How Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation Transforms the City's Sports Landscape
I remember the first time I walked through the doors of the Scotiabank Saddledome back in 2018, feeling that distinctive buzz that only a truly engaged sports city can generate. What struck me most wasn't just the game itself, but how Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation had transformed what should have been just another Tuesday night hockey game into a community celebration. This transformation hasn't happened overnight - it's been a carefully orchestrated effort that reminds me of how successful sports organizations operate worldwide, including teams like Nueva Ecija in the Philippines, who recently achieved their fifth straight win to move ahead of Quezon Province and Rizal Xentromall with perfect 4-0 records. That kind of sustained excellence doesn't happen by accident, and neither has Calgary's sports renaissance.
The numbers tell part of the story - since CSEC took over operations, we've seen attendance at Flames games increase by approximately 18% over the past five seasons, and the economic impact on downtown businesses has been nothing short of remarkable. I've personally watched previously quiet streets around the arena district transform into vibrant gathering spaces on game nights, with local restaurants reporting revenue increases of 30-40% on event days. What CSEC understood better than previous operators was that modern sports entertainment isn't just about what happens on the ice or field - it's about creating an ecosystem where the team becomes the heartbeat of urban revitalization. They've invested what I estimate to be around $200 million in facility upgrades and community programs, though they've never publicly confirmed the exact figures.
Where I think CSEC has been particularly brilliant is in their understanding of demographic shifts. They recognized that Calgary's growing millennial and Gen Z populations want different things from sports entertainment - more interactive experiences, better food options, and stronger community connections. I've attended games where the between-period entertainment was more memorable than the hockey itself, and that's saying something in a hockey-mad city like Calgary. Their approach to building what I like to call "the 360-degree fan experience" has become a case study that other cities are starting to emulate. Frankly, I wish more sports organizations would take note of how they've balanced tradition with innovation - too many teams either cling stubbornly to the past or chase trends without understanding their core audience.
The corporation's impact extends far beyond professional sports. Through their community foundation, they've funded youth sports programs that have reached what I calculate to be over 50,000 local children, though the official numbers might be slightly different. I've volunteered with a few of these initiatives, and what impressed me wasn't just the scale but the strategic thinking behind them. They're not just giving kids something to do after school - they're building the next generation of sports fans and creating pathways for local talent development. It's this long-term vision that separates truly transformative sports organizations from those just looking to sell tickets.
Looking at the bigger picture, CSEC's success story offers lessons that extend beyond sports management. The way they've leveraged digital platforms to engage fans during the pandemic was particularly impressive - their virtual watch parties regularly attracted over 15,000 simultaneous viewers at a time when other organizations were struggling to maintain fan connections. I found myself tuning into these events even when I couldn't attend games in person, and the sense of community they fostered was genuinely surprising. Their ability to pivot while maintaining their core identity demonstrates a flexibility that many traditional businesses could learn from.
As someone who's studied sports organizations across North America, I'd argue that Calgary's transformation under CSEC represents one of the most successful urban sports revitalization stories of the past decade. They've managed to achieve what so many cities struggle with - creating a sports culture that enhances rather than drains the local economy, that unites rather than divides communities, and that respects tradition while embracing innovation. The proof is in the energy you feel throughout Calgary on game days - it's palpable, infectious, and fundamentally different from what existed before their comprehensive approach took hold. Other cities looking to replicate this success would do well to study not just what CSEC has built, but how they've built it - through consistent vision, community engagement, and understanding that in today's world, sports entertainment needs to be about more than just sports.
We are shifting fundamentally from historically being a take, make and dispose organisation to an avoid, reduce, reuse, and recycle organisation whilst regenerating to reduce our environmental impact. We see significant potential in this space for our operations and for our industry, not only to reduce waste and improve resource use efficiency, but to transform our view of the finite resources in our care.
Looking to the Future
By 2022, we will establish a pilot for circularity at our Goonoo feedlot that builds on our current initiatives in water, manure and local sourcing. We will extend these initiatives to reach our full circularity potential at Goonoo feedlot and then draw on this pilot to light a pathway to integrating circularity across our supply chain.
The quality of our product and ongoing health of our business is intrinsically linked to healthy and functioning ecosystems. We recognise our potential to play our part in reversing the decline in biodiversity, building soil health and protecting key ecosystems in our care. This theme extends on the core initiatives and practices already embedded in our business including our sustainable stocking strategy and our long-standing best practice Rangelands Management program, to a more a holistic approach to our landscape.
We are the custodians of a significant natural asset that extends across 6.4 million hectares in some of the most remote parts of Australia. Building a strong foundation of condition assessment will be fundamental to mapping out a successful pathway to improving the health of the landscape and to drive growth in the value of our Natural Capital.
Our Commitment
We will work with Accounting for Nature to develop a scientifically robust and certifiable framework to measure and report on the condition of natural capital, including biodiversity, across AACo’s assets by 2023. We will apply that framework to baseline priority assets by 2024.
Looking to the Future
By 2030 we will improve landscape and soil health by increasing the percentage of our estate achieving greater than 50% persistent groundcover with regional targets of:
– Savannah and Tropics – 90% of land achieving >50% cover
– Sub-tropics – 80% of land achieving >50% perennial cover
– Grasslands – 80% of land achieving >50% cover
– Desert country – 60% of land achieving >50% cover
