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Urban Development and Proposals Discussion

Roaring Flames said:
I think building a stadium just north of Scotia Place where the bus barns are would be ideal. It's close to the green line and future grand central station, opens up the possibility of 1 or 2 CFL games every year in close proximity to the Stampede, gives the Stampede an even larger venue for concerts then Scotia Place, and has inevitably better amenities and sight lines than any Stampede grandstand configuration would offer for football.
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To build off this, imagine getting one or two mega concerts to play this new stadium during stampede….a Stamps game would probably also sell out being so close.
 
The Familia said:
The more I see it, the more I don’t want the grandstand to become a CFL stadium. The grandstand is kind of a dump. A city of our stature can certainly build a modern 25-27,000 seat stadium that is expandable for larger events. Build the new stadium up where the bus barns are located. Coke stage amphitheater on Saddledome lands, new agriculture building in between Agrium and grandstand building. Rip down the Big 4 and use that for more parking and midway space.
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Unfortunately stadiums are a tough sell these days. Last one built was Mosaic about 10 years ago and most are in secondary cities where there's more government subsides to attract investment - Regina, Hamilton, Winnipeg, are the only ones built post 2010. BMO Field is only 28,000 in Toronto. Not to mention the CFL doesn't seem to be doing great financially. McMahon isn't great, but it's not crumbling so it's hard to get groups together to put the money in. We only got a firm plan for the Saddledome once it was clear the building wasn't going to last much longer.
 
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UrbanWarrior said:
That's what I've been saying in conversation to my friends and partner as well. That would also be a huge step in making the grounds a year round, or at least spring-summer-fall, destination.

Hadn't thought about the saddle shape, but yeah would be cool. Unfortunately part of the reason it needs to be demolished is the weak roof. So maybe a shape reminiscent of... I dunno, a cowboy hat? But somehow modern, abstract, and not gross kichy stampitecture 🤪

I'm imagining a roof similar to the one in Van, but either more rounded or closer to a rectangle, and maybe a lighting feature at the top blasting beams up into the sky (the top of the hat), and fins on the sides of the roof (the sides of the cowboy hat) to direct ice and snow down the arms rather than off the ledge... I dunno.

I wish I was good at photoshop. Maybe I'll draw it after work if I remember.
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I'm planning on producing a design for stampede park at some point that includes this. Though my motivation to do it is a little diminished now that I know populous is doing the same thing and no matter what I do stampede is just gonna go with their shit

I think it's absolutely a no brainer to pay homage to the Saddledome. It's one of the most iconic buildings in the city and it will be a sad day when it is demolished. We could easily do a lightweight canopy structure that is similar in shape and orientation to the Saddledome. It would be like the Saddledome's ghost living on still featured prominently in front of the skyline from Scotsmans Hill.
 
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trtcttc said:
We only got a firm plan for the Saddledome once it was clear the building wasn't going to last much longer.
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Was this ever clear? I don't recall ever seeing a firm assessment showing this, and what a cost estimate to repair it was. Hard to believe that the Saddledome, which is younger than most of the buildings in Calgary, was somehow on the brink of collapse.
 
trtcttc said:
McMahon isn't great
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Funny thing is. CSEC put some money into McMahon to make it better and then the UofC turned around and upped their rent because of the improvements. Needless to say, CSEC won't be making that mistake again.

MichaelS said:
Was this ever clear?
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Yes, there was a report about the Saddledome roof (you'd have to look it up). The choice was build a new roof or build new building. Since the existing building lacked a lot of other things modern Event Centres have, the decision was made to pony up for a new building. Personally, I think what we got is pretty good. Did it cost us a lot of money, yeah but what is money?
 
It's just a crazy investment for 10-11 dates a year, half of which don't even draw 21k.

The Familia said:
To build off this, imagine getting one or two mega concerts to play this new stadium during stampede….a Stamps game would probably also sell out being so close.
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I doubt it. 4 of the 5 lowest attended games last year were the 4 homes games they played in July and August. But maybe if the team is good and the weather is perfect and they're playing the Roughriders they could do okay.

Interestingly, it looks like they played on Sneak-a-peak Thursday (July 3) this year and drew 22.4k - about 100 more than their Sat June 29 date last year. That's the closest to Stampede I can recall them playing for years (though tbh I haven't had any idea when their games are unless my dad mentioned it for years!)

Excluding Labour Day games, since 2022 they have exceeded 23k attendance just 5 times (4 of those against the Roughriders).
 
DougB said:
Calgary would need to double in size to attract the MLB or NFL franchise that would be required to justify a new stadium
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Eventually we will need to just do it. I wonder what a 'minimal viable product' could look like (and cost). Something like a modern auto-stade where instead of trying to stack facilities to save land, facilities (like concessions, bathrooms) were spread out a bit to save money and make the structure much more simple. Parts of the auto-stade are still in use today.
 
DougB said:
Calgary would need to double in size to attract the MLB or NFL franchise that would be required to justify a new stadium
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The most likely is probably MLS, but even then, US/Canada wealth gap is pretty far apart now that we probably won't see a Canadian expansion of any North American sports team (other than the PWHL) in a long long time.
 
darwink said:
Eventually we will need to just do it. I wonder what a 'minimal viable product' could look like (and cost). Something like a modern auto-stade where instead of trying to stack facilities to save land, facilities (like concessions, bathrooms) were spread out a bit to save money and make the structure much more simple. Parts of the auto-stade are still in use today.
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It'll need to be mixed/multi-use for sure. Something smaller that can host football, soccer, and concerts. Not very fancy, just simple and functional. A bit like BMO Field in Toronto.
 
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