It’s official! The new Calgary arena deal has been signed

Man, today is bittersweet. Out with the old, in with the new, they say. Calgary will officially be getting a new arena, which means it’s the beginning of the end for the Saddledome. The city signed an agreement this morning with Calgary Sport and Entertainment Corporation and the Stampede to construct the arena in East Victoria Park.

Davison says a final, formal agreement has been signed between the City, CSEC and the Stampede on a new arena in Victoria Park. #yyccc

— Scott Dippel (@CBCScott) December 5, 2019

During a press conference this morning, Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi spoke of the city’s concerns, saying “(the arena) is not something that has universal support and acclaim throughout our community…but it’s the right thing to do.”

The new arena will cost the city around $290.4 million, which will include the cost of demolishing the Saddledome, leaving the remaining $275 million up to the CSEC.

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Although we’ll be extremely sad to see the Saddledome go, the new Calgary arena in Victoria Park sounds nice enough. It will have 19,000 new seats and a second arena that can be used by community groups. Not bad at all. Plus, we can’t let Edmonton have that much better of a rink than us, can we?

Construction for the project is expected to begin around the end of 2021 and will be completed in late 2024. RIP Saddledome, you’ll be gone but never forgotten.