Scotia Place

History

Scotia Place is the successor to a 2015 proposal known as CalgaryNEXT, which aimed to replace both the Scotiabank Saddledome and McMahon Stadium for Calgary's professional hockey and football teams. That plan called for two venues: a 19,000 to 20,000-seat events centre for the NHL's Calgary Flames, the WHL's Calgary Hitmen, and the Calgary Roughnecks lacrosse team; and a 40,000-seat football stadium with a fieldhouse for the CFL's Calgary Stampeders, also intended as a public training and activity space. The complex was initially slated for West Village along the Bow River, envisioned as a hub for professional and amateur sports.

Reactions from local politicians to CalgaryNEXT were divided. While they backed the idea of redeveloping West Village, many—including Mayor Naheed Nenshi—voiced concerns. The city would have been on the hook for an initial $440 to $690 million of the projected cost, which promoters argued would be recouped over a long period. Under the proposal, the city would own the facilities, but they would be managed by the privately owned Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation (CSEC), making the land exempt from property taxes. The city would receive no share of the profits. Originally pegged at $890 million, a City of Calgary report from April 2016 revised the estimated cost to roughly $1.8 billion, with taxpayers covering up to two-thirds of that amount.

In April 2017, Calgary city council voted unanimously to back an alternative plan located near the Saddledome instead. On September 12, 2017, Flames president and CEO Ken King announced the team was abandoning the CalgaryNEXT arena. He stated that the team had long tried to find a workable formula to replace the building and had given its best effort, but sadly and with disappointment, he concluded that a deal favorable to the team could not be reached. Mayor Nenshi then proposed a partnership where the city would cover part of the cost of "plan B," with the remainder funded by the team ownership and user surcharges. King objected to this proposal.