Calgary Field House | ?m | ?s City of Calgary |

[ByeByeBaby]

Big update on this at committee yesterday; here's the PDF or a link to CBC coverage.

Basically, the report details the 'baseline amenity mix', ie the facilities that should be included. There are three basic components:
Track and Field- 10.5k sq m; $8M low end economic benefit

A 200m running track with space for training in other track/field events; 130m straight track (100m sprint/110m hurdles) 1000 seats expandable to 5000 seats.
The 200m track is hydraulic, which means it can be banked for running events or flattened for other purposes.

Gymnasia - 9.8 sq m; $10M low end economic benefit
A 'feature gymnasium' that has retractable seating for 3000 and can be divided into three basketball court sized areas -- this is roughly the size of the Jack Simpson gym at the U of C
Six more individual basketball-sized courts (which could also host volleyball, 4x badminton/pickleball, etc.), as well as two multi-use courts -- I believe these are a little wider than standard basketball, and could be combined for a single (int'l standard) futsal or tennis match, or used individually for martial arts or whatever the hell padel is.

Artificial Turf Field - 17k sq m; $2M low end economic benefit
A field 1.5x the size of a FIFA soccer pitch; it can also hold a bunch of youth soccer games -- 3 9v9 / 6 7v7 / 12 5v5 games (for increasingly younger age groups). Also big enough to hold CFL or Rugby League (that might be a little tight), and a bunch of other things, including two baseball diamonds with 200 ft outfield fences. Nothing about seating here.

One thing that's clear from the presentation is that they're trying to make sure that they can show it used for every oddball sport (oddball - that's a great name for a new sport) even if 90% of the time it'll be a handful of common sports. I joke, a little, but there were twice as many speakers from padel associations as there were from soccer.

 

[The Familia]

I'm liking what I'm seeing so far! This is an exciting project for the city and finally puts Calgary on the map in regards to sporting infrastructure (we are so far behind the rest of the country it isn't even funny).

 

[darwink]

City funding increased for this today due to inflation. No matching funds yet.

 

[adamyyc]

Big update on this at committee yesterday; here's the PDF or a link to CBC coverage.
View attachment 471934
Basically, the report details the 'baseline amenity mix', ie the facilities that should be included. There are three basic components:
Track and Field- 10.5k sq m; $8M low end economic benefit
View attachment 471931
A 200m running track with space for training in other track/field events; 130m straight track (100m sprint/110m hurdles) 1000 seats expandable to 5000 seats.
The 200m track is hydraulic, which means it can be banked for running events or flattened for other purposes.

Gymnasia - 9.8 sq m; $10M low end economic benefit
A 'feature gymnasium' that has retractable seating for 3000 and can be divided into three basketball court sized areas -- this is roughly the size of the Jack Simpson gym at the U of C
Six more individual basketball-sized courts (which could also host volleyball, 4x badminton/pickleball, etc.), as well as two multi-use courts -- I believe these are a little wider than standard basketball, and could be combined for a single (int'l standard) futsal or tennis match, or used individually for martial arts or whatever the hell padel is.
View attachment 471933View attachment 471935

Artificial Turf Field - 17k sq m; $2M low end economic benefit
A field 1.5x the size of a FIFA soccer pitch; it can also hold a bunch of youth soccer games -- 3 9v9 / 6 7v7 / 12 5v5 games (for increasingly younger age groups). Also big enough to hold CFL or Rugby League (that might be a little tight), and a bunch of other things, including two baseball diamonds with 200 ft outfield fences. Nothing about seating here.
View attachment 471936View attachment 471937

One thing that's clear from the presentation is that they're trying to make sure that they can show it used for every oddball sport (oddball - that's a great name for a new sport) even if 90% of the time it'll be a handful of common sports. I joke, a little, but there were twice as many speakers from padel associations as there were from soccer.

I wonder if the Surge would relocate here from WinSport.

 

[Roaring Flames]

I wonder if the Surge would relocate here from WinSport.

