City of Calgary, Flames agree to ‘fresh start’ on arena talks
Published
Already basking in the glow of the team’s first 3-0 start since the 2009-10 season, the Calgary Flames got a major off-ice victory on Wednesday.
The team’s ownership group (Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation) and the City of Calgary issued releases saying formal negotiations on a new arena will resume in what both parties are calling a “fresh start.”
The news comes 10 months after the previous arena deal fell through after CSEC pulled out over a funding shortfall of approximately $10 million, or 1.6 percent of the facility’s projected cost. That facility was expected to be a block from the Saddledome, which opened in 1983 and is the league’s second-oldest arena and has a capacity of 18,320 for hockey games and over 20,000 for concerts.
"A new event centre for our city will attract investment and international events,” said councillor Sonya Sharp, chair of the Event Centre Committee. “It will have enormous benefits for visitors and for Calgarians. We look forward to working with CSEC for our mutual benefit and for a result that works for everyone."
"All parties share a collective desire to see a new event centre constructed in Calgary,” CSEC president John Bean said. “We look forward to discussions with The City to see if we can find an acceptable path forward."
Beyond the Flames, CSEC owns the Calgary Wranglers (AHL), Hitmen (WHL), and Roughnecks (NLL). Its majority shareholder is Murray Edwards.
As part of the new discussions, the city of Calgary will be represented by CAA ICON, a division of Collective Arts Agency, one of the most prominent sports agencies on the planet and whose hockey representation group is led by Pat Brisson and J.P. Barry. In previous negotiations, the city of Calgary was advised informally by a handful of individuals with expertise in project management and real estate. The city recognized the need for a new approach and will now have a firm with vast expertise and experience leading these discussions.
CAA ICON has structured several multimillion dollar sports facility contracts, including Rogers Place in Edmonton. Oilers’ ownership retained CAA ICON in 2010 to create a project development plan for the facility. Construction began four years later, with CAA ICON managing the arena from its initial planning to construction through to its completion in 2016.
Wednesday’s news does not mean a deal is imminent, but rather that Flames ownership and the city are again talking directly - a positive sign after months in which they used a third party to facilitate communication following the collapse of the previous agreement.
Both sides are being cautious with their approach to negotiating a new agreement for the facility, which the city hopes will become a major part of its Culture + Entertainment District.
"We must do this right, which means we will need space and we will need time to work on a successful agreement,” said Stuart Dalgleish, general manager of planning and development services for the city. “We will be keeping our discussions confidential and reporting to the Event Centre Committee when the time is right."