Flames to announce plans to announce arena plans in the... future...

[1stLand]

I want more diverse concourse vendors in the new arena.
Nothing beats watching the Flames while sipping a freshly brewed Latte.

[burn_baby_burn]

So is the plan having both the football stadium and hockey rink as one complex? And having that downtown? I can see a new rink downtown. But a football stadium to boot?

[Badgers Nose]

Originally Posted by nik-

Stadium with a retractable roof would be awesome.

Get the MLS here

... make it 65k capacity and try to get an NFL team

Yeah, I will be a day one MLS sth.

The venue location should be good for eliminating noise complaints. More big concerts here would be sweet bonus.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by burn_baby_burn

So is the plan having both the football stadium and hockey rink as one complex? And having that downtown? I can see a new rink downtown. But a football stadium to boot?

I believe yes this is the plan having all the complexes together and offices for all the Flames sports franchises.

[_Q_]

Originally Posted by Badgers Nose

Yeah, I will be a day one MLS sth.

The venue location should be good for eliminating noise complaints. More big concerts here would be sweet bonus.

And with the Atlanta MLS team slated to start playing in 2017, it's only a matter of time before we get our team!

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Originally Posted by ExiledFlamesFan

Was Ken King's last promise that we'd hear something by Christmas?

I'm not counting on it, especially with KK's track record of empty promises.

I love how people here seem to think it's a matter of snapping fingers to make a complicated multi billion dollar deal happen. Lets review the complicating factors:

- downtown is the preferred location
- complicated multi party land swap if the preferred West Village option taken.
- sort through transportation concerns as it's downtown.
- potentially build a domed football stadium at the same time.
- potentially build a field house for MLS and other users.
- incorporate a massive commercial / residential element to it a la Glendale (condos, offices, restaurants, retail)

- Oh and a do it all with out taxpayer involvement so you need to figure out a funding model. Alternatively, lobby for taxpaper / Rick Bell acceptable indirect funding (or direct funding).

This isn't like building house in suburbia - where it's a simple exercise in finding a lot and deciding on the structure. It's far far more complicated. You want easy, go to Ottawa and find an empty patch of land construct an arena there - that's comparatively easy. At least Edmonton had crack land empty parking lots to work with.

I know some of the players involved and it's safe to say they have some very smart individuals working on this, and like KK says, have been working on this for many years.

[Finger Cookin]

So what is the reasonable timeline on announcing anything, given that there are years of work from King and several players and very smart individuals already, and that this thread is nearly two years old? Should we expect an announcement before 2020? Before 2050? Before 2100? Enlighten us, oh wise one chuckling at the impatient, unwashed masses.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

I know some of the players involved and it's safe to say they have some very smart individuals working on this, and like KK says, have been working on this for many years.

Makes you wonder how pro sports arenas get built at all.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Originally Posted by Finger Cookin

So what is the reasonable timeline on announcing anything, given that there are years of work from King and several players and very smart individuals already, and that this thread is nearly two years old? Should we expect an announcement before 2020? Before 2050? Before 2100? Enlighten us, oh wise one chuckling at the impatient, unwashed masses.

/shrug - You seem to have the answers to all the above points. Please enlighten us all as to the solutions and appropriate timelines.

I'm going to sit back and let the experts do their thing as: 1) I'm not an expert 2) It's not my money 3) I have an acceptable facility to watch my Flames right now. (Tier 1 fan here)

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

It's far far more complicated. You want easy, go to Ottawa and find an empty patch of land construct an arena there - that's comparatively easy. At least Edmonton had crack land empty parking lots to work with.

Drove by the rink in Ottawa for the first time this summer.
Absolutely brutal.
Big building in the middle of no where surrounded by car dealerships.
Foxboro might have even been worse... It's like an hour out of Boston.

Easy to build, but entirely useless facilities for the area, imo

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by Finger Cookin

So what is the reasonable timeline on announcing anything, given that there are years of work from King and several players and very smart individuals already, and that this thread is nearly two years old? Should we expect an announcement before 2020? Before 2050? Before 2100? Enlighten us, oh wise one chuckling at the impatient, unwashed masses.

Monday.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

Drove by the rink in Ottawa for the first time this summer.
Absolutely brutal.
Big building in the middle of no where surrounded by car dealerships.
Foxboro might have even been worse... It's like an hour out of Boston.

Easy to build, but entirely useless facilities for the area, imo

Well the football stadium is a different animal. The game and stadium are a draw that occur on more or less the same day every week. So building a Stadium in a somewhat remote location can work. They have quite a few things set up at the stadium for when people do show up in Foxboro as an example.

In an arena that you want to use 200 nights a year and many of those work nights, the location is far more important.

[Finger Cookin]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

/shrug - You seem to have the answers to all the above points. Please enlighten us all as to the solutions and appropriate timelines.

I'm going to sit back and let the experts do their thing as: 1) I'm not an expert 2) It's not my money 3) I have an acceptable facility to watch my Flames right now. (Tier 1 fan here)

I have no answers, as I'm unable to grasp the sheer difficulty of this immense project that King and the players (who you know) and also very smart people have worked on for untold years and man hours. Since you know the players involved, and can chuckle away at others unable to grasp the complicated concepts and issues you delineated, I was hoping you would grace the community with more nuggets of wisdom and knowledge available to you. I have no access to the very smart people and involved players, and certainly not to Ken King. So I was hoping you could shed more light on this complicated process, a process not faced in any other jurisdiction or by any other organization who has ever constructed a sports arena or football stadium, and deliver me from the darkness of ignorance and impatience. I'm trying to climb the social ladder, please help me up a rung or two kind sir.

[Freeway]

Also, the Flames' experience with the recovery efforts at the 'Dome probably opened their eyes a bit in terms of the staggering cost of labour in the province of Alberta, the immensity of the scale of the project they want to do, and the incredible difficulty in nailing down the costs involved in such a project.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Originally Posted by Finger Cookin

I have no answers, as I'm unable to grasp the sheer difficulty of this immense project that King and the players (who you know) and also very smart people have worked on for untold years and man hours. Since you know the players involved, and can chuckle away at others unable to grasp the complicated concepts and issues you delineated, I was hoping you would grace the community with more nuggets of wisdom and knowledge available to you. I have no access to the very smart people and involved players, and certainly not to Ken King.

I never said I have the answers, I'm no expert. I'm content to let the experts take their time and not take the easy options out.

Lots of people here seem to ignore the above complicating factors and have this attitude:

[nik-]

Originally Posted by 1stLand

I want more diverse concourse vendors in the new arena.
Nothing beats watching the Flames while sipping a freshly brewed Latte.

"freshly brewed"

[MacDaddy77]

I will also be a MLS season ticket holder as soon as it's announced

[kermitology]

Originally Posted by 1stLand

I want more diverse concourse vendors in the new arena.
Nothing beats watching the Flames while sipping a freshly brewed Latte.

That's only allowed if you're from the Latte Sipping Elitist parts of Calgary.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by MacDaddy77

I will also be a MLS season ticket holder as soon as it's announced

I'm pretty sure I would be too ... depending on the price. Anywhere sub 1000 I think I'm on board.

edit: yikes ... looking at league averages, they're way under 1000.

[Muta]

When MLS comes to Calgary, I'm going to buy season tickets within the first hour.