Flames to start afresh on new venue plans

Article posted by Coliseum, November 4^th, 2022

Image: Jeff Davison (@JeffDavisonYYC on Twitter)

The National Hockey League (NHL) team Calgary Flames (Canada) and City officials said on October 19^th that they will restart negotiations for a new arena.

‘NBC Sports’ stated that their previous deal, agreed upon in 2019, collapsed late last year when the estimated cost of the project rose and the Flames withdrew. In January, the City hired third-party negotiators to resurrect the project, and those efforts led to the October 19^th announcement.

The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary, Canada. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and are the third major professional ice hockey team to represent the City of Calgary, following the Calgary Tigers (1921-1927) and Calgary Cowboys (1975-1977).

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The 19,289-capacity Scotiabank Saddledome is a multiuse indoor arena in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Located in Stampede Park in the Southeast end of downtown Calgary, the Saddledome was built in 1983 to replace the Stampede Corral as the home of the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL).

‘NBC Sports’ further stated that the Flames have played for 39 years in their current home, the Saddledome, the second-oldest NHL arena behind New York’s (US) 20,789-capacity Madison Square Garden.

The Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation President and head honcho John Bean said in a statement released by the City, “All parties share a collective desire to see a new event center constructed in Calgary. We look forward to discussions with the City to see if we can find an acceptable path forward.”

The City envisions building the new arena on a parcel of land North of the Saddledome as part of a revitalized commercial and residential district on the East side of downtown.

Calgary (Canada)-based The Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation is a privately-owned professional sports and entertainment company based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and was formed in 2012 and is owned by N. Murray Edwards, Alvin Libin, Allan Markin, Jeffrey McCaig, Clay Riddell, and Byron Seaman.

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