In theory new arena could be a catalyst for Stampede Park Transformation
Calgary’s City Centre is on life support and now that the arena project is on hold one has to wonder what implications that has to the future of our downtown core. There has been much controversy over the arena and the value it will add or not add to the revitalization of the City Centre. Should the City be spending taxpayer dollars to support a new arena for billionaire owners, elite hockey players and a few music fans?
I have to admit I have been skeptical about the value it will add to the downtown core and in fact it might actually further reduce the number of people wanting live, work or play in the core. But I have tried to keep an open mind.
A reader of my recent “Calgary vs Columbus Ohio” downtown revitalization blog sent me, a copy of Alex Rowley’s thesis “Winning with Sports Event Facilities and Sports and Entertainment Districts in Smaller Cities” for his Masters of Community Planning from Vancouver Island University (April 2020). The title is a bit misleading as he looks at numerous examples of how new downtown arenas have succeeded or failed to revitalize their respective downtowns in large and small cities, including Columbus.
The thesis provides a checklist and recommendations for what must be included to create a successful “arena district.” While in theory there might be checklist for successful urban development projects, in reality their isn’t one - sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t!
Conceptual image of new Calgary arena, with attractive pedestrian hub around it and new buildings in the background.
Construction has begun on the expansion of the BMO event centre that will make it the largest event centre in Western Canada. Like the arena it is designed to create a pedestrian friendly hub around it.
The new arena and BMO centre which are side-by-side have been designed to create a major event and entertainment district based on 21st century urban planning theory.
Canada Is NOT The USA!
I know building new downtown sports facilities (arenas, stadiums, baseball parks) have been successful in downtown neighbourhood revitalization in several US cities, but in Canada it isn’t a guarantee. I think in part because spectator sports are not as important to the average Canadian as they are to Americans. I am always shocked when I travel to places like Boise and see their 36,387 seat university stadium or Missoula’s 25,217 seat university stadium, with huge luxury boxes. Or how they can attract 20,000 people to a high school football game. Americans have a sports hero worship culture Canada doesn’t have.
I am also familiar with the failure of the Hamilton’s downtown arena to revitalize its downtown, or even Winnipeg’s new downtown main street arena, which has spurred some development nearby, but still the downtown struggles.
Even Edmonton’s fancy new arena, while it has been the catalyst for new development around it, one could hardly say their downtown has been revitalize by the new arena. However, it is still a work in progress so that could change.
Hamilton’s downtown arena was built in 1985 as part of a huge downtown revitalization plan that included a major new indoor shopping mall, a new library, a new home for one of Canada’s oldest farmers’ markets, new theatre complex, new convention centre and a new art gallery. All the elements that in urban planning theory make for a vibrant downtown.
Yes, it checked off most of the boxes that in urban planning theory should have create an attractive “Sports, Hospitality, Entertainment District.” 35+ years the downtown arena and the entire downtown is still struggling to become an attractive people place.
Checklist For Success
Rowley’s literature search identified a checklist of things that successful sports and entertainment districts have in common and surprisingly Calgary’s new arena site and Stampede Park masterplan fits most of them. (Note: I know it is now called the Culture + Entertainment or C+E District, but that makes no sense to the average Calgarian and you will see later why that name should be changed).
Rowley quotes Martin Greenberg’s report on the Milwaukee baseball district that states, “in order to develop a sports event facility with a surrounding sports and entertainment district, it is important to have a receptive community with five key characteristics:
a need or a desire for a new or renovated sports event facility and envision the facility as the centrepiece for future development.
a political or civic leader that advocates for the sports event facility and surrounding development.
the area surrounding the sports event facility must be surrounded by properties and land that can accommodate auxiliary development.
a governmental unit that has or is willing to adopt flexible zoning bylaws surrounding the new sports event facility.
it must provide incentives to developers, such as infrastructure upgrades or other financial incentives, so they will be encouraged to develop in the surrounding area
His literature search also includes Jay Weiner’s observations in his book “Fifty Years of Big League Greed and Bush League Boondoggles, “if a City is going to invest tax dollars into the project the sports event facilities should be used much more as a community centre, a local institution, not a monument to rich-guy sports. It is important to rethink these facilities as gathering places and neighbourhood centres, which will allow them to better meet the needs of the community they are situated in. A sports event facility must be an active community centre and/or a 365-day-a-year operation that serves the citizenry; it should be a “gift to a city’s residents, not to a city’s teams, which means they should not be isolated structures, that are designed only with parking lots and team’s revenues in mind, because those are not socially responsible”
I believe this is exactly what CMLC wants to achieve with their Stampede Park Event & Entertainment District, which is why the program costs have risen beyond the $550 million which was just for the arena.
Winnipeg’s Bell/MTS Place is located right on the city’s historic main street - Portage Avenue. You don’t get more downtown than this.
Like Hamilton, the arena is situated near a major indoor shopping mall nearby, a newly expanded convention centre, a major public art gallery and yet the shops along Portage Avenue struggled, even before COVID. Recently, the historic Hudson’s Bay department store just a few blocks away shuttered.
Like Calgary, Winnipeg struggles to foster the redevelopment of numerous City Centre neighbourhoods - downtown core, historic Exchange District, The Forks and Osborne Village.
Elements of a successful “Sports & Entertainment District”
Ultimately, Rowley concludes a successful “sports & entertainment” district should have the following elements:
A main sports event facility
Other sports event facilities
Other large facilities
Multi-modal transportation infrastructure
Entertainment options
Retail options
Recreational spaces
Tourist attractions
Hotels
Residential properties
Professional services and community amenities
Partnering institutions and organizations
All of the above are included in the City’s plans for Stampede Park revitalization.
