25 Aug 2015
Plans revealed for CA$890m CalgaryNEXT sports complex
BY Tom Walker
Canada-based Calgary Sports and Entertainment (CSE) has revealed plans for a CA$890m (US$676m, €585m, £428m) multi-purpose sports complex which would house all of the group’s professional sports franchises.
The planned CalgaryNEXT venue, located on the banks of the Bow River in Calgary, Alberta, is set to feature a 19,000-capacity indoor arena and a 30,000-50,000-seat stadium – serving as the new home for the Calgary Flames and Calgary Hitmen ice hockey teams, the Calgary Stampeders American football franchise and the Calgary Roughnecks lacrosse team.
Facilities at CalgaryNEXT are set to include a luxury hotel, conferencing space and an mixed-use entertainment district featuring restaurants, retail outlets and up to 750 private residences.
CSE plans to fund the venue by providing CA$200m from its own coffers and is asking for the City of Calgary to stump up CA$400m. The remainder would raised through a combination of a ticket tax on all events (CA$250m) and a community revitalization levy (CA$240m).
The new complex would replace the city's two existing sporting venues, the 38,000-seat McMahon Stadium and the 19,000-capacity Scotiabank Saddledome – the current home of the Flames and a 1988 Winter Olympic Games venue.
CSE’s president and CEO Ken King said: “CalgaryNEXT is a bold new vision for Calgary. The question is simple, ‘Is this good for Calgary and is this good for Calgarians?’
“If we can come to an affirmative answer, what we will do is get to the starting line of a very difficult, very arduous process, to bring this home and to bring it to fruition.”
If the plans receive the backing of the city government, building work could begin as early as 2016 with a completion date set for 2019.
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