New hotel at Calgary Stampede will hopefully accompany new arena: developer

New hotel on the way – what about an arena? There is now a plan for the first hotel to be built on Stampede Park, which officials are hoping will serve a new arena, at some point.

Construction on a new hotel in Calgary's culture and entertainment district will break ground in 2024, and the developer is hopeful a new Calgary arena will be under construction by then too.

The Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) and Calgary Stampede announced on Tuesday that Matthews Southwest Hospitality will be the development partner for the hotel, which will sit on a 31,000 square-foot parcel of land at the southwest intersection of Stampede Trail and 12 Ave. S.E., next to the Cowboys Casino.

"Well, there's no kidding about it. We hope that (a new event centre) happens, but we're building anyway," said Mike Garcia, president of Matthews Southwest Hospitality.

"We feel like there's enough in this market for sustainability of this hotel, but hands down, we hope (a new arena) happens," he said.

The hotel, which is expected to have more than 220 rooms, will be the first on the Stampede grounds and will connect directly to the BMO Centre – which is currently under expansion.

"We have over 20 conventions booked post-opening at this point and that extends through 2028. We have other that have indicated they want a hotel before they book here," said Joel Cowley, Calgary Stampede CEO.

When its finished, the BMO Centre will be over a million square-feet, making it the largest convention centre in western Canada.

"It needs hotel rooms to support it, so that when people come to the city, people have a place to stay. It's a really critical part of the overall BMO Centre expansion project," said Kate Thompson, CMLC president.

The hotel development will be approximately $80 million, according to the CMLC, but the final cost will be determined as the design process continues.

Matthews Southwest Hospitality has completed projects around the world as a developer, including The Bow building in Calgary.