New Stadium Discussion Thread

[InfrastructureEnthusiast]

b) BC Place is indoors, and has 4-5 concerts a year. Lived 3 blocks from there for 3 years
c) Calgary/Edmonton/Winnipeg/Ottawa would be grouped together in the entertainment world...Vancouver and Toronto on their own. I love Calgary and it's growing, but it isnt a "huge" market

I dont know what the solution

BC place is the solution.

Calgary is already more populous than the GVA was when it was built, and when I last looked into it, they were booked for over 200 days a year.

Not just concerts, which could book the venue for an entire week in some cases, but BC place gets a lot of conference use too.

I think a covered stadium on the bus barns site would work just as well. Could even give it that classic roofline and make it saddledome 2.0!

 

[CalgaryTiger]

a) CFL attendance is down across the board, the Stamps are 5/9 in attendance, and the CPL's attendance is shrinking, no guarantee the league survives 5 more years. The products are what they are, and crowds are no better in other new urban stadiums like Hamilton/Ottawa.
b) You can't say a venue and it's surroundings matter...and then say Spruce Meadows > McMahon. It checks 0 of the boxes you describe
c) The National Soccer Centre will probably be in Vancouver, with the new Whitecaps stadium. No other rational option (weather)


a) Edmonton has a $250M list of needs for Commonwealth...but for the same reasons as Calgary, it remains unfunded because the law of diminishing returns. Outdoors stadiums in Canada do not get used enough to justify that level of expense
b) BC Place is indoors, and has 4-5 concerts a year. Lived 3 blocks from there for 3 years
c) Calgary/Edmonton/Winnipeg/Ottawa would be grouped together in the entertainment world...Vancouver and Toronto on their own. I love Calgary and it's growing, but it isnt a "huge" market

I dont know what the solution

I didn't want to reply but felt it was important to point out that what you said is not true.

CFL attendance was up last season compared to the one before (barely but it was) and Stampeders attendance increased throughout the season as the team's improvement on the field brought some fans, including myself back to games.

CFL attendance up less than one percent in 2025

The CFL saw a very slight bump in attendance in 2025 with a league-wide regular-season increase of 0.6 percent from last year. The three largest increases oc

3downnation.com

A quick google also shows your narrative about the CPL is not accurate, Cavalry's average was up, Forge's average this season is much higher, and although Ottawa's is down, they didn't have a good team last season you can see their average for 2024 was third best in the CPL.

So, I don't what problem you have with the CFL and CPL but they are not based in reality. Also, I clearly stated why Spruce Meadows works for the Southern's. And sure Vancouver has a better chance at getting the National Soccer Centre but if you read the RFI you'd know Calgary and Spruce Meadows check the boxes too.

 

[IceCreamMan]

If interested, you can see the RFI that Canada Soccer has issued for a new National Training Centre initative; see below:

Canada Soccer Issues Request for Information for National Training Centre Initiative - Canada Soccer

Canada Soccer has launched today a Request for Information (RFI) inviting municipalities, provincial and territorial soccer associations, postsecondary

canadasoccer.com

I didn't actually know this happened is there a website or something for this?

Not available publicly; was a small, private commission for a local firm.

 

[Tothewest]

I didn't want to reply but felt it was important to point out that what you said is not true.

CFL attendance was up last season compared to the one before (barely but it was) and Stampeders attendance increased throughout the season as the team's improvement on the field brought some fans, including myself back to games.

CFL attendance up less than one percent in 2025

The CFL saw a very slight bump in attendance in 2025 with a league-wide regular-season increase of 0.6 percent from last year. The three largest increases oc

3downnation.com

A quick google also shows your narrative about the CPL is not accurate, Cavalry's average was up, Forge's average this season is much higher, and although Ottawa's is down, they didn't have a good team last season you can see their average for 2024 was third best in the CPL.

View attachment 706977

So, I don't what problem you have with the CFL and CPL but they are not based in reality. Also, I clearly stated why Spruce Meadows works for the Southern's. And sure Vancouver has a better chance at getting the National Soccer Centre but if you read the RFI you'd know Calgary and Spruce Meadows check the boxes too.

i dont know what to tell ya man, CFL league-wide is down like 5,000/game on avg from 10 years ago…thats a stat, I wont even go down the path of general public interest in the league. It isnt in a great place.

Those soccer attendance numbers are not strong for a sustainable pro league. Let alone justifying any meaningful stadium venture.

I have no problem with cfl or cpl…but they have a business problem that again, makes meaningful stadium investment a tough sell.

 

[FCC1982]

If the Stampeders moved to a renovated GMC Stadium on the grounds they would only have to play a maximum of 2 games in a row on the road.
3 weeks would be more than enough to convert GMC for the Stampede and back again for football. Stamps could play 2 road games and one bi-week in that time.

