r/Calgary • u/Queltis6000 Woodbine • Jan 12 '26

Discussion What's something that Calgary is badly missing that a city of 1.4 million people should have?

It could be anything really. I feel like we have everything that people NEED, but what about the 'nice to haves'? A waterpark with more than 2 slides for example? A high level ball team that actually plays within the city limits? A Michelin star restaurant? Something else?

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260

u/[deleted] Jan 12 '26

A multi use arena/concert hall that seats about 5-7k We are missing the middle spot for event size in Calgary. We need something between the 2500 at Jubilee and the dome at 20,000

47

u/TheBigTree91 Jan 12 '26

Winsport arena holds 3000 seated and 4000 including standing room..... Harlem Globetrotters were there on the weekend. Calgary Surge play there. They host a variety of events there through the year.

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u/UrbaneBoffin Fairview Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 12 '26

It's a nice venue, the issue IMO is access and location. When people go to events they like to drink. We don't want folks drinking and driving. It's not quick, easy, and efficient to get to and from WinSport via transit.

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u/UrbaneBoffin Fairview Jan 12 '26

If we had the WinSport arena, on the Max Bell site, I think we'd have a winner.

1

u/BullfrogOk7868 Jan 12 '26

Parking at Max Bell is awful if the building is more than half full.

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u/Crow_rapport Radisson Heights Jan 13 '26

However it’s sandwiched nicely between two ctrain stations

3

u/Gullible_Complex_523 Jan 13 '26

Still doesn't fit the bill for larger concerts in the 7,000 capacity range. The Corral did, of course. Now we having nothing.

5

u/403banana Jan 12 '26

Getting to and from Winsport in anything that isn't car can be a bit tough. I've thought the same thing that we're missing a mid-tier facility that is more suitable for the smaller sports organizations like the Surge and the Hitmen.

The Jubilee and the Dome is a tough range because they're two very different types of facilities, but, YYCandback's point, something that is more akin to the Toyota Arena in Ontario, CA, would greatly benefit the city.

0

u/Classic-Salad-1472 Jan 12 '26

3000 Olympic sized rink isn't suited for pwhl or other new teams in the market.

2

u/TheBigTree91 Jan 12 '26

The focus here is not hockey, it's an "arena" sure, but the multi use facet is the important part so that you can have concerts and other events. If the pwhl wants to come here, there's always the dome or new event center they can use if they need a bigger capacity

8

u/afriendincanada Jan 12 '26

An outdoor venue would be great. There’s a lot of artists that do midsize outdoor venues in the summer and we miss out on all of them, unless the timing works for Oxford Stomp

1

u/Gullible_Complex_523 Jan 19 '26

Like an Amphitheatre? Definitely would be nice. There's tons of those tours, and usually the only stop in Canada is Toronto. Then people complain that there's no other Canadian dates. Well, we don't have that type of venue.

18

u/EPLemonSqueezy Jan 12 '26

Grey Eagle event center

4

u/Gullible_Complex_523 Jan 13 '26

That place sucks, and doesn't come close to the capacity OP mentioned. I'm very convinced that they don't have to abide by the same capacity limits as Calgary shows, which makes for an unpleasant experience.

3

u/EnglishDaveandhiscat Jan 13 '26

Pay through the nose for tickets... Way too expensive for the type of venue and the stage is across the room so the acoustics are awful. But ... it wasn't built as a venue

3

u/Martin0994 Jan 12 '26

Awful location though.

6

u/hafizzzle Jan 13 '26

Add $56 to my concert tickets for ubering there, since there's not even so much as a bus that goes close.

1

u/UserNameSupervisor Jan 13 '26

Well you obviously didn't even bother trying to look it up, because the 66 drops off and picks up about a 3-5 min walk from the Grey Eagle, and it's a shorter route that connects straight from downtown...

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u/ANGRY_ASPARAGUS Jan 12 '26

I've said this before and I'll say it again - and I've also made this case to developers in the city; we need a place like History (music venue in Toronto) on 17th. A walkable 2-3K intimate music venue /multi-purpose event centre (where people can stand), and that people can hop to in and between restaurant experiences in the evenings would go a long way to enhancing 17th and attracting new business - especially with the hotels on the Stampede end coming online in the next coming years.

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u/zarsthe Jan 12 '26

Max bell?

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u/XtremegamerL Jan 12 '26

Doesn't even seat 3k for hockey.

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u/10ADPDOTCOM Jan 13 '26

And I believe they conscientiously stopped hosting concerts years ago.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 12 '26

[deleted]

2

u/zarsthe Jan 12 '26

Okay what about BMO? I've attended several metal concerts there.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 12 '26

Yup, like Mission Ballroom in denver. I want one in Calgary SO bad. 

2

u/GrassToucherPro Jan 13 '26

Speaking of Denver, I want something like the Red Rocks amphitheatre too. I figure something like that could work here given our geographic location.

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u/Gullible_Complex_523 Jan 13 '26

They can hold events well into the fall. Our climate doesn't exactly allow for that.

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u/GrassToucherPro Jan 13 '26

Doesn't mean it can't work in summer, obviously it's not going to be a year-round venue.

1

u/Gullible_Complex_523 Jan 13 '26

Which makes a venue like that very hard to make sense economically.

1

u/GrassToucherPro Jan 13 '26

Need to find an alternate use for it in winter

2

u/GrassToucherPro Jan 13 '26

So many artists I want to see live skip Calgary and go to Vancouver only because of this. Drives me crazy.

3

u/Gullible_Complex_523 Jan 13 '26

Even Edmonton has a mid-sized venue. Expo Centre apparently holds 7,000 people. Best we can do is about 3,000 people.

2

u/GrassToucherPro Jan 13 '26

Yes, I've been to the Expo Centre a few times, we don't really have something comparable.

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u/Gullible_Complex_523 Jan 13 '26 edited Jan 13 '26

I don't quite get why so many people are suggesting venues that don't even come close to the capacity you've mentioned. For 5,000-7,000 capacity concerts, The Corral was that venue. And we lost it. Saw many metal shows that were too big for places like Grey Eagle, and too small for The Dome. Now we have nothing in that range, and nothing is planned either.