5 years after collapse of Calgary's Fairview Arena site is still in limbo

Plans to replace demolished Fairview Arena stalled The Fairview Arena's roof buckled under heavy snowfall five years ago. Since demolished, plans to replace the facility have stalled.

Five years after the roof of Calgary's Fairview Arena buckled under a load of heavy wet snow, there is still no plan for the long-term future of the site.

In 2019, the City of Calgary received a $4.9 million insurance payout for the loss of the building, $600,000 of it was used to cover the demolition of the structure.

A portion of the building was allowed to remain and currently houses the National accessArts Centre (formally Indefinite Arts).

None of the insurance money was put back into the community of Fairview.

A community board was established to look at possible future uses for the site, but after years of slow progress announced it was dissolving in recent weeks.

"We have a lot of people in Fairview who grew up here as kids, who have moved back as adults with their own families, and so have a lot of great memories," says Ward 11 Coun. Kourtney Penner. "They have those core memories at the rink.

"So to have the loss of a building really feels like a loss of a sense of community."

The old arena is now an empty field and plans are in place to eventually demolish the existing art centre.

"The city has been very clear and explicit that an ice sheet won't be going back in here," said Penner.

CTV News requested an interview with the City of Calgary to discuss the challenges and progress for the site.

In lieu of an interview, we were sent a link to the public feedback webpage that was last updated in the winter of 2020.

The National accessArts Centre had an agreement with the city to move to a Scouts Hall in West Hillhurst, but plans were sidelined after the building received heritage designation which prevented changes that would allow the building's front entrance to be made accessible.

Work is underway to find an alternate design that would allow access without impacting the identified heritage values for the building.