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

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by Simanium

Probably because it's not as economical given the attendance for the Women's world cup was about 26,000/game, compared to when it was in the US and they averaged 68,000/game. Also FIFA has stated that sooner or later mens World Cup games will be played on turf at some point and my understanding is part of the reasoning of playing on turf was a test run before allowing it for the men's game.

The two times that the US hosted the Women's World Cup, their average attendance was about 37,000 and 20,000. In the States they just have a bunch of stadiums to choose from, plus a climate that is better suited to growing real grass.

I still think that FIFA would prefer real grass, and if the Men's World Cup was ever to come to Canada, I'd bet that it would still played on real grass. The scale of the tournament is such that temporarily outfitting real grass would make sense.

Long term, however, I don't foresee any Canadian stadiums going back to real grass permanently. Our summer is too short, and most facilities are shared with the CFL. Artificial just makes sense, especially now that the artificial surfaces are so much better than they used to be.

BMO Field in Toronto is the outlier here. Toronto FC finally got a nice real grass surface, and now the Argos are moving in to chew it up all summer long.

[shutout]

An interesting perspective on the timeline

http://flamesnation.ca/2015/7/20/why...deral-election

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

The two times that the US hosted the Women's World Cup, their average attendance was about 37,000 and 20,000. In the States they just have a bunch of stadiums to choose from, plus a climate that is better suited to growing real grass.

I still think that FIFA would prefer real grass, and if the Men's World Cup was ever to come to Canada, I'd bet that it would still played on real grass. The scale of the tournament is such that temporarily outfitting real grass would make sense.

Long term, however, I don't foresee any Canadian stadiums going back to real grass permanently. Our summer is too short, and most facilities are shared with the CFL. Artificial just makes sense, especially now that the artificial surfaces are so much better than they used to be.

BMO Field in Toronto is the outlier here. Toronto FC finally got a nice real grass surface, and now the Argos are moving in to chew it up all summer long.

Not going to happen as the Eskimos finally ditched grass due to it being unplayable in freezing temperatures.

[Kavvy]

Originally Posted by shutout

An interesting perspective on the timeline

http://flamesnation.ca/2015/7/20/why...deral-election

I love the available responses to the poll on the right side of the page

How would you grade the Flames off-season so far?

[Vulcan]

What people should know is that Thunder Bay has tried every possible way to get federal funding for a new arena and has failed.

In fact they are hoping for the opposite of what that article says in the hopes of the rules being changed.

Like other councillors, Pugh said a federal election could change the rules for funding eligibility though and the city might decide to go ahead with the event centre.
"We might as well wait to see if there's going to be a regime change in Canada and if there is then the whole thing is up for discussion again," he said.

http://www.tbnewswatch.com/News/3694...under_Bay_fund

[Fire]

Is tearing down the Saddledome a done deal when the new arena is built?

It appears most people assume this it's a no-brainer to tear it down, but I hope it's not the case. Vancouver kept the Pacific Coliseum, Edmonton isn't tearing down Rexall Place. I assume the Stampede would love to keep the Saddledome around. They would rather have the big acts perform at the Saddledome than the new arena, so the crowds can easily access the grounds afterwards. If Calgary ever wants the Winter Olympics back again having two NHL size arenas is pretty much a necessity. It would also allow Calgary to be in the running for hosting the Memorial Cup.

Obvious the problem is the costs of keeping the Saddledome going when most of the events would be at the new arena, but I wouldn't have issues with some tax money going towards it to keep it around.

[Jimmy Stang]

^ The main problem is that the City would still own it, and they'd have nothing to bring the revenue in. The main tenants would have moved out, concerts are hard enough to attract to the Dome (even without a new venue in town), and major events are just few and far between.

Sure, it would be handy to have around for the possibility of major events like the Olympics, Memorial Cup, etc., but it would need to have steady income as well. And I just don't know where it would come from.

Don't get me wrong - I love the Saddledome and I think it is an iconic part of our skyline, but the City can't pay for a building that sits empty for most of the year.

Edit: I'd also love to see a retrofit into a bizarre hotel or some other interesting function, but I could also see that being prohibitively expensive and not very practical. Sadly, cheaper and easier to flatten it than pretty much any other option.

