New hotel at Calgary Stampede will hopefully accompany new arena: developer
Construction on a new hotel in Calgary's culture and entertainment district will break ground in 2024, and the developer is hopeful a new Calgary arena will be under construction by then too.
The Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) and Calgary Stampede announced on Tuesday that Matthews Southwest Hospitality will be the development partner for the hotel, which will sit on a 31,000 square-foot parcel of land at the southwest intersection of Stampede Trail and 12 Ave. S.E., next to the Cowboys Casino.
"Well, there's no kidding about it. We hope that (a new event centre) happens, but we're building anyway," said Mike Garcia, president of Matthews Southwest Hospitality.
"We feel like there's enough in this market for sustainability of this hotel, but hands down, we hope (a new arena) happens," he said.
The hotel, which is expected to have more than 220 rooms, will be the first on the Stampede grounds and will connect directly to the BMO Centre – which is currently under expansion.
"We have over 20 conventions booked post-opening at this point and that extends through 2028. We have other that have indicated they want a hotel before they book here," said Joel Cowley, Calgary Stampede CEO.
When its finished, the BMO Centre will be over a million square-feet, making it the largest convention centre in western Canada.
The Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) and the Calgary Stampede have announced the development of a new convention centre hotel which will complement the dramatic expansion of Calgary’s BMO Centre. (CMLC) "It needs hotel rooms to support it, so that when people come to the city, people have a place to stay. It's a really critical part of the overall BMO Centre expansion project," said Kate Thompson, CMLC president.
The hotel development will be approximately $80 million, according to the CMLC, but the final cost will be determined as the design process continues.
Matthews Southwest Hospitality has completed projects around the world as a developer, including The Bow building in Calgary.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.