Construction crews are preparing for Calgary's new arena

The groundbreaking for the new arena is officially underway.

According to Bob Hunter, project manager for the City of Calgary Event Center, contractor crews have begun the process of “adding infrastructure.”

“And this is the transfer of utility lines, water pipes, underground services, everything that is now on Fifth Street, to the new 5A Street,” he said.

Calgarians expect to see some reconfiguration of the streets around the event center in Victoria Park.

Fifth Street SE, between 14th and 12th avenues SE, will be closed to make way for the event center site, where the new 5A Street SE will be developed.

But the street will be a temporary access to the building once the construction of the actual structure begins.

“You don't want to invest in a new street, new asphalt and everything that goes with it, new curbs, if you're going to build 850,000 square feet next to it,” Hunter said.

The project leader said that these works will be completed at the beginning of April.

Although the design work for the development of the event center complex has not been completed, the city is already preparing the area to ensure an orderly start to construction, which will begin later this year.

Costing just over $920 million, the 18,000-seat arena will be located just north of the Scotiabank Saddledome, home of the NHL's Calgary Flames for 40 years.