[Hawker]

Originally Posted by frinkprof

^To tap into new revenue streams (hotel, restaurants, retail, etc.). This sort of thing is necessary in today's sports market.

The Saddledome has served Calgary well, but once Edmonton's and Pittsburgh's new arenas are built, the Saddledome will be the 5th oldest building behind Nassau Coliseum (which needs to be replaced or the Islanders may be moved), and Madison Square Garden (a true icon), Detroit's Joe Louis Arena, and Washington's US Airways Arena.

At any rate, despite the potential loss of what some long-time fans see as irreplaceable in the Saddledome, its replacement is inevitable. Even Yankee Stadium, Maple Leaf Gardens, and the Montreal Forum were replaced, after all.

Also, good on whichever mod deleted the unnecessary posts made earlier.

US Airways was demolished years ago.

The plan is to have the new Flames arena on the site of the Big 4 building. The Flames lease on the Dome is done in 2014, so at least prelim work would have to start by about 2011.