Event center designs may be announced by July: committee chair

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The renderings are still shrouded in mystery, but the chair of the event center committee says Calgarians should get their first look at the design of the future downtown arena this summer.

1st District after Monday's closed-door meeting. Sonya Sharp said the committee hopes to approve the $900 million arena development in early July. The design concept will soon be revealed to the public.

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“Everything is going as planned,” Sharpe told reporters outside the council chambers. “The momentum of this timeline has always come first, and we're right where we need to be on this project.”

Monday's meeting comes after the city released detailed details of the arena deal in early February, releasing hundreds of pages of legal documents and funding allocations for the future event center block.

Calgary Sport and Entertainment Corp. is the city's owner of the Calgary Flames. (CSEC) – and a cost-sharing agreement with the Alberta government, originally announced last spring, is set to expire in October 2023.

The deal confirmed that the new event center would sit on 10 acres and feature an 18,000-seat arena that would replace the Saddledome. Indoor and outdoor public arenas complement NHL regulation arenas. There will also be an attached park, a future redevelopment area and a new ice rink for rent by community sports groups.

The total cost of the project is 1.2 billion dollars. The arena will make up the bulk of that, costing about $800 million, while the rink will cost $52.8 million, the park will cost $35.4 million, the outdoor public event space will cost $28.7 million and the indoor arena will cost $9.5 million.

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The project also includes $330 million in provincial funding to support public realm improvements and infrastructure upgrades in Calgary's cultural and entertainment district. The province is also paying for the demolition of Saddledome.

The city will cover 56 percent of the costs, or $515 million. Its contribution is financed by transfers from the city's large capital projects reserve, fiscal stability reserve and the combined reserve of the budget savings account.

CSEC will make an upfront payment of $40 million, plus annual lease payments of $17 million over 35 years with one percent compound interest. When the lease expires — which requires the Flame to remain in Calgary — CSEC will pay the city $748.3 million to lease the facility.

While the committee monitors potential costs and other factors beyond its control, such as inflation, Sharp said the project's budget has not changed.

He also reiterated Monday that the city's share is not tied to this year's 8.6 percent property tax increase.

“The city had money from a previous deal for this project, and we also have $330 million from the province and we're using the working capital from the reserve money based on the projects we've done and done in the past. withdraw the money,” he said.

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“People might say, 'It's our money anyway,' but you can't use working capital to reduce property taxes.” This is only for infrastructure projects.”

Although committee members saw schematics of the arena on Monday, those images will not be made public once the city is granted a development permit.

The schematics will come before the Calgary Planning Commission this Thursday, but like the committee meeting, that discussion will be held behind closed doors. Commissioners can provide feedback, which Sharp noted can be included before a development permit application.

“There is still a lot of work to be done before the actual concept drawings are ready for publication,” he said.

“I cannot give any advice, but I will say that I am satisfied with the progress of the project. We want to make sure we're delivering the best project and center for Calgarians.”

He said similar large-scale capital projects go through the same process, including the transformation of the Arts Commons and the downtown central library and event center, which receive no “special treatment.”

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The next event center committee meeting will be held in mid-June. Pending the outcome of that discussion, Sharpe said, the goal is to have a development permit by July and have the project laid out before the council goes on recess in August.

“When we talk about timelines and we want to say we want to break ground in the summer of 2024, that's the momentum we need to hit,” he said.

Ward 10 councilor and event center committee member Andre Chabot is hopeful that Calgarians will embrace the arena design once it's unveiled, and acknowledged that renderings released for the previous arena deal in 2021 were less popular.

“I hope we can do a better job of communicating things going forward, making sure everyone understands the possibilities, the amendments that might come to the planning commission — things like that,” he said. “Hopefully everything will be well informed before the next debate on this matter.”

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