Calgary Sports & Entertainment President & CEO Ken King said that the CalgaryNEXT arena/mixed-use project is "on hold" as Flames officials "discuss an alternative plan with city hall," according to a front-page piece by Annalise Klingbeil of the CALGARY HERALD. King said that the two sides are "meeting regularly to discuss a potential event centre in Victoria Park" in the city's downtown. King said CS&E indicated it would not "abandon," but "pause" CalgaryNEXT. King: "By no means that meant that we were not interested in continuing to pursue it, because we were. And ultimately, regardless, (CalgaryNEXT) will be compared to any Victoria Park option." King added that he is "both happy and anxious to understand what the city’s Plan B looks like and he expects more clarity in the first quarter" of '17. When the city’s substitute plan first publicly surfaced in June, it "included a new arena and event centre on the Stampede grounds, a field house in the northwest and some renovation of McMahon Stadium," home to the CFL Stampeders. King is "confident" the 33-year-old Scotiabank Saddledome will be replaced, either by the $890M CalgaryNEXT proposal unveiled in '15 or the city’s "yet-to-be-unveiled Plan B" (CALGARY HERALD, 12/23).