You can look at a virtual tour "Calgary Surge at WinSport" Here. Winsport arena has 4 suites and a restaurant with windows looking onto the arena which along with the 2,900 permanent seating easily puts it ahead of the 3k temporary seating setup in the fieldhouse.
Edit: looked it up and the high for attendance last season for the Surge was 4,116 so they must have quite a bit of standing / floor seating available too.

 

[Tothewest]

You can look at a virtual tour "Calgary Surge at WinSport" Here. Winsport arena has 4 suites and a restaurant with windows looking onto the arena which along with the 2,900 permanent seating easily puts it ahead of the 3k temporary seating setup in the fieldhouse.
Edit: looked it up and the high for attendance last season for the Surge was 4,116 so they must have quite a bit of standing / floor seating available too.

Could it work? possibly yes, but meh. Like you said, amateur sport bleacher focus vs paid sport entertainment expectations (broadcast, suites, alcohol, video, audio). Winsport, as an ice arena, is the perfect spot given its the offseason

 

[Tothewest]

Big update on this at committee yesterday; here's the PDF or a link to CBC coverage.
View attachment 471934
Basically, the report details the 'baseline amenity mix', ie the facilities that should be included. There are three basic components:
Track and Field- 10.5k sq m; $8M low end economic benefit
View attachment 471931
A 200m running track with space for training in other track/field events; 130m straight track (100m sprint/110m hurdles) 1000 seats expandable to 5000 seats.
The 200m track is hydraulic, which means it can be banked for running events or flattened for other purposes.

Gymnasia - 9.8 sq m; $10M low end economic benefit
A 'feature gymnasium' that has retractable seating for 3000 and can be divided into three basketball court sized areas -- this is roughly the size of the Jack Simpson gym at the U of C
Six more individual basketball-sized courts (which could also host volleyball, 4x badminton/pickleball, etc.), as well as two multi-use courts -- I believe these are a little wider than standard basketball, and could be combined for a single (int'l standard) futsal or tennis match, or used individually for martial arts or whatever the hell padel is.
View attachment 471933View attachment 471935

Artificial Turf Field - 17k sq m; $2M low end economic benefit
A field 1.5x the size of a FIFA soccer pitch; it can also hold a bunch of youth soccer games -- 3 9v9 / 6 7v7 / 12 5v5 games (for increasingly younger age groups). Also big enough to hold CFL or Rugby League (that might be a little tight), and a bunch of other things, including two baseball diamonds with 200 ft outfield fences. Nothing about seating here.
View attachment 471936View attachment 471937

One thing that's clear from the presentation is that they're trying to make sure that they can show it used for every oddball sport (oddball - that's a great name for a new sport) even if 90% of the time it'll be a handful of common sports. I joke, a little, but there were twice as many speakers from padel associations as there were from soccer.

i'll claim a bit of ignorance on this one. could the track and courts not be merged into one, like they are in edmonton at the kinsmen? or does that defeat the purpose if the stands need to be rolled over top of it?

 

[Roaring Flames]

Calgary multisport fieldhouse master plan RFP zooms in on area design​

Calgary multisport fieldhouse master plan RFP zooms in on area design

The Calgary Multisport Fieldhouse continues to churn ahead, as a request for proposals has been issued for a master plan for the city lands where the building will sit. The councillor who chairs th…

livewirecalgary.com

 

[darwink]

Churn is right. Wish there was some political vision steering this. I am resigned to this ending up a half as good as it could have been as a district and facility due to this always getting less attention as an almost a priority but never a priority project.

 

[Albertasaurus]

Churn is right. Wish there was some political vision steering this. I am resigned to this ending up a half as good as it could have been as a district and facility due to this always getting less attention as an almost a priority but never a priority project.

Unfortunately with so many city building projects either underway or that will be soon (Glenbow, Green Line, Event Centre, Arts Commons/Olympic Plaza) the field house is shaping up to be sort of an afterthought. All of these projects are important but with them all underway at the same time I'm not sure Council will accept the political risk of moving forward on yet another very large, expensive project.

 

[CBBarnett]

Churn is right. Wish there was some political vision steering this. I am resigned to this ending up a half as good as it could have been as a district and facility due to this always getting less attention as an almost a priority but never a priority project.

