When does CalgaryNext break ground?

[BurningSteel]

Thought it would be interesting to see the common consensus.

[StrykerSteve]

It'll be years, 5 minimum. Gut tells me 8-10. Of course, if they give up this strategy and go for an easier location, then it could be as soon as 3.

[442scotty]

Doubt it will ever happen in its present location

[CaptainCrunch]

Hate to say it but I agree with Scotty, it won't happen because its going to be a political nuclear bomb between all the levels of government.

[Quincy Egg]

If the current funding model remains?

Hopefully never.

[Freeway]

I am going to say 2020.

[Roughneck]

3-4 weeks.

[Table 5]

As the Flames imagine it today? I don't see it ever happening.

If CMLC takes over and somehow integrates the stadium into their existing East Village vision? I'd say it's still 50/50 that East Village will ever include a sports complex that large, but if so, shovels in the ground in 6 years.

[Bend it like Bourgeois]

I'll be an optimist and say 2017 - with the caveat that I mean starting the cleanup as step 1, not that the cleanup will be done by then.

There's a public process to unfold, and there will be lots of back and forth yet, but I don't think it's actually that hard of the will is there. And I think it is.

[GullFoss]

Im going to say either 15+ years or never. Too big an ask. Wrong locaion for a field house. Not enough parking. Poor location.

[HotHotHeat]

10+ years or when the ownership group decides they need a new arena and will pay for it.

[Crumpy-Gunt]

Never.

[thymebalm]

Yea... It's still pretty pie in the sky at this point. I think HotHotHeat has it right. As the years slide on the pressure will grow on ownership to provide a facility that can attract players and fans in the modern NHL age.

Right now... it's just not broken enough. Fans want to come watch, players want to play in Calgary.. not a lot of pressure.

[RougeUnderoos]

There does seem to be a lot more chatter from the City about cleaning up the site. So that's a start I guess. But I still voted "never".

[zyzz]

Never. The Dome is fine and nobody cares about the Stamps or Katy Perry skipping town.

[Dion]

Flames are asking for too much tax dollars in the funding formula and until that changes I don't have confidence the project will get off the ground.

[Locke]

Monday?

[Erick Estrada]

It's going to happen and in that spot but I simply don't see how it can happen in less than 5/6 years.

[N-E-B]

Never. The Dome is fine and nobody cares about the Stamps or Katy Perry skipping town.

I can't honestly say I care about any of the bands that skip Calgary, but lots of people care about that.

I agree that the Dome is fine for hockey (except the washrooms), but as a building that could be used year-round it's obsolete.

[nik-]

I voted never because I think this whole thing will get a major overhaul before it goes forward.

[Vulcan]

That the city is taking the first step by hiring a firm to look at the cleanup costs, makes me optimistic that the ball will get rolling.

[hockey.modern]

Like it was said earlier, the first process is cleaning the creosote, which the city is looking at right now and is likely to hire the firm by the end of the month.

[polak]

I voted 5 years but it wont be anything like the presentation. I just think that they'll give up the field house and build a new arena.

[getbak]

Like it was said earlier, the first process is cleaning the creosote, which the city is looking at right now and is likely to hire the firm by the end of the month.
By the end of the month, they'll have hired the company that will investigate the site and make recommendations for the cleanup. Who knows how long it will take before an actual cleanup plan is approved.

I think that's the biggest question mark over this whole project. If everyone can agree to clean up the site ASAP and go after Domtar for payment after the fact (or while cleanup is taking place), things could get moving on the cleanup by the end of 2016.

If they wait until they get a ruling and payment agreement from Domtar, it could spend a few years in court before anything happens.


My guess is that in a big picture sense, the project will be built as proposed, although small details will change from what we've seen so far. By big picture, I mean that somewhere west of 14th St and north of the CPR tracks, a large multi-use sports complex will be constructed. It will include an NHL arena used by the Flames, Hitmen, and Roughnecks, as well as for concerts and other "arena" events. The arena (or Events Centre) will be attached to a multisport fieldhouse that will be available for public use and will serve as the home stadium for the Stampeders.


