{"id":483867,"date":"2026-03-04T01:33:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T01:33:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/483867\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T01:33:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T01:33:16","slug":"nhl-commissioner-gary-bettman-visits-calgary-to-talk-about-world-cup-of-hockey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/483867\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman visits Calgary to talk about World Cup of Hockey"},"content":{"rendered":"

With Calgary\u2019s new $1.2 billion events centre starting to take shape in the city\u2019s Victoria Park neighbourhood, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman<\/a> paid a visit to town Tuesday to get a first-hand look at the facility, which he described as a future \u201ceconomic engine\u201d for the community.<\/p>\n

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During a media availability at the Flames\u2019 current home, The Scotiabank Saddledome<\/a>, Bettman added, \u201cIt looks like it\u2019s going to be a spectacular, first class, state of the art arena.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s gonna be great for the city of Calgary to have this type of facility. Which, in addition to hosting the Flames, will be able to host concerts and other events that don\u2019t currently come to Calgary. Everybody will be nostalgic and miss this building (the Saddledome), but it\u2019s time,\u201d added Bettman.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tNHL Commissioner Gary Bettman speaks to the media in Calgary, following a tour of the city\u2019s new events centre that will be the Flames new home when it opens in the fall of 2027.\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tGlobal News\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Bettman\u2019s visit also comes amidst reports that Calgary and Edmonton have submitted a joint bid in hopes of being chosen as host city for the 2028 World Cup of Hockey.<\/p>\n

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The event \u2014 featuring eight of the top hockey nations in the world, with the anticipated participation of players from the NHL \u2014 will take place in February 2028, with the host cities to be announced following a bid process.<\/p>\n

The tournament\u2019s revival would be a dozen years after Team Canada won it in 2016, defending its title from 2004.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"For<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tGet breaking National news<\/p>\n

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.<\/p>\n

While the city of Calgary wouldn\u2019t confirm it has submitted a bid, during his comments Tuesday, Bettman confirmed that he is \u201caware of the bid.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBids are being evaluated, nothing has been finalized, but it was a good bid,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m not prepared to tell you today that it was or was not the winning bid, but certainly it\u2019s a bid that people could be very proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said on Monday that the province would pitch in $15 million to help host the tournament if an Alberta city is chosen.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Click<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCalgary\u2019s new event centre on time, budget heading into busy 2026\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Asked what would make Calgary a good city to host the event, Bettman spoke highly of the city\u2019s reputation as a global tourism hotspot.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMillions of tourists come through here a year. This is a place that knows hospitality. This is place that has a rabid fan base and would attract fans from other places. Look at the Stampede every year,\u201d Bettman added.<\/p>\n

\u201c(The) first time I came to Calgary was in 1988 for the Winter Olympics. I get Calgary and I get what a terrific city it is and a great place to visit. I have vacationed here in the Canadian Rockies on my own time and my own dime numerous times. So I get the attraction of a city like Calgary.\u201d<\/p>\n

When pressed, Bettman wouldn\u2019t reveal who Calgary is competing against to be a host city, but said the organizers \u201cshould be in a position to finalize and announce\u201d within a couple weeks.<\/p>\n

The commissioner will continue his visit to Calgary by attending the Flames game Tuesday night, along with Mayor Jeromy Farkas who confirmed the city\u2019s bid for the World Cup of Hockey will be part of their discussions.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tDespite being an outspoken critic of the Saddledome, during negotiations on a new arena for the Flames, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman shared some fond memories of the building during his visit to Calgary on Tuesday.\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tTHE CANADIAN PRESS\/Jeff McIntosh\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Despite being an outspoken critic of the Saddledome and the need for a new Flames arena, Bettman said he also has some fond memories of the building.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019ve been to a number of games here. This is a fun place to watch a game. Crowd\u2019s always great. It\u2019s an intimate bowl. It\u2019s got unique architecture,\u201d added Bettman.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember being here for the Stanley Cup final in 2004, and I remember getting stuck in an elevator the last time they were in the playoffs. So, you know, listen, nobody should denigrate this building, it\u2019s just past its time. And that happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

With files from The Canadian Press.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Click<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2:22
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDeal finalized for new event centre, home for Calgary Flames\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With Calgary\u2019s new $1.2 billion events centre starting to take shape in the city\u2019s Victoria Park neighbourhood, NHL…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":483868,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[17916,26,1014,5,4,4172,333,4198,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-483867","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-2028-world-cup-of-hockey","9":"tag-calgary-flames","10":"tag-economy","11":"tag-hockey","12":"tag-nhl","13":"tag-nhl-commissioner-gary-bettman","14":"tag-politics","15":"tag-scotiabank-saddledome","16":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116168334815965116","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=483867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483867\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/483868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=483867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=483867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=483867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}