Quote:
Originally Posted by BlueLine
What are the weaknesss of the current Stampede grounds site?
I would demolish the Corral before the Saddledome, why keep the corral but not the dome?
Isn't Calgary obliged to keep all Olympic landmarks as part of their Olympic pledge; to build the facilities into the city's future sports/athletic community? I thought this 'pledge' was one of the main reasons we were granted the Olympics.
I feel the West side of Calgary doesn't need the added advantage of a new facility, compared to the East. The East side needs some love/vacination.
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I believe the main weakness of the Stampede Grounds is that Stampede Park is owned by the City and operated by the Stampede Board. Building there again would keep them in a similar situation to where they are now except unlike the Saddledome, which was paid for entirely with public funds, the Flames would be expected to pay for the bulk of the costs of the new building(s). If you're going to be paying for the construction of your new home, you don't want to have to answer to a landlord (this is the same reason they'd be looking at building a new stadium rather than upgrading McMahon).
Also, if the plans now include a stadium for the Stamps, there isn't really suitable space on Stampede Park.
The reason you would keep the Corral and tear down the Saddledome is that the Corral can serve a different market than the new building would, while the Saddledome would be made redundant by the new building.
Having one 6,000 seat arena and one 20,000 seat arena allows each one to book different types of events and work together. Having two 20,000 seat arenas means that you lose the ability to offer a smaller venue as an alternative, and the two large buildings would be in competition for booking large scale events. Because it wouldn't be able to offer the amenities of the new building, the Saddledome would be underused, but it would still have significant operation and maintenance costs.
The Olympics were nearly 25 years ago and Canada has already hosted another Winter Games since then. I'd say the Saddledome has fulfilled any legacy requirements.
I agree with you that the east side of downtown (East Victoria Park) ultimately makes more sense for the location of a new sports and entertainment complex than the west side of downtown.