I predict that the creosote cleanup will start in 2017, with groundbreaking on the new sports complex in 2018. The Flames will play their first game in the new building in the fall of 2021. Construction will continue on the fieldhouse after the Events Centre is open, with the Stamps playing their first game in 2022 and the fieldhouse opening for public use also in 2022.

[jayswin]

^^^^^^^^

Oh man, that's so depressing. I know it was unrealistic but when the announcement was imminent I was thinking like 3 - 4 years til we were sitting in a new arena, with 4 years being annoying. As a 30 year old it's pretty crazy to think I'll likely be closing in on 40 before we see a game played there. :whaa:

[Dion]

The fly in the ointment for me is the 200 mil the city is supposed to cough up for the field house. If the city can't or won't come up with that amount it puts the whole project in jeopardy. I think the plan will be revised with just an arena as the Flames can't wait, with the possibility of a feild house at a future date.

[calgarywinning]

Poll question is clear, but there is confusion. Break ground is the start of construction. I can't see that a decision isn't made within 2 years and work begins. Then several years construction.

The City is wealthy and can't afford not to attempt to clean and create this area of town at this point. The contamination has to be cleaned regardless at this point as it's leaching into the river and across the banks.

[RougeUnderoos]

This might be a stupid question, and I'm okay with that, but how does the football stadium become a "field house"?

There is only one field, and it will be the Stamps home for training camp, practices and of course games (as few as they are) for several months of the year. If they build this thing and call it the field house, will it alleviate the shortage of sports facilities in Calgary?

I think the answer to my own question is "no", because I'm positive the addition of one part-time soccer field isn't going to do that.

So it seems like that it will be a "field house" in name only, but calling it a "field house" is a way to get some public loot.

[getbak]

This might be a stupid question, and I'm okay with that, but how does the football stadium become a "field house"?

There is only one field, and it will be the Stamps home for training camp, practices and of course games (as few as they are) for several months of the year. If they build this thing and call it the field house, will it alleviate the shortage of sports facilities in Calgary?

I think the answer to my own question is "no", because I'm positive the addition of one part-time soccer field isn't going to do that.

So it seems like that it will be a "field house" in name only, but calling it a "field house" is a way to get some public loot.

It's not a stupid question, but it's probably more appropriate for the main CalgaryNext thread. I posted my thoughts in that thread here: http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthread.php?p=5414686

I think it's definitely a question that needs to be asked.

[Northendzone]

i voted 5+ yrs. I think the flames need a plan b and i also think the economy here in clagary needs to stabilize/get fixed

[GGG]

I voted never,

However I do think that an arena will be started on the west village site within 10 years.

Free land from the city, CRL funds clean up and infrastructure for new district. Bow trail gets moved. Ticket tax and flames pay for arena.

I don't see the interest in spending an additional 250 million for a CFL stadium until The old one is structurally unsound

[CaptainCrunch]

Never. The Dome is fine and nobody cares about the Stamps or Katy Perry skipping town.

Hey wait a minute


Why you little

http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view7/2594030/strangling-bart-o.gif

[BigFlameDog]

Flames will be playing in the rink they own in Balzac in 5 years.

West village will still be undeveloped.

Still no field house.

In 10 years Stamps begin playing in their new multi purpose stadium in Balzac.

West village will still be undeveloped.

Still no field house.

Just a guess.

[Strange Brew]

Poll question is clear, but there is confusion. Break ground is the start of construction. I can't see that a decision isn't made within 2 years and work begins. Then several years construction.

The City is wealthy and can't afford not to attempt to clean and create this area of town at this point. The contamination has to be cleaned regardless at this point as it's leaching into the river and across the banks.

What do you mean by bolded part? The citizens are wealthy or is there a civic reserve of some type waiting to be used?

[Fighting Banana Slug]

I'm as optimistic as they come on the current plan, but I still voted 5+. Feels like a few years of studies, plus a few years of design tweaks plus a few years of funding problems. I realize some of that stuff can occur concurrently, but it will still be an annoyingly long time before we see shovels in the ground (outside of the creosote issue).

