News of the expanded footprint of the upcoming Cowboys Music Festival has some people flipping their decks, so to speak, with the area councillor saying there wasn’t much consultation.

The City of Calgary confirmed Friday that the Cowboys Music Festival footprint was adjusted based on lessons learned from last year’s festival, including the complete closure of the intermediate skatepark bowl at Cowboys Park.

That’s riled up Ward 7 Coun. Myke Atkinson, who said that after a March 9 meeting between city officials, Penny Lane Entertainment (owner of Cowboys and the festival) and area residents and park users, he thought progress was being made.

“Unfortunately, last Friday, Penny Lane entertainment sent an email out to some councillors and senior folks within administration, and they were saying that they needed changes to be made that allowed them to use the skate park, and they were asking for some of these limitations that were put in place to basically be rolled back,” Atkinson told LWC.

He said the closure of the intermediate-level skatepark bowl didn’t meet the conditions and expectations of area residents, and they weren’t consulted.

An email was sent through the Penny Lane Entertainment online contact form asking for a response to this story, and that hasn’t been acknowledged or returned with a response.

Atkinson said they received a letter back Thursday night from city administration with Operational Services GM Doug Morgan’s signature, Community Services GM Ian Fleming’s signature, and that of Paul Vickers, owner of Penny Lane, outlining the changes.

“Why am I receiving a letter from administration that has a signature from Penny Lane Entertainment on it,” he said.

“There’s too much connection between this sort of money-powered interest and what’s coming out in terms of the decisions being made, and it really runs roughshod all over all of the community engagement.”

Last March, plans were unveiled for the renovation of Cowboys Park, paving the way for the group’s annual music festival to relocate from the Calgary Stampede grounds.

Additional work is being done at the Cowboys Park site starting this March, according to the City of Calgary’s website.

Cowboys Music Festival mitigation plans in place: City of Calgary

A statement from GM Morgan read that festivals and events play an important role in Calgary’s downtown, and that Cowboys Park was designed to be a flexible, multi-use space, and hosting the annual festival was part of a long-term naming and sponsorship agreement that he said funds upgrades to the park.

“Large festivals like the Cowboys Music Festival are planned well in advance, often 18 months or more,” Morgan’s emailed statement read.

“For 2026, there was a strong possibility that the skatepark would see partial closures, regardless of the final event footprint.”

Morgan said that access to the beginner and advanced bowls will still be available. The overall bowl closure period has been reduced from 45 to 30 days, and efforts will be made to open the skateparks more quickly. He said that they’re working on additional amenities, like a mobile skatepark at a nearby location, to fill the gap. They will update those plans at a later date.

“Responding to public feedback around noise, new for this year are adjustments to noise exemption hours,” Morgan’s statement read.

“Noise exemptions will end at 12:00 a.m. for Sunday – Thursday concerts and 1:30 am for Friday and Saturday concerts, after which amplified music exceeding the outdoor concert limits must stop.”

Still, the skatepark closure is a tough pill to swallow in mid-summer.

Longtime Calgary skateboarding advocate Zev Klymochko said it may not seem like much of a sacrifice to some people, but it’s cutting off a major recreational opportunity for many Calgarians.

“If you live in the neighbourhood, and you’re like a 12-or-13-year-old kid or an older person that loves to use the skate park, that doesn’t drive, then you don’t really have access to the dozen or so other outdoor concrete state parks that we have in Calgary,” he told LWC.

“So, yeah, I think it is a big deal.”

It’s also happening at the most inopportune time, when young Calgarians looking to hop on their boards are out of school and looking for a place to skate.

“I really don’t think it’s appropriate to, like I said, before, close a major recreational park during the peak months, especially without any kind of engagement or, frankly, warning,” Klymochko said.

“A bunch of us who use the park found out last year that it was going to be closed when the fencing went up.”

Skatepark only one aspect of the concern

The City said that moving forward, they will work with the Cowboys Music Festival organizer to use what they’ve learned this year and begin planning for 2027 earlier, with the intention of reducing disruptions to skatepark users while supporting downtown events.

Atkinson said that, along with the skatepark closure, other area resident concerns are being put aside.

In their media release, Atkinson’s office said that data from Calgary’s 311 service showed that 126 complaints were associated with the Cowboys Music Festival, representing more than half of all Stampede-related outdoor event noise complaints citywide.

Atkinson told LWC there were major concerns around noise, garbage, public urination, and safety and security on the site.

“I think that we’re really damaging our relationship with community when we’re not listening to them,” he said.

“Last year’s festival had more 311 complaints for Cowboys than any other music tent for Stampede combined. To come back on year two and not be trying to mitigate those impacts on the community and do right by those folks is showing the community that you’re not listening to them, and that their interests are being put beneath the interests of those who have the connections and the wealth to sort of make their pieces happen within city hall.”