Calgary’s Scotia Place construction remains on track; officials share 2025 project timeline

Construction crews are feeling optimistic about the status of Calgary’s new events centre and future home of the Flames.

With all of the permits approved for Scotia Place, the project is still on track and the big pile of dirt across the street from the Saddledome is about to get a whole lot busier.

Crews have dug nearly 40 feet into the ground and, according to project committee member Bob Hunter, the design process is also nearly complete. Designers took inspiration from other NHL arenas in Detroit, St. Paul, Columbus and Edmonton, which is where the concept of having a sunken in arena floor came from.

“So much goes into the detailed design that the architects and the whole team looks at,” says Hunter. “One of the concepts was to put the bowl down 40 feet so that when you come into the building, you come into it at street level.”

The excavation work is expected to last until the spring and there will be more underground installations and soil removal before the foundation starts getting poured in May.

Hunter says Calgarians will really start to notice a change by around August, so long as the weather permits and construction remains on track.

“That’s when people will actually start to see the structure coming up,” he says.

Foundation walls will go up first, followed by below grade columns, stairs, elevator cores, and access ramps.

By the start of 2026, Hunter says the site will likely have a fully formed and unclosed arena.

“I think you’ll see the shape and form of a major arena,” he says. “I don’t know if we’ll be capping off at that point in time, but you should be able to see the whole arena.”

He says the five-story $900 million project is still on track to be finished by 2027 and be ready for the Flames 2027-28 season.

The new arena will have a capacity of 18,400 people for hockey games and sporting events, and 20,000 for concerts.

Beyond hosting sporting events and concerts, the city says the site will also be able to accommodate different indoor and outdoor community events. The finished site will include a community rink, and public dining options and retail shops.

The venue is being designed so that it can be fully electrified and net-zero by the year 2050. More design highlights can be found here.