[calgarywinning]

What do you mean by bolded part? The citizens are wealthy or is there a civic reserve of some type waiting to be used?

The City as a corporation is wealthy, multi-pronged taxing regime that has the populance and business tax base in the City of Calgary to do many things and does do many things. It's not a judgement, but more of an observation.

I have been told by the city they have 65 lawyers on staff. Which tells me they may not do so many things well, but thats 10-15 million a year in in-staff legal, not to mention they have Bennett Jones on contract for litigation. Probably another 10 million a year. Just in lawyers alone that's a new field house every ten years.

The reality is the land is contaminated and owned by the City, so the cleanup has to occur. It's a legitimate expense and the liability exposure for not doing so is huge as areas across the river have tested positive.

Then there has to be a budget and a plan to activate or purpose use this cleaned up grade A land to create more tax revenue for the city. Whether they sell the land, rent the land, use portions of the land to sell to be developed, it makes a lot of sense for the municipality to do this if the cleanup is a necessity.

[Howie_16]

Quick question that may have been asked somewhere else that I can't find:

"If the Liberals win the election, would CalgaryNEXT be a project that could benefit from Trudeau's plan to spend federal money on infrastructure? How would/could this be affected by a majority or minority Liberal government?"

[Howie_16]

Double post. My bad

[Coach]

Soon.

[CroFlames]

Quick question that may have been asked somewhere else that I can't find:
"If the Liberals win the election, would CalgaryNEXT be a project that could benefit from Trudeau's plan to spend federal money on infrastructure? How would/could this be affected by a majority or minority Liberal government?"

Probably just another empty promise by a politician trying to get the big job.

I doubt much will change in terms of arena funding no matter what happens on Monday.

[#-3]

Quick question that may have been asked somewhere else that I can't find:

"If the Liberals win the election, would CalgaryNEXT be a project that could benefit from Trudeau's plan to spend federal money on infrastructure? How would/could this be affected by a majority or minority Liberal government?"

Only way this is possible is with an Olympic bid.

[Lil Pedro]

Voted 2017.

The sooner this gets built the better; Calgary's sports facilities are in desperate need of replacement, and if you disagree with that give your head a shake the next time it takes you 10 minutes to take a leak at the Dome or when you're freezing watching the Stamps in -30 weather in November. In the end, we are all going to be paying for it in some way, shape or form; accept it.

[T@T]

Only way this is possible is with an Olympic bid.
Agreed, for the next few years anyway.

[stone hands]

Hopefully never

I want a new rink, but not calgaryNEXT

[Erick Estrada]

Hopefully never

I want a new rink, but not calgaryNEXT

That's like winning a lottery and being told you have won a Ferrari and saying; "I want a Ferrari but not that Ferrari." At the end of the day if you want a Ferrari you should be happy that you have been presented the opportunity to have any Ferrari. Life isn't about having everything on your own terms. This is the plan that the Flames owners have chosen so if you want a new arena this is it.

[stone hands]

Except it's nothing like the lottery because instead of winning money, you get it taken from you

[RM14]

I would love to see what a $400MM reno to the dome would look like. Not that I want or hope it would happen. I just think it would be interesting to see what they can come up with with modern architecture.

[Erick Estrada]

Except it's nothing like the lottery because instead of winning money, you get it taken from you

How so? Explain to me how Calgary NEXT is taking any money from you?

[Erick Estrada]

I would love to see what a $400MM reno to the dome would look like. Not that I want or hope it would happen. I just think it would be interesting to see what they can come up with with modern architecture.

At the cost of $400 million it's not a renovation, it's a new building.

[stone hands]

Oh not much, just like...800 million in taxpayer dollars to develop an area that could actually generate the city lots of tax if it wasn't being occupied by 1 Tennant who won't pay property tax because the city will get the privilege of owning the facility

[Erick Estrada]

Oh not much, just like...800 million in taxpayer dollars to develop an area that could actually generate the city lots of tax if it wasn't being occupied by 1 Tennant who won't pay property tax because the city will get the privilege of owning the facility

You didn't answer my question. How is Calgary NEXT taking money from you?

