Calgary Saddledome flood: Flames say arena will be ready for NHL season

When downtown Calgary, Alberta, suffered extensive flooding this week, the Flames’ hockey arena was not spared. But despite millions of gallons of water still inside the Scotiabank Saddledome, Flames president Ken King expects restoration will be finished in time for the start of the season.

“We are going to be ready for the start of the season,” King said, via the team’s Twitter account.

Torrential rains earlier in the week helped lead to the flooding, CBC reports. More than 175,000 were evacuated in Calgary and its surrounding areas.

King said flooding caused a total loss on the event level of the arena, with water levels still as high as the eighth row. He said if a person was standing on the ice, they would be completely underwater.

(The Flames have 21 photos to view at their site.)

Flooding caused major damage to the arena, including issues in the control room, according to CBS Sports. King said the water inside the building is beginning to recede, and the team is already putting together a restoration plan. That includes ordering everything needed for repairs, which King said includes hockey equipment. Although the arena will require a large-scale restoration, Libby Raines, the Flames’ vice president of building operations, said the arena remains sound.

“We’re fairly confident that we’re structurally intact,” Libby said.

The Flames are waiting for water levels to recede enough for restoration to begin. Until then, they have moved some of the organization’s operations to McMahon Stadium, which is used by the Calgary Stampeders.

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