NHL: The Calgary Flames' home arena is completely falling apart

The home of the Calgary Flames is crumbling, parts of the roof of the Scotiabank Saddledome – the NHL's oldest Canadian building and one of the oldest in the league – are falling.

According to engineering documents obtained by CBC News through Alberta's Freedom of Information Act, concrete sections have broken from the roof's ring beams in recent years, and other broken pieces have been removed to prevent them from deteriorating and collapsing.

News of the demise of Saddledome is nothing new to engineers. In 2021, the firm Entuitive told the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation (CSEC) that “the condition of the concrete around the ring girder will deteriorate at an accelerated rate.”

Netting has even been installed at specific locations around the ring beam to catch chunks of concrete that may fall.

The reports noted that the issues are mostly cosmetic and “no structural concerns” at this time.

A senior official “with knowledge of the reports and the Saddledome” told CBC News there were no concerns about public safety or the stability of the roof as a whole.

That official told CBC they plan to stabilize the concrete and implement a plan to fix the problem in the coming months.

The building opened in 1983 and has been the home of the Calgary Flames ever since. Only Madison Square Garden, home of the New York Rangers, is open longer.

Battles between the Flames and the City of Calgary over the status of the Saddledome have been ongoing for nearly a decade, with disputes over public funding for the new arena heating up around the time of Calgary's municipal election in 2017.

The two sides reached an agreement in 2019 in which taxpayers and the Calgary Flames would split the costs of the original $550 million bill. However, that deal fell apart in December last year after costs became tiresome, leading to the Flames' departure.

According to the CBC, the city of Calgary has continued to explore avenues for a new stadium for the Flames, although no details have been released due to the confidentiality of the briefings. In May, the city hired officials from a local commercial real estate firm to revive negotiations.

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