The Flames pull out of new arena project!

In a stunning twist on Tuesday night, Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek says the Calgary Flames have pulled out of a multi-million dollar Event Centre project originally announced in 2019.

On her personal Twitter account, the mayor revealed that Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation (CSEC) chair Murray Edwards called her Tuesday to “pull the plug” on the deal.

“The City came to the table to assist with $6.4m in roadways leaving $9.7m for the Flames. Based on this gap, CSEC informed me they are walking away from our deal,” the mayor wrote on Twitter. “On a project worth over $650m, to have one party walk away for 1.5% of the value of the deal is staggering.”

Here are the tweets in questions:

An early 2022 target was set to begin construction, but clearly, it is not going to happen… At the same time, the mayor maintains that “the two sides continued to negotiate some costs — specifically related to “climate mitigation” and “road/sidewalk right of way issues.”

The Flames have been playing at the Scotiabank Saddledome since 1983. However, back in July 2019, city counsel approved the project for the new arena, with then-Mayor Naheed Nenshi adamant that the deal provided “a great balance of social and financial return” for the city.

What is next we wonder…