Interesting that Commonwealth in Edmonton only cost $21M to build for the 1978 games but all the renos since have cost orders of magnitude more than that.

 

[Infrastructurist]

If the Stampeders moved to a renovated GMC Stadium on the grounds they would only have to play a maximum of 2 games in a row on the road.
3 weeks would be more than enough to convert GMC for the Stampede and back again for football. Stamps could play 2 road games and one bi-week in that time.

Interesting that Commonwealth in Edmonton only cost $21M to build for the 1978 games but all the renos since have cost orders of magnitude more than that.

This is true, I'm all for GMC stadium turning into an indoor football stadium of some sort like BC Place, but to ToTheWest's credit indirectly they brought up a good point in saying that the CFL shouldn't be forced to take into consideration the stampede when making the schedule if that makes sense. Also one of the selling points of the stampede is a stampeders game. They have the stampede bowl I think it's called which is an at home game that would interfere with the stampede if GMC stadium was a multi purpose arena.

Also yeah, inflations crazy LOL

Whilst i'm typing this I just remembered they're demolishing the saddle dome. I wonder whats going to go up or if it's going to become a parking lot. That could be a potential football stadium location ... jk I can't see that working

Edit: found a reddit article about the saddle dome thing I was talking about. Looks like I apparently have no original ideas.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Calgary/comments/1kcjwtf/can_the_saddledome_be_modified_expanded_and

 

[FriendlyDrunks]

i dont know what to tell ya man, CFL league-wide is down like 5,000/game on avg from 10 years ago…thats a stat, I wont even go down the path of general public interest in the league. It isnt in a great place.

Those soccer attendance numbers are not strong for a sustainable pro league. Let alone justifying any meaningful stadium venture.

I have no problem with cfl or cpl…but they have a business problem that again, makes meaningful stadium investment a tough sell.

Citations man, you have to cite your sources.

 

[CalgaryTiger]

Citations man, you have to cite your sources.

They're not wrong to say attendance isn't what it was. And the CFL and CPL are not major leagues that make a lot of money or any money at all. I disagree that means that they're not worth investment. Afterall some kind of outdoor (I'm not for indoor, you can bubble it in the winter if you want) stadium would be a public benefit. Especially if it is a multi-sport venue.

Taking this back to Scotia Place, a lot of public money was put into it, I think a public investment in an outdoor stadium of equal magnitude to what was invested in Scotia Place would be worth it. I could argue it would actually be able to be used by the public more because it isn't used by its professional sport tenants as often as Scotia Place will be.

Anyways... Maybe it is just its legacy, but CFL has seemed to outlast many minor football leagues in the US, I think it has staying power. The Grey Cup is still one of the most watched events in the country. And as for the CPL it might not be great business, but the expenses are also pretty minimal, the highest expense is people, and I don't think the people in the CPL cost much. I would be surprised if the Southern's don't make at least a little profit off the Cavalry.

 

[Roaring Flames]

No teams at current as far as we know in the CPL have yet to make a profit, and the league itself is also not currently making money.

At current the only teams that appear to be doing decently on the financial side are Calgary, Ottawa, Halifax, and Hamilton. The teams most struggling are the two Vancouver area teams (Pacific FC and Vancouver FC), and the one Toronto area team that recently changed its name for the 3rd time in its existence to "Inter Toronto FC". The Winnipeg team Valour FC just folded after the end of last season, and the team in Edmonton only lasted a few seasons before folding.

At this point you have to wonder just what the folks at Canada Soccer are thinking. Simply dumping a team in Vancouver and Toronto and not expecting them to struggle when they directly compete in the market with established MLS clubs is just straight poor investment. And now a new team this season plays out of Laval Quebec, yet again bringing in another team that directly competes in a market with an established MLS club.

Then you add the fact that they chose to air games on a new online streaming platform instead of seeking a national tv deal, making it impossible for anyone curious about the new league to see games. They just keep shooting themselves in the foot over and over.

 

[Tothewest]

If the Stampeders moved to a renovated GMC Stadium on the grounds they would only have to play a maximum of 2 games in a row on the road.
3 weeks would be more than enough to convert GMC for the Stampede and back again for football. Stamps could play 2 road games and one bi-week in that time.

If your the Stamps, does that not feel like a really bad idea? The heart of summer, and every year you leave for 3 weeks?

The part of all this we aren't appreciating enough....you cant just roll up a CFL field. It's sewn in and installed with a rubber pellet base. Which means you would have to dig down, install the field, then rebuild the track and infield every year on top. Lets move on and get back to SP talk, but count me as skeptic #1. I don't see how football/rodeo/horse track are compatible in a very tight turnaround

 

[Tothewest]

Anyways... Maybe it is just its legacy, but CFL has seemed to outlast many minor football leagues in the US, I think it has staying power. The Grey Cup is still one of the most watched events in the country. And as for the CPL it might not be great business, but the expenses are also pretty minimal, the highest expense is people, and I don't think the people in the CPL cost much. I would be surprised if the Southern's don't make at least a little profit off the Cavalry.