[Erick Estrada]

Oh not much, just like...800 million in taxpayer dollars to develop an area that could actually generate the city lots of tax if it wasn't being occupied by 1 Tennant who won't pay property tax because the city will get the privilege of owning the facility

You want the facilities in Balzac? I assume you don't live in the far south of the city as a fieldhouse that's over an hour away from southerners isn't what I would call sensible at all. Central location is pretty important when it comes to facilities such as this.

[stone hands]

You want the facilities in Balzac? I assume you don't live in the far South of the city as a fieldouse that's over an hour away from southerners isn't what I would call sensible at all. Central location is pretty important when it comes to facilities such as this.
In fact I do live in McKenzie towne and would gladly drive to balzak multiple times a week to support a team I have season tickets for


*edit*

In fact, balzak isn't even a big deal. If I took stony trail I'd get to a rink in balzak about 5 minutes slower than my current commute to the dome. Besides, saving 5-10 minutes of driving to a sporting event is really a poor excuse to justify that much public money for something

[GioforPM]

In fact I do live in McKenzie towne and would gladly drive to balzak multiple times a week to support a team I have season tickets for


*edit*

In fact, balzak isn't even a big deal. If I took stony trail I'd get to a rink in balzak about 5 minutes slower than my current commute to the dome. Besides, saving 5-10 minutes of driving to a sporting event is really a poor excuse to justify that much public money for something

I suspect you can say this because you don't in fact, have seasons tickets. Plus, notwithstanding there's no way that Balzac is a mere 5 minutes more - Stoney Trail or not (I drive Stoney on the west side at least once a week and it's a good 30 minutes without traffic from the Trans-Canada to CrossIron Mills), not everyone is just off of Stoney or Deerfoot.

Out of town arenas were a past concept that never panned out: Kanata, Glendale, etc.

[stone hands]

I suspect you can say this because you don't in fact, have seasons tickets. Plus, notwithstanding there's no way that Balzac is a mere 5 minutes more - Stoney Trail or not (I drive Stoney on the west side at least once a week and it's a good 30 minutes without traffic from the Trans-Canada to CrossIron Mills), not everyone is just off of Stoney or Deerfoot.

Out of town arenas were a past concept that never panned out: Kanata, Glendale, etc.
http://imgur.com/Y7vIzdj

[GioforPM]

http://imgur.com/gallery/sGoLUy3

Google maps is your friend :)

Broken link is not my friend - but I don't need google maps to tell me how Stoney Trail works.

But anyway, tell me what the driving time is from Lakeview or Valley Ridge or Woodlands to Balzac versus the west side?

Also, Balzac has no water supply. The last few developments had to jump through numerous and expensive hoops to get water licences. It's not a very good option for anyone.

Finally, the dream that the west end would be developed without this type of plan is of the pipe variety. No developer would touch it.

[stone hands]

It was a picture of my season tickets, but imgur isn't working correctly I guess

I'm glad you know exactly how much h time it takes me to get to and from the dome though

[GioforPM]

It was a picture of my season tickets, but imgur isn't working correctly I guess

I'm glad you know exactly how much h time it takes me to get to and from the dome though

Fair enough, you are a seasons ticket holder. But the main point is that central is way better for the vast majority of attendees.

[Robbob]

Meh, I'd still be willing for my tax dollars to make this go. IMO I think it would be good for the city.

[stone hands]

Sure its way better. But is it worth the cost? I posit that it's not. At all. I'll also say that Calgary is not Glendale and the flames wouldn't have a problem selling out every game no matter where they put it.

[Weitz]

I suspect you can say this because you don't in fact, have seasons tickets. Plus, notwithstanding there's no way that Balzac is a mere 5 minutes more - Stoney Trail or not (I drive Stoney on the west side at least once a week and it's a good 30 minutes without traffic from the Trans-Canada to CrossIron Mills), not everyone is just off of Stoney or Deerfoot.

