The NHL’s Flames could get a new arena in Calgary after all. The city of Calgary and Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation, who owns the Flames, confirmed on Wednesday that they had resumed talks about building a new home for the team.
All parties share a collective desire to see a new event center constructed in Calgary,” the Flames’ executive John Bean said in a statement. “We look forward to discussions with the city to see if we can find an acceptable path forward.”
The Flames and Calgary city officials made an agreement on a new arena back in 2019 but didn’t see it through. The costs of the project have reportedly skyrocketed in the next two years and prompted the NHL franchise to walk away from the agreement.
The city of Calgary tried to salvage the project by hiring third-party negotiators in early 2022. These efforts successfully brought the Flames back to the negotiating table and could now lead to a new agreement.
The Calgary Flames currently play their home games at Scotiabank Saddledome. The arena was built in 1983 and is currently the second-oldest home in NHL. The only older arena is the New York Rangers’ Madison Square Garden, which opened its doors in 1968.