None of that matters to me....my point is how much are you willing to spend as a community, on a stadium that would get used maybe 13 times a year? Used as in, events that would fill even 10,0000 seats? Scotia Place, upon opening, will likely exceed 100 of those......with 43+ flames, 40+ shows, 9 roughnecks, 15-ish wranglers/hitmen

 

[trtcttc]

I would much prefer a smaller stadium that is more visually appealing and have better amenities than the current McMahon. Something similar to Ottawa. It's a large parcel of prime real estate near transit, University, Hospital, and downtown, hopefully we get a better stadium, fieldhouse, and mixed use housing at some point.

 

[CalgaryTiger]

None of that matters to me....my point is how much are you willing to spend as a community, on a stadium that would get used maybe 13 times a year? Used as in, events that would fill even 10,0000 seats? Scotia Place, upon opening, will likely exceed 100 of those......with 43+ flames, 40+ shows, 9 roughnecks, 15-ish wranglers/hitmen

Like you, I think GMC Stadium seems like a square peg and round hole looking at it now. But there is something there and the commentor I'm sure didn't say its further along than we think because they wanted a rise out of us.

With a bubble, the field could be used 365 days (minus however long it takes to set up a buddle?) for something, and the majority of those days could be used by the public. Which yes wouldn't be 10,000 people but soccer tournaments, even minor ones, bring people to an area and get them into that area's businesses. Depending on its location, configuration and amenities it could have other uses beyond sports too. These facilities (from Scotia Place to the soccer field in your neighbourhood) create immediate area economic benefits, rather than city-shaping spontaneous economic engines Scotia Place and facilities like it are made out to be. The idea is to target that economic benefit to places you want it. I'd like to see that target area be Stampede Park/the Downtown Beltline versus a University Parking Lot or Spruce Meadows. The only way to shift the economic benefit is build something new.

The part of all this we aren't appreciating enough....you cant just roll up a CFL field. It's sewn in and installed with a rubber pellet base. Which means you would have to dig down, install the field, then rebuild the track and infield every year on top. Lets move on and get back to SP talk, but count me as skeptic #1. I don't see how football/rodeo/horse track are compatible in a very tight turnaround

Here's a video of BRG Stadium in Houston going from Rodeo to Final Four. I'd assume they'd cover the field, versus have the field cover the dirt.

 

[Infrastructurist]

At this point you have to wonder just what the folks at Canada Soccer are thinking. Simply dumping a team in Vancouver and Toronto and not expecting them to struggle when they directly compete in the market with established MLS clubs is just straight poor investment. And now a new team this season plays out of Laval Quebec, yet again bringing in another team that directly competes in a market with an established MLS club.

Just one quick point before getting back to the Scotia Place discussion. Roaring Flames is right that you can’t simply drop a CPL team into an MLS market and expect it to succeed the same way. Market overlap matters, which helps explain why some CPL teams struggle while MLS teams in those cities do well (duh i mean MLS is just far bigger lol). Vancouver just made the finals and it was HUGE for the city.

From a financial standpoint, MLS teams like the Whitecaps are often estimated to bring in around $20–30 million a year to the local economy through game-day spending and tourism. Vancouver can host a team like that because it has the infrastructure to support it. Calgary doesn’t, and that’s a big reason the city keeps getting passed over.

I get the skepticism around the tradeoffs, but if Calgary wants to compete with cities like Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, this is something that needs to happen sooner rather than later. Truthfully theres no reason that I can see that we shouldn't commence with this: https://engage.calgary.ca/foothills-mcmahon It just makes a lot of sense

 

[CallmeCatbread]

This is true, I'm all for GMC stadium turning into an indoor football stadium of some sort like BC Place, but to ToTheWest's credit indirectly they brought up a good point in saying that the CFL shouldn't be forced to take into consideration the stampede when making the schedule if that makes sense. Also one of the selling points of the stampede is a stampeders game. They have the stampede bowl I think it's called which is an at home game that would interfere with the stampede if GMC stadium was a multi purpose arena.

Also yeah, inflations crazy LOL

Whilst i'm typing this I just remembered they're demolishing the saddle dome. I wonder whats going to go up or if it's going to become a parking lot. That could be a potential football stadium location ... jk I can't see that working

Edit: found a reddit article about the saddle dome thing I was talking about. Looks like I apparently have no original ideas.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Calgary/comments/1kcjwtf/can_the_saddledome_be_modified_expanded_and

Replace the saddledome with BC place but with a saddledome shaped roof ezpz