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 the infrastructure.”

“And it's the replacement of utility lines, water pipes, underground services, everything that is now on Fifth Street, it will be moved to the place where the new street will be 5A,” he said.

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

Fifth Street SE, between 14th and 12th avenues SE, will be closed to make way for an event center to be developed at 5A Street SE.

Preliminary work is planned to be completed in early April. (Mike Symington/CBC)

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 is not complete, the city is already preparing the area to ensure an orderly start of construction, which will begin later this year.

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