I wonder if it’s just political vision lacking. It seems we have long struggled to deliver regular, but competently designed, public facilities. Perhaps it’s a related problem because politics and process become intermixed and slow everything down

But it’s been so long since this idea has kicked around, perhaps I’m just forgetting what the point of this is. Can someone give me their attempt at a Field House FAQ?

1. What is a field house, in a general sense?
2. What does a field house do that’s different/more/better than our existing infrastructure like a large recreation centre or U of C facilities?
3. What’s our field house supposed to be programmed with? What is it supposed to do?
4. Why does it cost $380M? That seems like a lot.

 

[trtcttc]

What is a field house, in a general sense?

1. What does a field house do that’s different/more/better than our existing infrastructure like a large recreation centre or U of C facilities?
2. What’s our field house supposed to be programmed with? What is it supposed to do?
3. Why does it cost $380M? That seems like a lot.

Agreed this seems like an odd facility. There’s very few examples of this kind of facility in Canada. One reason for the cost I believe is their desire for this to be a competition facility that can host a variety of events. I just don’t see that funding coming from AB or Ottawa when we don’t have an Olympics or similar event that would need this space. I also doubt we’ll really be able to attract more events than our existing space can handle (Winsport, Event Centre, McMahon, Oval)

As someone that lives not too far from here, I wish they’d give up the competition facility and just upgrade the athletic park and arena like they’re doing at Glenmore. Use the remaining funding for a dome over the field and an indoor courts facility.

 

[darwink]

IMO the original pitch: indoor 400m track and field with facilities for every track and field sport was unique and could have stood on its own. A very large column free space to support that is difficult— corners of the contained field columns to compromise might have saved a good amount of money or perhaps note. Adding 10,000 spectator seats which could retract for more general gym areas was appealing if it was possible (again, harder with no columns).

The 200m hydraulic track and field now proposed as an outsider to the sport seems far less of a unique draw for tournament tourism purposes as does the 1,000 spectator capacity without temporary construction which limits yearly tournament use imo.

The indoor field is still be unique and will be nice. A couple ‘domes ‘ bring built with fields right now. I’m sure the stampeders will use it and the Dino’s. 500 spectators is disappointing.

The gyms? Not much to say about gyms. 3000 seat sports court. Are the colleges and universities busy enough that this is need?

It seems to me there was a grand concept which dictated what could be accommodated along with a 400m track. Then the track was scaled down but we kept the playing field anyways because ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. And we still like the gyms that were ‘under the stands’ so we will keep them too.

Without a real first principles.

I don’t see today how there is much economy of scale by having these as one facility instead of three. If you could realize similar economies by sharing a cafeteria and hvac with almost any large building….

If we costed and compared to community demand the fancy track and field part I think the conclusion would be to drop that entirely.

But I think that’s wrong. What I wish we had instead was a costing of the Cadillac 400m version. If it was $50 m more for way more benefits I think the community could get behind.

 

[darwink]

I’d also add: a big barrier to getting a better project is the city thinking the university has money to contribute to outside of university projects and the city refusing to contribute money to in university projects.

The university needs to do a huge revamp of its athletics facilities. The university controls the land closer to two LRT stations.

Sit down for a series of workshops and mash all of these projects together and see what comes out. I’m certain it would be better.

I’d also put on the table land swaps and co development of city and university land to enable better road grid and development over time.

Right now as it goes the existing roads are being locked in for another 50+ years.

 

[FCC1982]

Unfortunately with so many city building projects either underway or that will be soon (Glenbow, Green Line, Event Centre, Arts Commons/Olympic Plaza) the field house is shaping up to be sort of an afterthought. All of these projects are important but with them all underway at the same time I'm not sure Council will accept the political risk of moving forward on yet another very large, expensive project.

But the City has already committed funding (over $100M). They are hoping for the Province and Feds to kick in.
Personally, I agree that an indoor 400m track capable of hosting certified track events during the winter would be more of a draw, but I’m certainly not an expert or part of the track community.
It also sounds like a good idea to split this into three facilities that could be phased and connected to each other as they are built.