Cowboys Park gets fresh public consultation after first phase prompts backlash

Andrew Jeffrey · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 02, 2025 5:50 PM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

The metropolis is calling for nationalist feedback connected the aboriginal of Cowboys Park, but the determination comes aft the metropolis has already agreed to pave implicit immoderate of the park's greenspace with asphalt, with nary nationalist engagement.

Beginning this week, Calgarians tin connection input connected improvements they'd similar to spot to the relation and layout of Cowboys Park, formerly known arsenic Shaw Millennium Park, successful the downtown westbound end.

The online telephone for consultation is unfastened until April 21.

City medication plans to merchandise a study successful May connected the results of the Cowboys Park feedback, which it says volition assistance usher the future of the space.

But the engagement arrives aft the uncertainty surrounding the parkland has already prompted one popular yearly festival to find different venue.

Calgary International Bluesfest laminitis and shaper Cindy McLeod was shocked to larn astir imaginable changes to Cowboys Park successful February, she told CBC big Anis Heydari connected this week's occurrence of This Is Calgary.

McLeod said the metropolis sent her an updated representation of the venue successful February that appeared to amusement immoderate of the park's greenspace paved over, and its signifier and amphitheatre removed.

The announcement astir these changes arrived excessively late, McLeod argued, adding that she waited arsenic agelong arsenic she could for confirmation astir however the venue whitethorn change, but the deficiency of answers yet led her to find a caller location for her festival.

It volition alternatively beryllium hosted astatine The Confluence, at 750 9th Ave. S.E., this summer.

"I can't adjacent statesman to archer you however stressful it's been not knowing wherever we were going to onshore this twelvemonth and what that mightiness look like," McLeod said. 

"I've been selling tickets since past fall. I person artists booked, suppliers booked, truthful to pivot each those things is truly rather a hefty task."

The erstwhile Shaw Millennium Park has hosted Calgary's Bluesfest for 14 years. The parkland underwent a sanction alteration aft its statement with Shaw expired, and past summer, the metropolis signed a 10-year naming and sponsorship woody with Cowboys. The woody volition bring the long-running yearly Cowboys Music Festival, which coincides with the Calgary Stampede, to the parkland opening this summer.

The city's caller lawsuit centre displaced Cowboys Music Festival from its aged location, necessitating it find a caller home. Last summer, Cowboys said it would enactment with the metropolis to upgrade the west-end park's infrastructure to invitation much assemblage usage and pull much festivals.

After the park's archetypal changes were agreed to without nationalist consultation, McLeod said Calgarians should beryllium capable to supply input connected the park's future.

Replacing Olympic Plaza

Allison Fifield, the city's assemblage parks inaugural lead, told This Is Calgary that Cowboys Park is losing 20 to 30 per cent of its greenish abstraction successful signifier 1 of the park's transformation. That work was part of the statement the metropolis made with Cowboys successful the archetypal place.

"There was nary engagement that could hap connected thing that was portion of a negotiated agreement," Fifield said. "This portion we ever knew was going to happen."

The archetypal signifier of changes to the park, including upgrading utilities and paving implicit immoderate of the park's greenspace, was paid for by funds from the city's woody with Cowboys, Fifield added.

The metropolis had been working with Cowboys since 2022 to find a mode to spouse and make a much vibrant downtown park, Fifield said. This was particularly important for the metropolis due to the fact that it tin nary longer trust connected Olympic Plaza arsenic a venue with a hardened surface, owed to its redevelopment. The woody with Cowboys allows Calgary to make different lawsuit venue to usage successful Olympic Plaza's place.

The magnitude of wealth the metropolis is receiving from its woody with Cowboys is confidential, Fifield said, due to the fact that publicizing specified details would enactment the metropolis successful a worse negotiating presumption for aboriginal sponsorship agreements.

While she understands the distrust Calgarians whitethorn consciousness astir the deal's details being confidential, and however the metropolis didn't prosecute the nationalist for feedback astir the archetypal signifier of the park's evolution, she said the statement was made with Calgarians successful mind. 

"The basal operation of the parkland isn't changing. We're conscionable updating it," Fifield said, adding the parkland hasn't had a refresh successful decades.

The park's hoops court, skate parkland and volleyball courts volition each remain, she said.

Looking ahead, Fifield said the metropolis wants to perceive astir what Calgarians privation to spot to amended the parkland successful signifier two, and however they privation to usage it. She suggested imaginable ideas could see winterized washrooms, different sports facilities, and the capableness to host more nutrient trucks oregon markets.

Site plan not portion of assembly decision

Cowboys Park falls successful Ward 7, represented by Coun. Terry Wong. He told This Is Calgary that aft the city's woody with Shaw expired, a petition for connection went retired for a caller parkland sponsor, with Cowboys answering the call.

Wong said details astir tract mentation weren't portion of metropolis council's treatment when it approved the woody with Cowboys.

"What we were presented with was a concern lawsuit [and] the economics associated with it, arsenic opposed to however it was going to beryllium activated, however it was going to beryllium designed, however it was going to beryllium used. That portion wasn't fully fleshed retired astatine the time," Wong said.

What needs to beryllium weighed now, Wong says, is retrofitting Cowboys Park to marque it a multi-purpose country that tin big much events and festivals successful a portion of the metropolis that helium notes has fewer specified activities, against what the assemblage wants the parkland to be, arsenic it's typically been utilized for recreational purposes successful the past.