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

[heep223]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

The more I look at that West village, the more I think there's no way in hell they are going to fit a rink, a stadium, a parking complex and some type of entertainment square/district. They'd be hard pressed to fit a rink and stadium with no parking.

As Bunk is saying they are looking at the concept both with and without an arena complex. So clearly it's a possibility.

[Tyler]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

The more I look at that West village, the more I think there's no way in hell they are going to fit a rink, a stadium, a parking complex and some type of entertainment square/district. They'd be hard pressed to fit a rink and stadium with no parking.

Smarter people than you and I have figured this out

[RM14]

I don't think having above ground parking is a huge concern for the flames

[taffeyb]

Originally Posted by RM14

I don't think having above ground parking is a huge concern for the flames

Perhaps, not above ground parking. However, you would think that parking would be a priority as it's just a pure cash grab. That was one of the issues with the current location as the Stampede board took a large share of the parking revenues. Perhaps some type of parking structure?

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by taffeyb

Perhaps, not above ground parking. However, you would think that parking would be a priority as it's just a pure cash grab. That was one of the issues with the current location as the Stampede board took a large share of the parking revenues. Perhaps some type of parking structure?

I don't know how far they need to dig down to remove the contaminated soil but would under ground parking be viable and would they be able to sell parking for commuters during the day?

[Tyler]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

I don't know how far they need to dig down to remove the contaminated soil but would under ground parking be viable and would they be able to sell parking for commuters during the day?

I would assume underground parking is key to this project and will see the huge parking fees you see in other new arenas that are in tight areas (Rogers Places, TD Garden, etc)

[You Need a Thneed]

That's one reason why the west village is interesting. They have to excavate a bunch to get the contaminated soil out, and normaly they would have to fill this back in with clean soil. However, I wonder if this area isn't designed to use all of that excavated space - i.e. underground parking, lower Bow Trail to be underground, etc.

The CP Rail line is still the thing that makes the new area have a full connection into Sunalta a little bit more tricky.

[browna]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

I don't know how far they need to dig down to remove the contaminated soil but would under ground parking be viable and would they be able to sell parking for commuters during the day?

Or the underground parking is away from the river, and more towards the Ctrain station, which would mean allow commuters to use that parking/Ctrain combo during the day and no issues about digging deeper into any contaminated soil.

One of my semi connected sources say that the issue now is 1)how much the Flames would be on the hook for the cleanup. The cleanup is likely to add almost a year onto the project. From what I gather, the proposed area for the arena itself may be able to get built on clean lands, but some of the other parts of the final project will need to have that area cleaned up...which leads me to 2),another snag there is that I think the City may want it all cleaned up before putting any shovel in the ground for any part of the project, which is part of the reason for the more current further delays. My contact also thought that very soon after the election there would've been an announcement. though the results of that may have added a further layer of complexity too.

[HotHotHeat]

The only thing the last two days worth of posts in this thread have highlighted is that nothing is going to be announced anytime soon. Really poor optics after the hype King orchestrated.

Ken King's legacy will be that he could not provide the leadership needed to get this project built. He's really been pushed into the background within the Flames organization, now that I'm thinking about it.

[Scary Eloranta]

Originally Posted by HotHotHeat

The only thing the last two days worth of posts in this thread have highlighted is that nothing is going to be announced anytime soon. Really poor optics after the hype King orchestrated.

Ken King's legacy will be that he could not provide the leadership needed to get this project built. He's really been pushed into the background within the Flames organization, now that I'm thinking about it.

I agree - he's made himself look ridiculous with all his "upcoming announcements" that never happen. Talk about the boy who cried wolf. He's been keeping a low profile since his last BS comments in March though - maybe he was told to keep his mouth shut or maybe this entire thing is just dead in the water, given current economy and government. It really sucks....

[Flash Walken]

I wonder if Flames ownership was taken by surprise by the NDP win.

Suddenly, shockingly, things became even worse for them in terms of public money.

[CroFlames]

I don't hate the Saddledome. It's a unique rink, and it's got a huge capacity which is an added bonus for crowd noise. Obviously it lacks many things compared to new rinks around the league, like urinal count.

I'd like to see a new rink, but I wouldn't be demoralized if there wasn't a new rink for another 15 years and the Dome received some minor facelifts.

The annoying part as fans is having been promised news about a rink for probably the last 5 years but with no new news. I wish they didn't mention anything until they were ready to make an announcement.

Obviously a first world problem, but oh well.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

I don't hate the Saddledome. It's a unique rink, and it's got a huge capacity which is an added bonus for crowd noise. Obviously it lacks many things compared to new rinks around the league, like urinal count.

I'd like to see a new rink, but I wouldn't be demoralized if there wasn't a new rink for another 15 years and the Dome received some minor facelifts.

The annoying part as fans is having been promised news about a rink for probably the last 5 years but with no new news. I wish they didn't mention anything until they were ready to make an announcement.

Obviously a first world problem, but oh well.

The only other Arena I've been to was the Honda centre and I must say that I wasnt impressed. It was new, and nice, but it was bland and boring and while the bathroom lines were dramatically more reasonable the beer lines were still ridiculous.

Although that may also have had to do with the staff. Damned lazy Californians.

[Finger Cookin]

No Mexicans working the concessions in Anaheim?

[Otto-matic]

nvm

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Otto-matic

How feasible would it be for the Saddledome to rip out the entire ice plant and replace it during the course of a summer?

Pipedream I know and unrealistic if a new arena is cooking.

Didn't they just do this after the flood

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Finger Cookin

No Mexicans working the concessions in Anaheim?

None! Those guys are Johnny-on-the-Spot with the beer!

A clear point of concern for Honda Centre management.

[Finger Cookin]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Didn't they just do this after the flood

Was there a flood? I can't remember, I don't remember Sportsnet airing Faceoff With The Flood before every game this season. Maybe it never happened at all.

[Hemi-Cuda]

I remember when the new jumbotron was installed in the Saddledome and many were questioning why when a new arena was "just around the corner". At this rate we'll probably be on jumbotron #3 when they finally break ground

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by HotHotHeat

Ken King's legacy will be that he could not provide the leadership needed to get this project built. He's really been pushed into the background within the Flames organization, now that I'm thinking about it.

I don't think he's been pushed into the background as it's more they got him out of the hockey operations. When Darryl was GM he was front and center at Darryl's side in media scrums, on 960 radio, on TSN talking about players, involved in player signings/negotiations, and who knows how much more behind the scenes. Obviously with the Flames under his leadership going downhill the owners decided to bring in hockey people like Burke to do that job and let King do what he was good at which was run business side of the operations.

I'm not his biggest supporter but I feel he gets unfairly piled on for current state of delays in any announcements. He's no different like Gary Bettman as he's a figurehead for his bosses as he's not writing the checks. Also he's not a miracle worker in that he can't simply trot in city hall and sweet talk them into giving the Flames owners everything they feel they need to get this done. I have no doubts it will get done but it's pretty evident that it's going to take more time than anticipated.