[Tothewest]

Yep, could for sure see something in that 4-6k size. 6-10k can get to be too big and expensive and then compete with smaller shows that Scotia Place would want.

 

[Tothewest]

“We talked about the Stampeders, and I said, ‘The stadium has passed its shelf life.’ I don’t think that’s a surprise to anybody, and the reality is that we only play there 10 games a year, and so it has to be a stadium that is going to be, in my opinion, anyway, city-led,” he said.

Calgary Stampede master plan could spell the long, slow end for McMahon Stadium - LiveWire Calgary

One of the biggest moments of pause during the Calgary’s Stampede’s announcement of its new 20-year master plan was the mention of a potential new home for the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders. During the presentation of the ambitious park redevelopment, Calgary Stampede CEO Joel Cowley described a...

livewirecalgary.com

If Farkas has a political bone in his body, he'd run far away from any public funding for this.

This would be significantly less political than SP. The Stampede has every reason themselves, as does the city, to expand the East Grandstand for the Stampede ,and thus have a proper facility to host a June/August/September outdoor concert. If the Stampeders contribute XX which takes cares of the field level infrastructure...the stadium is literally already halfway there lol

I was skeptical, but its starting to make a lot of sense

 

[Infrastructurist]

This would be significantly less political than SP. The Stampede has every reason themselves, as does the city, to expand the East Grandstand for the Stampede ,and thus have a proper facility to host a June/August/September outdoor concert. If the Stampeders contribute XX which takes cares of the field level infrastructure...the stadium is literally already halfway there lol

I was skeptical, but its starting to make a lot of sense

speaking of which I mentioned turning GMC stadium into a football arena and essentially got clowned in another thread. This makes me smile.

 

[Tothewest]

speaking of which I mentioned turning GMC stadium into a football arena and essentially got clowned in another thread. This makes me smile.

I was liking spiting vitriol your way, mainly because I didn't understand how it would work with the current east grandstand. If the Stampede plans to build an entirely new one, then things make significantly more sense.

I hold serve though on some of my reservations, which are pretty much in line with what the CEO said today. A race track/rodeo and football field are wildly different ground floor setups, with a very tight turnaround

“We cannot really compromise, in particular the track, because thoroughbreds running at top speed, they need a consistent surface,” he said.
We cannot have a field that compromises the integrity of our track, and we certainly want to be able to convert quickly between a field sport and a Western event as well"

 

[Vernie30]

The new infield rendering looks like a football stadium with no ends to the stadium to me. I would be so happy if they could put all the teams together in one area, but they would have to figure out the race track situation with a field like the CEO said in @Tothewest 's post.

I found this post from @darwink , looks like some work has been done on this scenario for the grandstand to be used with a football field:

https://calgary.skyrisecities.com/forum/threads/new-stadium-discussion-thread.42851/post-2334805

Option 2 looks pretty much the new rendering:

 

[Roaring Flames]

There's an interesting little tidbit here on the Livewire article: https://livewirecalgary.com/2026/03...h-on-20-year-master-plan-to-reshape-the-park/

There will be a new multi-purpose venue with seating for 6,000 to 8,000 guests that will eventually replace the current Big Four Building, which was built in the 1950s.

 

[Tothewest]

The new infield rendering looks like a football stadium with no ends to the stadium to me. I would be so happy if they could put all the teams together in one area, but they would have to figure out the race track situation with a field like the CEO said in @Tothewest 's post.

I found this post from @darwink , looks like some work has been done on this scenario for the grandstand to be used with a football field:

https://calgary.skyrisecities.com/forum/threads/new-stadium-discussion-thread.42851/post-2334805

Option 2 looks pretty much the new rendering:

For context, that was from the generic olympic feasibility study in 2017 for '26, the actual vetted bid report moved the ceremonies back to Mcmahon. When you read the report, the field markings were used simply as a spacing benchmark to compare the site to mcmahon...nothing inside the report alludes to anything as a sort of permanent field install

 

[TheRealPepman]

Let's compare that to the oldest master plan available online, from 2009:

Hopefully somebody has the 2004 plan...

 

[Roaring Flames]

Well, at least they aren't looking to build a new parkade this time

 

[haltcatchfire]

Well, at least they aren't looking to build a new parkade this time

Explains why the hotel has 4 levels of parking. I bet the new “Big Four” would also get a significant underground.

 

[YYCguy]

Where would the midway go?

 

[haltcatchfire]

Where would the midway go?

Same spot it is now.

 

[Urban4Lyfe]

"No this time we are serious". The Stampede probably.

 

[CalgaryTiger]

To post this again... The Stampede CEO can say it is hard transition from a mud track to a football field, but Houston does it every year without issue. They use their football stadium for the Texans and it also gets used for basketball.

Can't always act like you'd be the first to do something. And let's not pretend that the rodeo and chucks are the main use, the Stampede is a 10-day event, the Stampeders would use it for another 10 days for games. That leaves, with 5 days on either end of the Stampede to transition, 335 days to do something else with the stadium. I mean they're including a Turf Field in their plan, if that isn't a wink to the Stampeders, I don't know what is. With something like this isn't a stretch to request provincial and federal funding for a revamped Stampede Stadium with of course the Stampede and CSEC chipping in some as well, the city wouldn't be on the hook for much in the scenario; that's a lot of funding partners.

As for the master plan, honestly it was a bit of a letdown for me. Most of it is fine but the Stampede HQ and "Calgary Live" are a massive project. Fully understanding this is just a concept of a plan but I wouldn't mind seeing that parcel broken up a little bit. For one, by breaking it up you don't need to do it all at once. Another reason is the sheer size of it; Stampede Park already has the BMO and Scotia Place that take up large parcels that restrict movement. A critique I think we generally have is large podiums and properties that don't break up the property and feel imposing on a human scale. It wouldn't be hard to break that parcel up and still maintain all of its uses and maybe even add a couple. Move the Turf Field to the southeast of the Amphitheatre to be by the linear park along the Elbow River. I'd also like to see a "Weadickville" town square northeast of Amphitheatre and Turf Field along the Elbow River, it could be a transition between the Live Events and Heritage Zone. I guess in summary what I want are more open spaces, not parking lots, but just spaces that don't feel so imposing to build or be in. You know make it Stampede "Park".

 

[darwink]

With something like this isn't a stretch to request provincial and federal funding for a revamped Stampede Stadium with of course the Stampede and CSEC chipping in some as well, the city wouldn't be on the hook for much in the scenario; that's a lot of funding partners.

Yeah, the province would have to decide to step up and fund as would the city. Federal funds would come from the existing fed/prov/muni pool, so funding the facility would mean less for transit, or a rec centre, or a museum. CSEC would be minimal - there isn't profit to extract from here.

An event like the Olympics could bring one time federal money.

I think land would quickly become a concern for moveable structures, but it is solvable with money.

The Q comes back to, is it less than a rebuilt grandstand and a rebuilt McMahon.