[Ozy_Flame]

I heard there was possibility of converting the inside to something else, as in a training facility (gym) with multiple levels. Anyone know if this is even true? I believe other options for the facility have been considered that doesn't include being a functional "arena".

[Lil Pedro]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

^ The main problem is that the City would still own it, and they'd have nothing to bring the revenue in. The main tenants would have moved out, concerts are hard enough to attract to the Dome (even without a new venue in town), and major events are just few and far between.

Sure, it would be handy to have around for the possibility of major events like the Olympics, Memorial Cup, etc., but it would need to have steady income as well. And I just don't know where it would come from.

Don't get me wrong - I love the Saddledome and I think it is an iconic part of our skyline, but the City can't pay for a building that sits empty for most of the year.

Edit: I'd also love to see a retrofit into a bizarre hotel or some other interesting function, but I could also see that being prohibitively expensive and not very practical. Sadly, cheaper and easier to flatten it than pretty much any other option.

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

[bax]

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

If improving the acoustics in the dome was a viable option, wouldn't it be done already?

Honest question, I have no idea.

[Ozy_Flame]

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

How would reducing the seat count without doing any structural changes change the acoustics?

[Lil Pedro]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

How would reducing the seat count without doing any structural changes change the acoustics?

Sorry, I should have clarified. I was advocating for structural changes

[Muta]

Originally Posted by Lil Pedro

Sorry, I should have clarified. I was advocating for structural changes

Out of the question. The cost of that would be astronomical and therefore, not feasible.

My money is on the Saddledome turning into a convention centre.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by Fire

Is tearing down the Saddledome a done deal when the new arena is built?

It appears most people assume this it's a no-brainer to tear it down, but I hope it's not the case. Vancouver kept the Pacific Coliseum, Edmonton isn't tearing down Rexall Place. I assume the Stampede would love to keep the Saddledome around. They would rather have the big acts perform at the Saddledome than the new arena, so the crowds can easily access the grounds afterwards. If Calgary ever wants the Winter Olympics back again having two NHL size arenas is pretty much a necessity. It would also allow Calgary to be in the running for hosting the Memorial Cup.

Obvious the problem is the costs of keeping the Saddledome going when most of the events would be at the new arena, but I wouldn't have issues with some tax money going towards it to keep it around.

The future of Rexall is uncertain, and could very well be torn down unless Northlands can find someone to help pay for repurposing

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmont...down-1.3034078

The Saddledome is also much bigger than it or Pacific Coliseum, and it has trouble attracting big concerts due to the design. With no sports teams to take up residence I don't see any future for the dome that doesn't involve a wrecking ball

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

The future of Rexall is uncertain, and could very well be torn down unless Northlands can find someone to help pay for repurposing

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmont...down-1.3034078

The Saddledome is also much bigger than it or Pacific Coliseum, and it has trouble attracting big concerts due to the design. With no sports teams to take up residence I don't see any future for the dome that doesn't involve a wrecking ball

Couldn't they set up permanent partitions around the rink and turn it into a top notch concert hall?

[Tyler]

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

Yeah, I can see that being a huge waste of money and just an overall, terrible idea

[Tyler]

Originally Posted by croflames

couldn't they set up permanent partitions around the rink and turn it into a top notch concert hall?

nm

[getbak]

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

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.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by bax

If improving the acoustics in the dome was a viable option, wouldn't it be done already?

Honest question, I have no idea.

There's a couple problems with the acoustics/concert ability, and I'm fairly certain that no, they can't be fixed.

As far as I know, the roof is shaped in a way that sounds bounces in many different directions and so there are various parts of the Dome that are hearing a completely different concert than others. This is coupled with the fact that the material is sound-absorbing, which is obviously not great.

The roof also can't support the weight of many musicians sound gear and other equipment that big pop artists' acts like to use. This, I think, is the main reason we get passed over by bands like U2 and other more theatrical performers.

[trumpethead]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

I heard there was possibility of converting the inside to something else, as in a training facility (gym) with multiple levels. Anyone know if this is even true? I believe other options for the facility have been considered that doesn't include being a functional "arena".

I vote for a Bass Pro Shop - they just completed an arena retrofit in Memphis, TN