The Calgary Construction Association (CCA) is excited an agreement in principle has been reached to proceed with a new event centre at the gateway to Stampede Park after questions swirled about its future.
CCA president and CEO Bill Black says the project will create long-term construction jobs and likely spur other commercial development in the city’s culture and entertainment district.
“It provides employment and what’s really good about large projects, I always call them anchor projects, is that they’re multi-year, three- or four-year-long projects,” explains Black. “They provide a degree of runway and stability which is good for the industry.”
Because they are significant and continuing ventures, employers are also able to make longer-term commitments to workers.
But there are other reasons.
The new centre will bring visitors to the city and add to the ambiance of the culture and entertainment district, notes Black, which is important when it comes to convincing people to come to work and stay in Calgary.
“The arena is one of the hallmark features of a city of choice for residents. It’s what investors look at when they’re thinking about setting up a business. In terms of the Calgary of the future, it has a role to play.”
The structure, meanwhile, is expected to act as a catalyst for further development of new hotels, restaurants, night clubs, multi-residential condominiums and other commercial projects like office buildings.
“It’s not just an event centre,” says Black. “This is about city building. It’s about providing assets that make it a destination of choice. It keeps Calgarians here. They don’t move to Toronto, or Edmonton or Vancouver.”
The centre will be located on 2.9 hectares immediately north of Stampede Park and be a front door to the Rivers District. It will complement the nearby BMO expansion project, a $500-million, 560,000-square-foot convention facility that will be completed in 2024. The centre will be the new home of the Calgary Flames of the NHL and replace the Saddledome which will be demolished.
The project had been given the green light earlier by the city’s planning commission, but Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation (CSEC) backed out of the project because of issues related to costs.
Recently, however, CSEC announced it has reached a deal with the Province of Alberta and Calgary Stampede to move forward with a new community arena and improvements to public spaces and connections to the River District. The new deal covers a site that is 40 per cent larger than the previous deal.
An agreement in principle means the parties have agreed to the major terms such as what’s being built, estimated cost and financial contributions. Discussions on definitive agreements will continue throughout the summer.
Although the CCA was deeply disappointed when the project went off the rails, Black says he wasn’t too surprised as such things happen when a venture gets politicized.
“Quite frankly, nobody predicted the project dying like it suddenly did,” he says, “but I always reckoned there was a significant chance it would get back on track. With the optics of the project, I would have said there’s a 70-per-cent chance that it would go again but there was always a possibility that it just might not happen.”
A new centre, says Black, is critical for the city as the Saddledome is nearing the end of its life and in need of replacement.
“That’s nothing to be ashamed of,” he says. “Forty years is a long time for a building that has served Calgary well.”
According to estimates by the City of Calgary, more than 4,750 construction jobs will be created during the construction phase of the event centre.
“Think of the architects, engineers, estimators, electricians, cement truck operators, sheet metal workers, drywallers, tapers, painters, project managers and more who will touch the event centre and the follow-on projects around it,” says Black.
“Our members are excited about the opportunity to work on such a high-profile project and showcase the skills and expertise of our industry.”
With skilled trades in short supply, Black says there is an urgency to get the project locked in so that employers can line up core workers before they commit to other projects.
Although the workforce can be managed, if a number of other large projects are all vying for the same trades, somebody will lose out, he says.
As for project naysayers, Black says a city like Calgary can’t rest on its laurels and must be wary of sending the wrong message to business owners who want to build in the city.
“This business decision was a long-term runway and I believe Calgary needs to remember that we used to be a city that was known for getting the impossible done. We’ve got to be very careful that we’re not seen as a city that can have a unanimous vote at city council and then somebody turns around and says, ‘Oh, we want you to go back on your vote.’ Well, what does that do for trust in politicians?”
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