It’s not even finished yet, but the Calgary Flames’ new arena has advanced to the second stage of bidding to co-host the 2028 edition of the World Cup of Hockey. Sportsnet’s Eric Francis reported on social media on Wednesday morning that Calgary’s bid, featuring Scotia Place, is one of 25 to advance to the RFP stage of bidding.

Located 150 meters north of the Scotiabank Saddledome, Scotia Place is expected to be completed by Fall 2027 – last we asked, we were told that means September 2027 at the latest – and will be the home of the Flames beginning with the 2027-28 NHL season.

The Saddledome hasn’t hosted a major international hockey event in awhile, likely not since the 2012 World Junior Championship, but in the years after it opened it hosted, among other things, the 1984 and 1987 Canada Cup, the 1985 NHL All-Star Game and a little event called the 1988 Winter Olympics. When you’ve gone through the hoops of getting a new building up and running, you want an opportunity – or a few of them – to show it off.

The World Cup of Hockey, itself, is the NHL and NHLPA getting back to their shared roots by putting together a regularized international event that alternates with the Olympic cycle: there’s an Olympics in 2026, a World Cup in 20028, an Olympics in 2030, and so on…

The 2028 World Cup of Hockey is set for February 2028, featuring eight countries. They’re looking for two host cities, with round robin play split between those two cities and the elimination round taking place in one of them. Per the league: “The tournament is expected to be 12 days in duration and include 17 games, along with extensive ancillary programming such as unique fan events.”

The host cities for the 2028 World Cup are expected to be announced in the first quarter of 2026. We’ll see if Scotia Place makes the cut.