Quote:
Originally Posted by Lil Pedro
Making it a 8-10K concert theatre year round would make Calgary an even more attractive place for concerts and events. It would also alleviate the acoustic concerns that haunt the current Saddledome, and would help generate more revenue for the Stampede throughout the year
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With almost all new arenas, they're built to be configured to handle everything from a 3,000 seat intimate theatre setting, up to a 20,000 concert in the round. The MTS Centre has been so successful because it has the ability to accommodate any size concert/show coming through Winnipeg.
The Flames' new building will almost certainly be built with these multiple configurations in mind as well. That video that was shown on the Discovery Channel last year with the moving ceiling panels showed that it was definitely something they were looking in to.
The thing that likely makes the most sense for the Stampede Board and the City is to massively renovate the Corral to bring it up to 21st Century standards with a capacity around 5,000 so that it can handle events that are too small for the new building. Then, tear down the Saddledome and replace it will a large partially-covered amphitheatre, like the Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto. It has a fully-covered stage with 5,500 covered permanent seats; another 3,500 uncovered permanent seats; and a large open-air grassed area that can handle up to another 7,000 people. That sort of venue would be able to handle large concerts during Stampede Week and throughout the summer without directly competing with the new building for big arena shows.