Seems more like a slow news day story than anything else, but it's the top story on the Herald's website, and we haven't had an active thread on the Flames' arena plans for a while.
http://www.calgaryherald.com/enterta...420/story.html
Quote:
With the lease on the Scotiabank Saddledome set to run out in 2014 after more than three decades of hockey games and concerts, speculation continues to build about the location of a new arena.
The Calgary Flames want a modern building to allow the team to compete financially with other National Hockey League franchises. Opened in 1983, the Saddledome is the league’s sixth-oldest arena and nearing the end of its life cycle as far as professional rinks go.
But as the clock ticks on Calgary’s iconic sports facility, Flames officials remain tight-lipped about when — and where — they will break ground on a new arena.
Team president and CEO Ken King said there isn’t any hurry. Although the Flames’ lease on the Saddledome will soon expire, it can be extended for as long it takes to construct a new facility.
“We certainly won’t be ready to move by 2014,” King said.
“If we dropped the flag and started building today, I don’t think we’d meet the deadline. We have an arrangement to be here as long or frankly, as short, as required.”
|
By my count, the Saddledome is actually the fifth oldest arena in the NHL (the Herald probably just recycled an old story from before the new arena in Pittsburgh opened). Only the Rangers, Islanders, Oilers, and Red Wings play in arenas built before 1983, and MSG will, for all intents and purposes, be a new arena in the fall of 2013.
Quote:
|
One possibility floated on Twitter Friday describes a combined arena/stadium near the Mewata armoury with commercial space, possibly for restaurants, bars or a hotel.
|
Searching Twitter for any tweets containing the word "Mewata" returned this single tweet from a guy who mostly posts links to political news stories, from Victoria (
https://twitter.com/AllPolitix/statu...23566305935360):
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by David Heyman (@AllPolitix)
Source: #Stamps and #Flames eying old Mewata grounds for new stadium+rink+commercial project. #cfl #nhl
|
I don't see how the Mewata grounds would be large enough for a joint facility. If they removed and replaced the skate park, there might be enough room for an arena. McMahon in its current form wouldn't fit in the skate park footprint, and any new stadium would likely have a larger footprint.
The area west of the Mewata lands, where the Greyhound Station and GSL Chev City are currently located would be large enough for a major development that could house an NHL arena and CFL Stadium, and the land is slated for re-development at some point in the future as part of the city's "West Village" plans.
We could be waiting a long time if they're waiting for that land.