A look at the never-ending Calgary arena saga

Photo Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY SportsWay, way back in the 1980s, a ragtag group of Calgary businessmen teamed up to purchase the struggling Atlanta Flames and move them to Canada. The team originally played in the old Stampede Corral, a building that was small by National Hockey League standards and already 30 years old when the team arrived.

As you would expect, the Flames got started on a new building almost immediately upon arriving in town. The Olympic Saddledome opened in 1983, funded entirely by three levels of government – $31.5 million from the City of Calgary, $31.5 million from the Government of Alberta and $29.7 million from the Government of Canada – and the Olympic…