Update on new Calgary event centre expected

UPDATE: Calgary arena deal signed, construction set to start this year. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE 

Calgarians may feel a sense of déjà-vu as the event centre committee prepares for another meeting on Thursday morning.

It's been eight years since the Calgary Flames ownership first announced plans for a new arena for the team to call home.

That plan, dubbed CalgaryNEXT, promised an arena, multi-sport fieldhouse and other facilities to host major events and entertainment acts, but it never came to fruition.

Roughly two years later, then-mayor Naheed Nenshi proposed a 'plan B' partnership with Flames ownership, with a portion of the project's pricetag to be covered by the city and the rest covered by the team on top of user surcharges.

However, the team shot down the idea, claiming ownership would end up footing too much of the bill.

Fast forward to the summer of 2019, and it seemed like Calgarians would finally see the mega-project come to fruition.

Calgary city council approved a new $550-million plan to construct a state-of-the-art arena with capacity for around 19,000 people.

Construction on the project could have begun a little over two years later, but cost overruns and disagreements over funding slowed the process to the point where the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation (CSEC) pulled out of the deal in late 2021.

In April 2023, the city once again partnered not only with CSEC but also with the Alberta government and the Calgary Stampede to breathe new life into the project.

The agreements, in principle, with the province, Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation (CSEC) and the Calgary Stampede pave the way for creating the Culture + Entertainment District in downtown Calgary, in the Rivers District, including a new and publicly-owned event centre.

The deal is valued at $1.2 billion.

The city is contributing 44 per cent, or $537.3 million, and 56 per cent is being contributed by both the province ($330 million) and CSEC ($356 million).

The province has since earmarked $39 million for things such as land acquisition, site preparation and roads near the future arena.

A new $800-million arena for the Flames to call home is part of the deal, and it comes with a 35-year lease that includes a commitment from the owners of the Calgary Flames to stay in the city, according to city officials.

The exact details of the plan have not yet been finalized, but Calgarians could soon get a more complete look at the deal's structure following Thursday's event centre committee meeting.

Premier Danielle Smith will join Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek at a 1:15 p.m. news conference updating the public on the new event centre.