It’s been a long time coming, as the twists and turns of development of a new Calgary arena came to fruition on July 22 with the groundbreaking of the Calgary Event Centre.

The groundbreaking, which was attended by Calgary city councillors and officials from the Government of Alberta, along with executives from the Calgary Sport and Entertainment Corporation (CSEC), was also the first time that Calgarians got a chance to see the design for the new building.

They also revealed the new title name for the arena, which will be known as Scotia Place, continuing the Scotiabank naming sponsorship that has been in use on the Saddledome since 2010.

Mayor Jyoti Gondek said in the conversations with citizens and visitors alike during the recent, record-breaking Calgary Stampede, they were “glowing” with the changes they were beginning to see in the downtown. The new BMO Centre, the Arts Commons Transformation, and soon, the Event Centre.

“You see when a city invests in itself as Calgary has, people take notice. They want to be part of something that holds promise and sends a signal that we are back in action,” Mayor Gondek said.

“Today’s design reveal of Calgary’s new Events Center is another bold step forward. It’s another message that we are invested in creating spaces and places where everyone belongs that we are a city that takes this role of hospitality and tourism seriously.”

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said that today was a culmination of work done behind the scenes and in collaboration with both the private and public sector.

“Today is all about new beginnings. We’re marking the start of construction of the new arena and events district and unveiling a vision for a renewed and revitalized downtown,” she said.

“But even as we begin this new phase, I think we can all agree that the momentum has already started. That there’s an excitement and an energy that comes with knowing you are already a world class city.”

Ward 1 Coun. Sonya Sharp, who chairs the Event Centre Committee, and has been a steward of the project since she was elected to Calgary city council in 2021, said this was a big day for Calgary.

“After a decade of talking, Calgary is breaking ground on a new event center, a project that promises to become a cornerstone of our sports and entertainment district,” she said.

“This is a place where dreams will be realized or champions will be made and where our community will come together to celebrate, to be entertained, and to enjoy.”

CSEC new president and CEO Robert Hayes credited the heavy lifting that had been done by those before him, including former Calgary Flames president Ken King, and former president and CEO John Bean. He said this was an honour to be involved as this was one of his first public opportunities.

“Our playbook at CSEC speaks to being the heartbeat of our community, creating connections and bringing people together. The new Event Center will be the perfect way to realize these goals,” he said.

Ground will be broken, for real rather than symbolically, within the coming days.

Bob Hunter, the City of Calgary’s advisor on the centre, jokingly said that the work would begin 15 minutes after the end of the media announcement for the design.

“Our contractor is very excited and very keen, so we’ll literally this week start to fence this site. The excavation insuring permit has been approved, so we will start what I’m calling the ‘Big Dig’ probably on the first of September, and mid September is where you’ll start to see hundreds of trucks coming on to site and removing a very very large portion of these parking lots.”

Design of the Calgary Event Centre built around ice, fire, and Indigenous teachings

The design of the last Event Centre, before the plan was scuppered in late 2021, was derided as too plain, looking more like an Epson printer than a modern day Event Centre, let alone an NHL arena.

When the deal caved and then was resurrected again a short time later, city officials assured that more attention would be paid to design.

Mayor Gondek called the unveiled design one that would attract additional investment into the Culture and Entertainment District in Victoria Park.

“I think Calgarians now that they’ve seen the design, we’re going to understand more about why we said this was really a city shaping project and why the public realm was critical to make this successful.”

“One of the most important things to remember is that some investments fuel others, and when you take a look at the Culture and Entertainment District, and you look at the BMO center, and you look at what we’ve been able to accomplish in terms of attracting new residential and commercial real estate plays, the fact that Sam Center is out of the ground now—having an event centre here is going to get us more investment.”

The footprint for the new arena is considerably bigger than that confined area it was in before, given that it includes a public space and has the community rink attached to it. That’s given designers more area to work with.

The arena is set to provide around 18,400 seat capacity, although with 52 private box suites, along with indoor and outdoor community plazas.

The designers used fire and the confluence of the two rivers where the new building is located, as the theme of the new Event Centre.

“I think the best buildings tell standards and common areas and it was important for us to come up with a story resonated with this place this very special place,” said Bill Johnson, one of the design principals on the project.

“This was the birthplace actually in this community, and people gathered around the fire. What better building type than a building that was designed to bring people together, that they actually make reference to the fire at the at the confluence of the rivers. So, Calgary is a cold place as well, and it’s a beautiful city on snowfields with glaciers and we wanted to balance the idea of fire with ice. And so that became really the theme and the narrative for the design.”

Social media commentary on the reveal had already, by the afternoon of July 22, coalesced on a new nickname for the building based on the design elements: the Scotiabank Fireplace.

Johnson said that given the complexity of the new building, it wasn’t possible to keep the iconic shape of the Saddledome for the new building.

“The Saddledome was at a time when it was more about engineering a very simple structure. But now the buildings have become so complex, with multiple levels and the expectations for live venues and flexibility. Those roofs, actually you can’t really rig your concert. It just doesn’t have the capacity.”

“I understand it was a sort of nostalgic thing, but it was just not achievable.”

The Calgary Event Centre is set to cost Calgary taxpayers $831 million upfront, alongside $40 million up front from CSEC and an additional $17 million plus one per cent compounded for 35 years.

The sports company has also said they will be contributing $1.5 million annually to community sports funding over that period.

The Government of Alberta is set to spend $300 million on infrastructure upgrades to support mobility options around the Calgary Event Centre.

City of Calgary CAO David Duckworth said that the design team and city staff were monitoring for any cost overruns on the project.

“At this point in time, we feel we’re in a really good place… inflation is, I wouldn’t say it’s out of control like it was a few years ago. We’re closely monitoring that. It is built into our budget, and we’ll continue to report.”