Way, way back in the 1980s, three levels of government teamed up with the Calgary Flames’ owners to build a new arena for their hockey club. The Olympic Saddledome, as it was initially known, broke ground in 1981 and opened in time for the 1983-84 NHL season.

As the name suggests, the Saddledome was originally built in conjunction for the 1988 Winter Olympics, hosted in Calgary, with the Saddledome and Father David Bauer Arena hosting the men’s hockey tournament. After the building opened, it hosted a few big events as a sort-of stress test before the Olympics arrived.

The first big stress test for the building was hosting six games during the 1984 Canada Cup, including one of the two semi-final games and one of the two games of the final series. The arena subsequently hosted the 1985 NHL All-Star Game and a pair of games during the 1987 Canada Cup.

Well, folks, history has a way of repeating itself. Currently two levels of government are teaming up with the Flames’ owners to build a new arena for their hockey club. Scotia Place broke ground in 2024 and is expected to open in time for the 2027-28 NHL season.

Well, the NHL and NHLPA are planning for the return of the World Cup of Hockey in February 2028. The successor to the Canada Cup, the World Cup of Hockey has been held intermittently – first in 2004 and again in 2016 – but it’s shaping up to be a big part of the planned future best-on-best schedule.

Now, we’re not entirely sure what the hosting scheme for the revived World Cup will look like. The 2004 edition was ambitious, with three hosts in North America – St. Paul, MN, Montreal, QC, and Toronto, ON – and four in Europe – Helsinki, Finland, Stockholm, Sweden, Prague, Czechia, and Cologne, Germany. Each city hosted between 1 (Prague/Cologne) and five (Toronto) games. The tournament took place over the first two weeks of September. The 2016 edition was similar, but hosted entirely in Toronto and held over the last two weeks in September.

If we’re taking the 4 Nations Face-Off and 2026 Winter Olympics as a guide, the 2028 World Cup would take place over two weeks in February. A bid from Calgary for some undetermined amount of games would provide a great opportunity to not only show off Scotia Place during its first season of operation – arguably an ideal place for a big event given its many large locker rooms and integrated community rink – but also provide a showcase for the revamped Stampede Park. In terms of scheduling, the NHL would be off during the World Cup anyway, and it likely wouldn’t be a huge undertaking for road trips to be scheduled for the Hitmen or Wranglers during that period.

Yeah, we’re aware it’s cold in Calgary in February, but just imagine a street festival outside the new arena with firepits and a skating rink under the canopy in front of the BMO Centre. Calgary is great at hosting events, and we’ve been waiting for seemingly ages for Stampede Park to get a glow-up and become a place with the ability to host larger sporting events. The Olympics may not be in the cards for Calgary for awhile for any number of reasons, but the 2028 World Cup could be a great chance for Calgary to show off its shiny new arena and throw a mid-winter party.

The Saddledome hosted Canada Cup games in 1984. It would be very cool if Scotia Place could host World Cup games in 2028.