As Calgary continues to recover from last month’s devastating floods, workers are preparing the Calgary Stampede grounds ahead of the festival’s kickoff this week.

Commuters and workers are allowed to return to the city’s downtown core, and much of the area has reopened for business, Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi said Monday.

"The downtown is open for business," Nenshi said. “Welcome back to the downtown.”

The news comes as the city prepares to host the Calgary Stampede, scheduled to begin Friday.

A number of signature events from the Stampede have been cancelled or moved due to the ongoing repairs to the city’s Saddledome.

According to Calgary Flames president Ken King, the stadium has 2,500 fewer seats and there are no opportunities to offer food and beverage services to patrons.

"At the end of the day, personal safety would be compromised," King told reporters on Tuesday.

The repairs to the arena, home to the Calgary Flames, won’t be completed in time for the first five days of the festival, Stampede spokesperson Kuurt Kadatz said.

As a result, the cutting horse competition and the vintage tractor pull have been cancelled, and the team penning events will be moved to the nearby community of Okotoks.

Four major concerts scheduled for the Stampede week have also been scrapped.

Stampede organizers said because of the damage to the Saddledome arena, a number of high-profile stars -- including Carly Rae Jepsen, Tim McGraw, the Dixie Chicks and KISS -- will not be hitting the stage.

"It became evident yesterday to both the Stampede and the Flames that the services necessary for a proper concert experience for fans and for the artists just weren't available given the current status and limitations of the building," organizers said in a news release posted Tuesday on the Stampede website.

Organizers said given the size of the four mega shows which required tailored effects and lightning, there was "no feasible alternative" to host any one of them at another Calgary venue during the Stampede.

The Saddledome was badly damaged by the devastating floods, which hit the city hard near the end of June. Photos of the arena’s interior showed flood waters pooled up to the eighth row of seats.

Following the flooding, Stampede organizers promised that the event would proceed “come hell or high water.”

Elsewhere on the festival grounds, workers are preparing midway rides, games and food booths.

Tracy Reichert, of the Hot Wisconsin Cheese food booth, watched the flooding unfold on the news. Reichert said she had a feeling organizers wouldn’t cancel the Stampede.

“We did see some pictures and we were very concerned about the event,” she said as she prepared her food stall. “But I said ‘The event is too major of one for them to just let it go.’”

Zoo damage estimated at $60M

Meanwhile, officials at the Calgary Zoo announced that it will take five months before the facility can fully reopen its doors.

Zoo officials announced on Tuesday that they plan to partially reopen the attraction at the end of the month.

The north portion of the zoo, including the Penguin Plunge, Prehistoric Park and the Canadian Wilds will be open to the public on July 31.

It will cost the city $60 million to cover the cost of the damage to the zoo. This estimated price tag includes:

  • $50 million in damage to the land and building
  • $10 million in lost revenue from gate admissions, gift shop sales and concessions sales

The zoo will not be fully operational until the end of November.

High River recovery continues

South of Calgary, in the community of High River, a number of residents and business owners were allowed access to their homes and businesses for the first time Monday.

Many returned to find extensive damage including mould, mud and knocked down walls.

High River residents expressed frustration Monday, taking issue with the pace of the recovery and the confusing re-entry system for evacuees.

The re-entry system, which involves a number of checkpoints and passes, caused long lineups and further delayed anxious residents from returning to their homes.

With files from CTV Calgary