CALGARY – When Shania Twain announced her Canadian tour dates Wednesday, she joined Madonna and other international stars in snubbing Calgary.
Local entertainment blogger Mike Morrison says many musical acts seem to prefer Edmonton’s Rexall Place to the Saddledome, which reportedly has bad acoustics and can’t support heavy weight that some require for their staging.
“Look at who is playing the Saddledome this year: There are not very many internationally-renowned headliners, they are going to Edmonton,” said Morrison.
READ MORE: Madonna announces tour date for Edmonton’s Rexall Place
Music lover Daniel Corrigan says it’s time to get rid of the Saddledome.
“Of course it is, because they keep losing business to Edmonton, right? If we want to keep bands coming to Calgary, we have to do something to house and facilitate them,” said Corrigan.
Calgary Flames president and CEO Ken King told Kiss 95.9 he’s looking to cash in on a new building.
“You see our project, people are just going to love it, and we’re not going to sneak in here and steal money from the city,” he told the radio station Thursday.
For his part, Mayor Naheed Nenshi isn’t interested in footing the bill, saying, “I don’t think we should use tax money to bring in Madonna.”
But that doesn’t stop some from speculating a new arena location in the west end of downtown on land west of the Greyhound bus station, recently purchased for $37 million by the city.
“The whole messaging around this has been unusual…it will require some council report if it requires public land and public dollars,” said city councillor Druh Farrell. “They can’t assume we will be supportive of that.”
Alternative locations at Stampede Park and near McMahon Stadium have also been floated with most fans saying wherever it ends up, it needs to have good access to transit.
“So long as it’s on a train line, I think that would be better for transportation,” said Flames season ticket holder Lauren Haynes.
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