Out of town arenas were a past concept that never panned out: Kanata, Glendale, etc.

It takes you 30 mins to drive 30 km on a road that is 100 km/h max with no traffic? :blink:

And according to google, its 2 mins longer to drive to cross irons then it is to drive to the Dome from McKenzie town.

[GioforPM]

It takes you 30 mins to drive 30 km on a road that is 100 km/h max with no traffic? :blink:

And according to google, its 2 mins longer to drive to cross irons then it is to drive to the Dome from McKenzie town.

Well, looking back, I included some TransCanada time as well, my bad. But it is not all 100K and you still have to go on the 2 and then park (like going to a game I guess).

Anyway, let's assume the timing is right - great for Mackenzie Town. Crappy for Westbrook, Lakeview, Glenmore, Aspen, etc. etc.

Plus Balzac is a dumb place to put a big facility as far as utilities, water, other amenities, etc. is concerned. And ever deal with the County of Rocky View? It's amateur hour.

[4X4]

OH well! Hey, if it works for one guy down in McKenzie Towne, then let's do it! Forget about the people that maybe want to have 2-3 beers at the game and plan on taking the train. And screw the people that live in the SW that have and extra 15-30 minutes tacked on to the drive. Maybe even an hour, considering crappy traffic on winter evenings.

As long as stone hands is happy, that's really all that matters. Everyone else that is thinking about maybe wanting to celebrate after a playoff game, but now have the pesky responsibility of having brought their car to the game don't need to worry about walking down to the closest entertainment district, because there isn't one up in Balzac!

Brilliant plan, yo!

[RM14]

Argument is useless. Arena will not be built outside of downtown.

[4X4]

Argument is useless. Arena will not be built outside of downtown.

I can't believe anyone thinks that the Flames would be so stupid as to build it in Balzac. :clown:

[The Yen Man]

I live in Sage Hill, so an arena in Balzac would totally be to my benefit, and even I think it's a terrible idea. Ask Ottawa and Phoenix how awesome it is to have an arena in the middle of nowhere. Ken King should be fired if that's where he ends up locating the new arena, as I guarantee Flames will regret that decision almost immediately.

[Senator Clay Davis]

If Rocky View County is gonna build the Flames an arena for free in Balzac and the city/province/feds kick in nothing for a downtown Calgary arena, the Flames new arena will be in Balzac. Of course it's highly unlikely to happen, but the Flames first choice will always be an arena they pay little to nothing for. Of course it'd be stupid but as we've seen from Ottawa and Phoenix, a free arena will cause stupid decisions.

[OBCT]

After 2018, but before 2025.

[heep223]

If Rocky View County is gonna build the Flames an arena for free in Balzac and the city/province/feds kick in nothing for a downtown Calgary arena, the Flames new arena will be in Balzac. Of course it's highly unlikely to happen, but the Flames first choice will always be an arena they pay little to nothing for. Of course it'd be stupid but as we've seen from Ottawa and Phoenix, a free arena will cause stupid decisions.


That will never happen. The Flames have repeatedly said as much.

[RM14]

If Rocky View County is gonna build the Flames an arena for free in Balzac and the city/province/feds kick in nothing for a downtown Calgary arena, the Flames new arena will be in Balzac. Of course it's highly unlikely to happen, but the Flames first choice will always be an arena they pay little to nothing for. Of course it'd be stupid but as we've seen from Ottawa and Phoenix, a free arena will cause stupid decisions.

I honestly think the Flames would respectfully decline a free arena built out of town.

[GioforPM]

I honestly think the Flames would respectfully decline a free arena built out of town.

Yes, this has repeatedly been stated by them as I recall.

The goal is an entertainment district, which wouldn't happen there.

[Howie_16]

Probably just another empty promise by a politician trying to get the big job.

I doubt much will change in terms of arena funding no matter what happens on Monday.

But it is not an empty promise of federal dollars to CalgaryNEXT. It is Trudeau's platform to stimulate the economy by spending on infrastructure and running a deficit.

Does the CalgaryNEXT project qualify as infrastructure in this case?

