Calgary event centre talks continue behind closed doors

The Calgary Event Centre Committee met Monday after talks were revived last year, and it still included a discussion of a downtown area location.

The update was behind closed doors, something the committee chair, Ward 1 Coun. Sonya Sharp says is standard for any big project.

“We don’t talk about negotiations in public … any sort of project we work on in the city,” Sharp told reporters.

“Things are going really well, our deal structure advisors are here, and conversations are continuously happening.”

She also says there are considerations for location, which include building the centre in downtown Calgary.

“This is a fresh start … I mentioned we’re looking for building an event centre within the city, within downtown,” Sharp said. “All viable options will be presented to council.”

This comes after the City of Calgary and the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation (CSEC) formally re-entered talks in October 2022, with Sharp at the time calling it a “fresh start.”

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The previous deal between the city and CSEC fell through in Dec. 2021, but hope was reignited in late May after the city appointed a third-party group to negotiate with CSEC.

Those at the table include CSEC and the Creative Artists Agency (CAA) ICON, which is representing the City of Calgary. This includes support from Altus Group’s Calgary office.

Sharp says there has been no word on provincial involvement since Alberta Premier Danielle Smith assigned a representative to work with the city, but she says she is happy for its support.

“We all serve the same people, who are Calgarians, and so, as things progress, our deal structure and advisors will move forward, probably with more conversations with the province in due time,” Sharp said.

She adds that “time is of the essence” when it comes to meeting with the province, but she can’t reveal a date with the public at this time.

There has also been no word on funding from the province.

“Projects, the sooner they happen, the better when it comes to time and money. So we will be as aggressive as we can with our timeline in getting a deal successful,” Sharp said.

“We are still working on [the province’s] role. And when I am going to be part of those conversations of understanding what the provinces role is, I’ll be able to shed more light.”

She says the city will provide an update as the meetings continue.

-With files from Chris Bowen and CityNews staff