Calgary Bluesfest peeved with plans to pave much of Cowboys Park

The City of Calgary plans to pave over and remove 70 per cent of the green space at Cowboys Park, to the disappointment of festival organizers.

A spokesperson for the Calgary International Bluesfest is expressing frustration over plans to remove 70 per cent of the green space at a downtown park.

Bluesfest has been held at Cowboys Park – formerly Shaw Millennium Park – every August for 14 years.

But the festival’s artistic director say now that Cowboys has signed a 10-year sponsorship and agreement with the city, the park will have the vast majority of the grass paved.

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Plans to upgrade existing infrastructure at Cowboys Park was announced once the sponsorship deal was reached, but there was no mention of removing green space or permanent asphalt paving.

Cindy McLeod says her team only received information about the changes two weeks ago, and are now scrambling to adjust their setup just months before the festival is held.

“None of this has been made public,” said McLeod.

“There was no public engagement on this project – and it’s a public park, it’s a public asset. I had no idea of these changes, so it was a shock when we found out. (It’s) a kick in the gut.”

A proposed site map from the City of Calgary shows the changes the seven-hectare space will undergo.

Phase One appears to show the flattening of the elevation of the amphitheatre area adjacent to the Mewata Armory to make way for permanent asphalt, along with the removal of dozens of trees.

This work is set to be completed by this June, just in time for the 2025 Cowboys Music Festival in July, which will now be held at the park.

McLeod says she’s frustrated no one on her team was asked to provide feedback or input.

“We host our event there in August, so had we known in advance, perhaps we could have fundraised or tried to find a sponsor or something, but it’s just such a short period of time to completely revamp because we are a volunteer-driven organization.

“There’s no power, there’s no water, there’s no nothing marked on this map as guidelines. Where do I put food trucks? They need power and water, for example.”

Calgary Arab Festival also impacted

The Calgary Arab Festival is also typically held at Cowboys Park.

Organizer Mohamad Awada says he was surprised he wasn’t informed about the changes much sooner.

Awada says that on one hand, leveling the ground would be beneficial for his vendors and cultural tents, but on the other hand, removing the green space is concerning.

“It brings a bit more feasibility and flexibility for hosting events that require seating, but I really don’t like to see all the greenery gone,” he said.

“What’s more concerning is that we’re hearing they’re going to demolish the stage, and we’re hoping there can still be the potential of having the columns still installed for a stage because these are cultural events, we rely a lot on sponsors, on vendors and funding – and the cost of setting up a stage can exceed $50,000.”

CTV News has reached out to Penny Lane Entertainment, the parent company of Cowboys, but did not receive a response.

At least $6M in upgrade costs

The City of Calgary’s most recent budget notes that upgrades to Cowboys Park will cost $2.2 million this year, on top of another $1.9 million in 2026, and an additional $1.9 million in the 2027 to 2030 budget.

The roughly $6-million total cost is for repairs to bathrooms, lighting, event areas, as well as basketball and volleyball courts.

Ward 1 Coun. Sonya Sharp had requested an estimated $4.1 million be removed from the capital upgrade funding with a request for more information to be provided in Q2 of 2025 before further funding would be approved.

City administration warned that it could have an impact on an already approved sponsorship agreement for the park, adding that that some of this work was for life-cycle maintenance that would need to be completed in the area.

This request was defeated.

It’s unknown at this time how much money Penny Lane Entertainment is spending on the project.

The City of Calgary’s Parks & Open Spaces team would not confirm whether any sort of public consultation took place, or why festival organizers were informed of the changes with such little notice.

In a statement to CTV News, Parks & Open Spaces said “more details on this plan will be available at the end of the month” and “these plans were shared with partners in advance as a courtesy.”

Area councillor for Ward 7, Terry Wong, says he had not seen the concept map until late January, and has since received inquiries from community members and festival organizers asking why they weren’t told by the city.

“What was known back in the fall timeframe was that we need to put a hard surface there, but what wasn’t know was exactly the size or the location of the hard surface to host such a facility,” Wong said.

“I think the thing that we need to recognize is the timeframe between when it was approved and when it needs to be set up so that we can have it for Stampede is a very short timeframe. Recognize that it’s also wintertime, there’s not a lot you can do in terms of ground preparation until the springtime, so there’s a lot of a lot of moving parts there.”

Wong admits that the first tine he saw the concept map for Phase One of the project was when it was brought to his attention by the Calgary International Blues Festival.

“I knew we had to do something there for upgrades, but what I didn’t know was the magnitude of it, so we had a conversation with the Parks Department and there’s a number of things that they’re still doing.

“Finalizing details and engaging with the public will come shortly, but they weren’t ready for that engagement because they’re still waiting for the final details to be ironed out.”