[Flamenspiel]

^^Yea, and i have some swampland in Florida to sell you. Many promises have been made, most of which will be long forgotten, but an arena for Calgary with federal money, that's just a non-starter. They would lose as many votes in Edmonton as they would gain in Calgary as a result of any such grant. Even when Notley mentioned that she would just "look" at Calgary NEXT, she was getting calls from Edmonton's mayor that they wanted a share as well.

[stone hands]

OH well! Hey, if it works for one guy down in McKenzie Towne, then let's do it! Forget about the people that maybe want to have 2-3 beers at the game and plan on taking the train. And screw the people that live in the SW that have and extra 15-30 minutes tacked on to the drive. Maybe even an hour, considering crappy traffic on winter evenings.

As long as stone hands is happy, that's really all that matters. Everyone else that is thinking about maybe wanting to celebrate after a playoff game, but now have the pesky responsibility of having brought their car to the game don't need to worry about walking down to the closest entertainment district, because there isn't one up in Balzac!

Brilliant plan, yo!
Oils 40 bucks a barrel. Thousands of people are being laid off. We have a million other things to spend almost a billion dollars of public money on but let's give it to an ownership group who's net worth is well over 5 billion dollars so people can take a ctrain home from a hockey game. We could have the flames build the rink and extend the lrt to it. That would be a good use of public money

[T@T]

I honestly think the Flames would respectfully decline a free arena built out of town.
Do you mean "out of town" or "downtown"?

I agree it will never be 20-30k's away from city center but I still say this project is too large for the west village and far too expensive.

[T@T]

At the cost of $400 million it's not a renovation, it's a new building.
Not sure how or why but Madison Square's renovation cost 1 billion :eek:

I don't think it matters what the cost would be to renovate the Dome, flames want away from the stampede board.

[GioforPM]

Do you mean "out of town" or "downtown"?

I agree it will never be 20-30k's away from city center but I still say this project is too large for the west village and far too expensive.

Do you mean too expensive to build there or too expensive to the city? If the former, where is less expensive? If the latter, what does the city do with the unusable land it already purchased for a loss?

The suitability of the footprint is debateable. I don't think it's as small as where some other similar multi-sport complexes are.

ETA: I think he meant out of town because Balzac

[stone hands]

Really I don't care where they put it, as long as they pay for it. any amount of research into public funded sports arenas will show you its a terrible investment for the city and just lines the pockets of the owners. Balzak is just an extreme example of probably the lowest cost for the flames, at least real-estate wise

[T@T]

Do you mean too expensive to build there or too expensive to the city? If the former, where is less expensive? If the latter, what does the city do with the unusable land it already purchased for a loss?

The suitability of the footprint is debateable. I don't think it's as small as where some other similar multi-sport complexes are.

ETA: I think he meant out of town because Balzac
Infrastructure for that area will be very costly, KK is being sneaky about this, after the arena's are open the true scope of traffic problems will be known and of course dealt with at a huge cost to taxpayers. and then there's the cleanup costs(who will pay for it?)

Not that you want it but I'll give you my opinion anyway :)

That area should be cleaned up and used similar to east village, with the way our road systems are in this city we need more places to live closer to the downtown core.

I would put this massive project up on the hill at firepark, 5 minutes from downtown, right off of deerfoot tr and already on the LRT line, this area(Barlow/Memorial could also be revitalized with hotels,bars, condo's etc.

Edit, the land is already owned by one of the flames owners.

[Parallex]

But it is not an empty promise of federal dollars to CalgaryNEXT. It is Trudeau's platform to stimulate the economy by spending on infrastructure and running a deficit.

Does the CalgaryNEXT project qualify as infrastructure in this case?

I doubt that they would put any dough towards the Arena/Fieldhouse but considering that they directly said that public transportation infrastructure would be a part of it I would imagine that the roadways/LRT connections the project would need in the WV would at least qualify.

[GioforPM]

Infrastructure for that area will be very costly, KK is being sneaky about this, after the arena's are open the true scope of traffic problems will be known and of course dealt with at a huge cost to taxpayers. and then there's the cleanup costs(who will pay for it?)

