Petition calls for renovation of Calgary Saddledome

A local petition is asking The City of Calgary to consult residents on how best to spend taxpayer money amid discussion around a new event centre.

The petition from the group behind the plea, Project Calgary, says the look of the city “should be up to Calgarians–not just the billionaire Flames owners.”

“We don’t necessarily tear down bridges and public buildings every 30 years because they’re not new and replace them,” said Peter Oliver, a volunteer with Project Calgary.

“And certainly, an arena shouldn’t be any different.”

The petition asks the city to engage with Calgarians on how to spend “$100s of millions in public funding” to help revitalize Victoria Park and the new Culture and Entertainment District.

In addition, it asks for an assessment on the option to maintain the Saddledome for over 30 years and “substantial funding” to attract more music festivals to Calgary.

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And despite recent structural concerns with the Saddledome’s roof, Oliver claims the building’s integrity still stands.

He says according to a city report, the feasibility of maintaining the dome might be more realistic than some think.

“The city had been sitting on a report that showed the nature of the repairs required for the Saddledome to continue operating were really superficial in nature,” Oliver said.

Oliver is also skeptical that a new arena could bring more and bigger performers to Calgary.

To investigate the impact, he compared the Saddledome’s 2013 schedule to that of Rogers Place, which had just opened that year.

“What we found was there was virtually no difference between Edmonton and Calgary. We saw exactly the same shows going to both these cities.”

When it comes to superstar tours, economist Moshe Lander added that a new arena could have unintended effects.

“What you could actually find is that Edmonton and Calgary and Winnipeg could start cannibalizing each other to try and offer the sweetest deal to the act they’re trying to attract,” Lander said.

But on the topic of renovation, he says taxpayer money is better spent from the ground up.

“While I love that tree in the north parking lot, and it will devastate me that they have to chop that down, there’s land just sitting right there,” he said.

“There’s no reason to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on renovating something whose time has passed.”