSEC first agreed on the 50/50 cost sharing of the project in December 2019, spelling out a cost of $287.5 million for each partner and a total cost of $575 million for the new arena. When that increased to $608.5 million in July 2021, the city said it was unable to pay for its increased share, so Flames ownership kept the agreement alive by taking on the increased costs, $321 million to the city’s $287.5 million.
Design development and further cost increases made the total price $634 million in October. That increased CSEC’s share again, to $346.5 million, and then CSEC said the city introduced $15 million more for infrastructure costs and $4 million more for climate mitigation that had not been on the table.
When combined with CSEC being responsible for all further cost overruns because of supply chain issues and commodity price escalation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Flames ownership decided it could not proceed under those terms.”
It was officially terminated today.
This is the Flames’ 38th season in the Saddledome, the second-oldest in the NHL behind the New York Rangers’ Madison Square Garden.