Stampede Park Transformation Vision.
Red = Culture Entertainment District with new arena and BMO convention centre expansion.
Purple = Stampede and Exhibition activities it includes the Grandstand and the Nutrien Western Event Centre.
Yellow, blue and green areas at the top are primarily high-rise residential development as is the teal block to the west of Stampede Grounds.
White circle is the Repsol Sports Centre.
The downtown core is at the very top left-hand corner.
Recommendations For Success
Rowley’s thesis concludes with a list of recommendations on a new arena that can be the catalyst for creating a vibrant new community. I found several to be very relevant to the Calgary arena debate.
Recommendation #3:
Ensure the sports event facility can be used flexibly and focuses on the needs of the majority the community, not just high-profile sports teams and athletes.
Instead of having just one stand-alone sports event facility, it is important to combine numerous facilities together. Clustering sports event facilities together can result in viable social hubs for a community, especially if they allows for participation by diverse types of community members and visitors, not just elite athletes and passive spectators.
Stampede Park is already home to hundreds of smaller events and festivals year-round. Other event facilities nearby include the BMO Even Centre, Nutrien Western Event Centre, Grandstand and Repsol Sports Centre across the street.
Columbus arena district before and after. The arena district has a diversity of sports and recreational facilities designed to attract a diversity of people to the districts at all times of the day and night.
Recommendation #4:
Name the sports event facility after the community it is situated in. If a city wants to utilize a sports event facility for place marketing, the name of the facility and the district becomes very important.
I have always found it strange why the City continues to use the term “cultural “as part of the proposed new sports, event, entertainment district. I think it will confuse people who think of Calgary’s Cultural District as the area around Olympic Plaza with Arts Commons, the Glenbow and historic Stephen Avenue. I would love to see the City adopt the terms: Stampede Park Event & Entertainment District (SPEED) and the Olympic Plaza Arts District (OPAD).
FYI: I believe it was a big mistake to locate the new library and National Music Centre in East Village. They should have been built west of the Municipal Building to create synergies with existing arts facilities and public spaces around the Olympic Plaza Arts District.
Recommendation #5:
Develop a master plan and development strategy for the area surrounding the new sports event facility to help the city achieve its broader strategic planning and development goals.
CMLC has done a great job of creating a master-plan for the SPEED!
Recommendation #6:
There needs to be a strategy developed with the businesses in the areas surrounding sports event facilities.
I can’t help but wonder if this isn’t one of the issues facing the Calgary arena project. There has been no new business partners added to the project since the agreement was reached to build a new arena.
Ideally you would want a hotel and residential partner to have been announced before you start construction of the new arena and BMO expansion.
Recommendation #7:
Acquire land directly surrounding a sports event facility in order to have more control over surrounding development.
There is lots of land around the new arena for redevelopment, but one has to wonder if there isn’t a power struggle on who will control the development of different sites – CMLC, Calgary Sports & Entertainment Corporation or Stampede Board.
Recommendation #9:
Have other unique facilities, entertainment options, retail options, and tourist attractions to compliment the main sports event facility. The Arena District in Columbus has numerous unique attractions, including the first indoor LED illuminated hydroponic farm and the first indoor/outdoor concert venue in the United States. It also has unique historical features that have been preserved and repurposed, including the 660-ton historic Union Arch at McFerson Commons Park.
It could easily be argued Stampede park is a major tourist attraction especially with the expanded BMO Centre as are the new Central Library and National Music Centre just a few blocks away.
Recommendation #10:
Have multi-modal transportation infrastructure that makes it convenient for residents and visitors to access the sports event facility and surrounding district. Connectivity is an important reason why the Columbus Arena District is so popular, including free transit options to other downtown locations, with a strong emphasis on walkability.
It is a no brainer that Calgary Transit will have to extend the free fare zone to Stampede Park in the future.
Recommendation #11:
Have diverse visitor accommodations within the district surrounding the sports event. The Arena District in Columbus has numerous hotels for visitors and tourists, including higher end options and more affordable family friendly options.
This is an issue for Calgary as there are no hotels near Stampede Park despite years of trying. Even with the announcement of funding for the BMO expansion and new arena, no new hotel development has been secured to date. Hopefully one is coming soon.
Currently under construction in downtown is a 27 floor, 307-room hotel that combines both an Autograph Collection by Marriott, the first of its kind in Alberta, with a Courtyard by Marriott.
Recommendation #12:
Have residential properties, professional services, and community amenities to create a complete community surrounding the main sports event facility. Columbus’ Arena District is a highly active place where people are present on both event and non-event days.
Generating residential development next to Stampede Park is going to be difficult given competition from other City Centre neighbourhoods that have existing amenities. As well, high-rise living may be negatively impacted in the short-term due to COVID experience.
Recommendation #15:
There must be a strong communication strategy from project proponents towards key stakeholder groups and demographics. The communication strategy must address the following: how the facility will be different than ones that have failed in the past; how the facility will be funded long- term; who the confirmed long-term partnering institutions and organizations are; why the broader community needs the facility; how the facility will align with the community’s values; and, how the facility will benefit the community from economic, social, and human health perspectives.
CMLC and some Councillors have tried to address these issues, but with limited success.
Last Word
Calgary’s new arena proposal has taken all of the ideas in Rowley’s thesis into consideration and tried to incorporate most of them. What appears to be missing in Calgary’s Stampede Park transformation is the hotel and residential partners that are essential to making a sport, event and entertainment district work.
Even then that doesn’t guarantee it will be successful, but there are no guarantees in urban planning or city building!
Note: You can email Alex Rowley at alex.rowley@shaw.ca
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