Calgary looking at 'all viable' options for location of possible new arena
As negotiations continue for a new event centre in Calgary, the chair of the committee in charge of the project isn't ruling out that a new arena could be built somewhere other than Victoria Park in the Rivers District.
Ward 1 Coun. Sonya Sharp said Monday morning that the committee is looking at "all viable options" for a future arena and didn't quash the idea that negotiators could consider a return to the West Village, an idea the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation (CSEC) first pitched in 2015.
"This is a fresh start and we are looking to build an event centre within the city, within downtown and all possible options will be presented," Sharp said following the first meeting of the event centre committee in the new year.
The proposed idea of a hybrid arena-and-stadium on the creosote-contaminated land in Sunalta was called "dead" by former mayor Naheed Nenshi in 2017.
Though Sharp wouldn't confirm that the West Village is again being considered, she also didn't say it's off the table.
A deal between the city and CSEC to split the cost of a $550 million arena in Victoria Park, adjacent to the Saddledome, fell apart after costs ballooned to $634 million. The city then launched a new event centre committee and brought in a third-party negotiator to work with the Flames' ownership group on its behalf.
Sharp also said the city's negotiating team, CAA Icon, is talking directly with Premier Danielle Smith's office about a possible role the province could play in any future project.
"MLA (Ric) McIver is the liason with the province, but we've had our deal structure advisors speak with the premier's office directly," she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.