Not that you want it but I'll give you my opinion anyway :)

That area should be cleaned up and used similar to east village, with the way our road systems are in this city we need more places to live closer to the downtown core.

I would put this massive project up on the hill at firepark, 5 minutes from downtown, right off of deerfoot tr and already on the LRT line, this area(Barlow/Memorial could also be revitalized with hotels,bars, condo's etc.

No developer is touching west village to pay for any cleanup. And no entertainment district businesses would want to be outside of the downtown/beltline area, the Albert Park crowd notwithstanding:whistle:. Firepark doesn't have the same access to businessmen who spend the after-work bucks that this area would. It's isolated and surrounded by warehouses and industrial sites, which would all require massive private developer risk money to develop into hotels and condos in an unproven area. Plus, I gather the vast majority of season ticket holders are in the SW and NW, not the NE.

Really, the Firepark area (including Max Bell especially) is almost too big - you couldn't develop it all and it would be another arena surrounded by nothing.

[T@T]

No developer is touching west village to pay for any cleanup. And no entertainment district businesses would want to be outside of the downtown/beltline area, the Albert Park crowd notwithstanding:whistle:. Firepark doesn't have the same access to businessmen who spend the after-work bucks that this area would. It's isolated and surrounded by warehouses and industrial sites, which would all require massive private developer risk money to develop into hotels and condos in an unproven area. Plus, I gather the vast majority of season ticket holders are in the SW and NW, not the NE.

Really, the Firepark area (including Max Bell especially) is almost too big - you couldn't develop it all and it would be another arena surrounded by nothing.
Funny, they said the same things about the area Angel Stadium and the Honda Center are located in Anaheim, the Pepsi Center in Denver and the SAP Center in San Jose.

All located just out of the core in older industrial area's but close enough that nobody suffers trying to get to them because they are close to everyone. plus they all have ample parking for those who want to drive.


Again, it's a 5 minute difference for these SW/NW ticket holders and with the traffic nightmare that's probable it's most likely faster for them to get in/out of firepark.

And the maxbell isn't in firepark, it's over a mile away off the LRT line.

[billybob123]

Of course it'd be stupid but as we've seen from Ottawa and Phoenix, a free arena will cause stupid decisions.

Ottawa's arena wasn't "free". Senators development Corp paid for it. FYI. Bad place to put an arena regardless, your point stands.

[GioforPM]

Funny, they said the same things about the area Angel Stadium and the Honda Center are located in Anaheim, the Pepsi Center in Denver and the SAP Center in San Jose.

All located just out of the core in older industrial area's but close enough that nobody suffers trying to get to them because they are close to everyone. plus they all have ample parking for those who want to drive.


Again, it's a 5 minute difference for these SW/NW ticket holders and with the traffic nightmare that's probable it's most likely faster for them to get in/out of firepark.

And the maxbell isn't in firepark, it's over a mile away off the LRT line.

I know Max Bell isn't in Firepark, but every proponent of that site includes it, presumably to have more space. And then they cite the view as a selling point.

I have to be convinced that "they" said the same things about those other arenas. And aren't they all standalone arenas, not entertainment districts? I only have been to the Honda Centre and there's not much around it worth noting.

The entertainment district is a big part of this, and it just won't happen in Firepark. This things getting built in in west village or not at all, I think.

[#-3]

Why are we still arguing about the location.

Fire Park is not a bad location if you want to build a more traditional show up to the event then leave, vehicle orientated facility. But that's not what the Flames want, they want walk, train, come early, stay late, public use on dark nights.

Balzac is not 30 minutes from 16th and Stoney. (maybe 30 minutes from Chestemere). But like Fire Park that's not what the Flames want.

The Stampede doesn't not want to give up enough land to build a duel use building

So there are only 2 options. Just north of the old building in Vic Park, or West Village near the Sunalta train station. Of the 2 options it will be the West Village because the Sunalta train station is there and the Vic Park Station is only planned.