'We're stepping into a whole new era': Excitement builds as construction on Calgary's new arena nears halfway point

Construction on Calgary’s new arena is nearing its halfway point, and as the building takes shape, the teams involved with planning and construction are buzzing with excitement.

“Every time I go, there’s something you see in the way of progress,” said Bob Hunter, a member of the Scotia Place project team. “It’s moving quickly.”

With the majority of the foundation work now complete, hundreds of workers are on site assembling the steel structure of the building and pouring concrete for the two concourse levels.

“The steel structure going up as quickly as it is, I think, is something that really defines the building. I think that’s what people will get excited about,” Hunter said. “All those people currently going to hockey games, they’ll watch it piece by piece.”

Nearly 350 workers are on site, and Hunter said “tremendous progress” is being made.

“The whole project team, and everyone that works on the project, is quite excited about it,” he said.

“There’s a lot going on, but there’s, needless to say, still a lot of work to do.”

The project broke ground in July 2024 and is set to be finished by fall 2027. So far, Hunter said, it has stayed within budget and on schedule.

“Knock on wood — we’ve been very fortunate,” he said. “You make tweaks and adjustments to the schedule all the time, but we’ve been very, very fortunate in that we’ve not really lost a lot of time.”

Over the course of 2026, the building will become enclosed, allowing for work on the interior to begin.

“Then we scramble to finish the entire interior, which is quite complicated, with a lot of different pieces.” Hunter said. By this time next year, he estimates 1,200 workers will be on site, completing interior details such as seating, concession stands, washrooms and restaurants.

Robert Hayes, president and CEO of Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corp. (CSEC), said watching the building take shape is bringing to life a vision that was years in the making.

“Everybody kind of gets goosebumps,” he said. “When people drive by it and see that the steel is now going up to the second level — it’s really becoming real.

“Once in a while I get to go under those tarps, and that’s when you see, gosh, you can look down and see where the bowl is and everything. It’s amazing.”

Hayes said the completed Scotia Place “is going to be an unbelievable facility.”

“We’re trying to take the best-kept secret and make it a not-secret anymore,” he said. “I think some people in the city don’t even know we’re actually building this thing sometimes.”

For sports fans, he said, the biggest game-changer is going to be the seating. Compared to the Saddledome, Scotia Place’s upper bowl seating will rise upward more than outward, meaning fans seated higher up will feel closer to the action.

“From a noise perspective, from a cheering perspective, from a fan perspective, it allows you to really get under the skin of the opposition,” he said. “We think we’re creating a building that’s going to be an incredibly hard place to come and play, and we’ll have that home-ice advantage.”

The new arena’s design will also allow for more live entertainment opportunities, which were limited at the Saddledome due to weight restrictions for equipment hung from the ceiling.

“There’s no limitations of what we can put on the roof now,” Hayes said. “Pick any major star that is in an arena, and they can come to Calgary.”

The new design hits the “sweet spot” for capacity, holding around 20,000 people — about the same as the Saddledome. Any more than that, Hayes said, would start to affect the viewing experience.

Sections of the arena will be able to be curtained off to accommodate smaller audience sizes, as well. A smaller show with 4,000 to 5,000 in attendance, for example, will still feel intimate, “because you’ve tarped things off, (and) because the acoustics are going to be just spectacular,” Hayes said.

“I think we’ve done a really good job, from a live entertainment perspective, of being able to attract different genres.” he said.

The arena’s design has taken elements from other stadiums across North America, but the fan experience, Hayes said, has been at the centre of most of the decisions.

“One thing that fans want is, ‘How can I get closer to the action?’ ” he said. “We have created locations in the facility where you can have dinner, and you can literally see the Calgary Flames walk by and knuckle crunch them as they’re walking in the stadium.

“We’ve got a few suites that are down on ice level underneath the stadium, and you’ll actually walk down the tunnel where the players walk out.”

A variety of seating options, including suites, theatre boxes, loge seats and standing room at end zones, will allow for those coming in groups to enjoy the social aspect along with the game.

“That’s where sports and entertainment is going — what’s the activity and action that’s going on in the facility, over and above what’s going on on the ice or on the lacrosse floor?” Hayes said. “That’s what we’re trying to cater to.”

Scotia Place will also have two concourse levels, reducing congestion during intermissions by nearly half, and fans will still have a view of the bowl from the concourse.

“If you’re grabbing a hotdog or a beer, you’ll be able to run over if you see something or hear something exciting going on, and peek over the edge,” Hayes said. “We wanted to keep people connected no matter where they were in the stadium.”

With new restaurants, a cocktail lounge and a food hall, Hayes added, the new arena’s food offerings “are going to be off the charts.”

The arena’s design will meet the Rick Hansen accessibility standard, including street-level entrances, a multitude of elevators and improvements to accessibility standards to washrooms and concessions.

“Accessibility to get around the building is going to be so much better,” Hunter said. “I think Calgarians will be very proud of what they see at the end of the day.”

From a sustainability standpoint, improvements include 700 solar panels on the roof, systems to collect and reuse rain water, and the capability to convert to 100 per cent electricity in the future.

Scotia Place’s overall design, Hunter said, has “put us in a whole different league.”

“The Saddledome has done a wonderful job, without a doubt,” he said. “The reality is, it’s 44, 45 years old now, and the modern amenities and the expectations of people have changed dramatically.

“We’re stepping into a whole new era, and it’s exciting.”

Finding ways to honour the Saddledome’s legacy at Scotia Place is something that hasn’t been overlooked. Final decisions about what that will look like haven’t been made, Hayes said, but it’s been an ongoing conversation.

While touring other arenas, Hayes said he asked around about what other cities have done.

“What people have said to us is, ‘Don’t throw anything away,’ ” he said.

Another decision yet to be made is what event will kick things off in the new arena. CSEC will “get the keys” to Scotia place in May or June of 2027, and if all goes according to plan, should be ready to hit the ground running in September.

“We’ll be ready to kick it off before the hockey season starts,” Hayes said. “We haven’t figured out what that looks like, but we want something where the province of Alberta, southern Alberta, the city of Calgary, can say, ‘Oh, wow, that’s really cool, what they’re starting with.’ ”

Both the city and CSEC, he said, have done “an amazing job . . . in coming up with something that is really going to resonate with every citizen in Calgary — and southern Alberta, for that matter.”

“I’ve shared renderings and pictures with other organizations who run big, giant stadiums,” he said, “and all of them say, ‘Oh, my goodness, I hope the city of Calgary understands what you’re building, because this is going to be a spectacular place.’ ”

DDeKuyper@postmedia.com