I love the Dome. It is iconic, and it has helped to make the Calgary skyline recognizable. People dismiss it too quickly as as a great element to the city.
With that being said, this city needs a new arena. Too many acts bypass this world class city. The inside of the dome, while 'cozy' now for everyone who has been going there since they were kids, is quite terrible.
The new arena might be western-themed, but probably not. In either case, not everyone is going to like it right away, and for some it will take a period of 'getting used to'. For others, they will hate it regardless.
I myself think that the new arena will not only be awesome, it will also look pretty darn awesome too. I would bet that the Calgary arena will look much better than Katz' cost-cutting one. If they go with an attached football arena (and hopefully one that they can use for MLS too - I bet that will come to Calgary one of these years), I think the whole footprint will look really great. I can't wait for an official announcement with artists' renderings.
I just really doubt that the arena will be generic. Not necessarily a western theme, but it won't be generic either.
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