Come 2028, Calgary’s most popular event is bound to get even busier and will surely look very different.

Following recent projects like Scotia Place, the Autograph Collection Hotel on Stampede Park, the first hotel to be built on Stampede grounds, has officially started construction. The hotel’s 13 storeys, 320 rooms, meeting and ballroom spaces, food and beverage offerings and other amenities will be fully open and operational in 2028.

“It was only seven months ago that we stood here and announced that we were going to build the first hotel on Stampede Park, alongside Truman and Calgary Stampede and now here we are today, ready to celebrate the start of construction,” Kate Thompson, President and CEO of Calgary Municipal Land Corporation said.

The project, the first of three planned hotels in Calgary’s Culture + Entertainment District to begin construction and the first new full-service, convention-designed hotel built in over 25 years, is owned and built by Calgary developer Truman, with investments totalling $330 million.

The W Calgary and JW Marriott Calgary located at 15 Ave and Macleod Trail, are both now in the regulatory approvals process. Once complete, the three hotels will provide more than 700 rooms within a five-minute walk of the BMO Centre.

“Marriott continues to expand our hospitality options in Canada to meet the diverse needs of guests, owners and developers,” said Tim Reardon, Regional Vice President, Western Canada at Marriott International, in a release.

“With the expanded BMO Centre opening in 2024, Calgary has become an incredibly fast-growing market for the hotel industry, and we are delighted to work with Truman, the Calgary Stampede and CMLC to bring these three elevated hotel experiences to Calgary.”

Ward 8 Coun. Nathaniel Schmidt said that the hotel is representative of the power of partnerships and plays a large role in the ongoing initiative to revitalize downtown Calgary.

“As the councillor downtown, this is part of rebuilding our economic engine and actually starting fresh and moving forward so that we can have a world-class downtown that brings in people from all over the world,” he said.

Referencing not only constituents but all Calgarians, Schmidt dismissed the possibility that increasing hotels may limit locals’ chances to explore the city, saying instead that having attractions and venues near the train line will create opportunities, not ruin them.

Schmidt noted that Mayor Jeromy Farkas sent his regards and well wishes for the hotel, but was needed away from the groundbreaking.

“As I’m sure you’re all aware, he’s quite busy with something else that I will not mention right now, that we’re all dealing with together as a city,” he joked.

Construction to pose minimal inconvenience to July’s Stampede experience: Executives

For the hundreds of thousands of Stampede-goers in summer 2026 and 2027, construction’s biggest impact will be the lessening of open space, according to Joel Cowley, CEO of the Calgary Stampede.

“Rotary House was there, which was used for special events, that’s where the (WestJet) Skyride began, on the north side, so Skyride shortens up a couple of posts, but will still certainly be there, and we have a lot of space there for sponsors as well,” he said.

“We will work with the construction so that it is not impactful during those 10 days, much as we have worked with the construction of the BMO Centre or the new Scotia Place to minimize any impacts on the Stampede.”

The 137 years that the Calgary Stampede has operated on the Stampede Park grounds have been nothing but fluid, Cowley said, with the event and park being in a constant state of transformation. He added that throughout the Stampede’s history, all spaces and structures that have been repurposed, in this case, Weadickville, do so to fill great needs.

“If we think about the last 50-or-so years, you can identify three significant developments, the grandstand, which allowed the Calgary Stampede to really elevate its presentation for rodeo and evening shows, the Saddledome, the home of the Calgary Flames since the early 80s, was very significant, and the building we’re standing in today (BMO Centre) is arguably the most impactful structure that has been built on Stampede Park,” he said.

“It was developed and funded by the three orders of government to the total expense of $500 million with the promise of generating economic impact for Calgary and for Alberta, and it is fulfilling that promise.”

In the past year, the recently renovated BMO Centre has hosted 327 events. Cowley said that 47 of which were new conferences, or conventions that had never been to Calgary before.

“That’s what generates economic impact, bringing people to our city for conferences, conventions, special events, because they stay in hotel rooms, they eat in restaurants, they book rental cars, they take Ubers, they take taxis and they bring money to Calgary that otherwise wouldn’t be here, that also generates and sustains employment in our great city.”