CSEC acquiring the Stampeders really fucked everything up with the arena timeline. They got the whole CalgaryNEXT debacle vision in mind due to that, and set the arena back at least a whole decade. Getting the Stamps wasn't the bad call at the time, but should've just focused on still making the arena it's own thing, rather than trying to get a new home for the Stamps as well.
Thing should've been built in the early 2010's; costs are much more expensive now. Both CSEC and the city are paying for it now.
The concept would have worked if they had pitched it on the Stampede Grounds/Victoria Park tbh. When the field house with 7500-10,000 seats is finished, we will all be able to see first hand how with 10 way better renderings, some explatory video, and a bit of dreaming the project would have worked.
Now, the pitch has to be set up all backwards from what we got. Four parallel tracks ...
1. What is included in a field house, how much will it actually cost for the scope, and what are the potential benefits (tourism) [we eventually got somewhat close to this in 2019-2020]
2. What would it cost to renovate McMahon to be functional for another 50 years [we eventually got this in 2018]
3. What would it cost to keep the Saddledome going until 2040 or 50 [we never got a detailed thing]
a. What would it cost to retrofit a roof that could hold loads necessary for it to accommodate all current arena shows [I think we only got speculation]
4. What would a facility that meets all of the above needs cost, what costs would it help avoid, and what benefits would it have over and above the base cases above (like a covered Football stadium!) [ we got one page of a power point with some of this info]
Instead of the above, we got a pitch that assumed every member of the public and City Council knew inherrently like the Flames did that this was a good idea! We weren't told a story of where we've been, where we want to go, and how this will get us there in an innovative and economical package.