The Calgary Flames open their final season at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Thursday, 1 October, against the Seattle Kraken (7 p.m. MT, 9 p.m. ET). After 44 years, the building with the saddle-shaped roof has one more winter of NHL hockey left. Then the Flames move a short walk north to Scotia Place, which is due to open in the fall of 2027.
The club is calling 2026-27 the ‘Dome Farewell Season, and the schedule is built around it: 22 theme nights, a 2004 throwback jersey and a last scheduled home game against Vancouver on 10 April 2027.
Why this is the Saddledome’s last season
Scotia Place is going up just north of the Saddledome, between 12 and 14 Avenue SE, in the Culture + Entertainment District. The City of Calgary expects it to open in the fall of 2027, in time for the 2027-28 season. The building topped off this month and will seat about 18,400 for hockey.
The Saddledome comes down after that. The City plans to demolish it once Scotia Place opens, with the province paying for the work, and has promised to commemorate the building. No date or plan for either has been announced.
A short history of the Saddledome
It opened as the Olympic Saddledome on 15 October 1983, and the first game was played that night: Oilers 4, Flames 3. Lanny McDonald scored the first Flames goal in the building, and Ken Linseman scored the winner for Edmonton.
| Name | From |
|---|---|
| Olympic Saddledome | 1983 |
| Canadian Airlines Saddledome | 1995 |
| Pengrowth Saddledome | 2000 |
| Scotiabank Saddledome | 2010 |
It seats 19,289 for hockey. Five years after it opened, it was the main venue for hockey and figure skating at the 1988 Winter Olympics. Brian Boitano beat Brian Orser there for gold in the Battle of the Brians, and Elizabeth Manley won silver.
Three Stanley Cup Finals, and the one Cup won in the building
The Saddledome’s first Final, against the Montréal Canadiens in 1986, is also the only time the Stanley Cup has been won in the building. It went to Montréal, who clinched it with a 4-3 win in Game 5 on 24 May. The same series produced Brian Skrudland’s overtime winner in Game 2, nine seconds in, still the fastest overtime goal in playoff history.
Three years later the Flames beat Montréal in six. The Saddledome hosted Games 1, 2 and 5, but the Cup was won on the road, 4-2 in Game 6 at the Montreal Forum on 25 May 1989. Our Stanley Cup winners page has every champion since.
The third Final ended in heartbreak. Leading Tampa Bay three games to two, the Flames hosted Game 6 on 5 June 2004 and lost 3-2 in double overtime on a goal by Martin St. Louis. Calgary still remembers that night for Martin Gelinas’s disputed no-goal in the third period. Tampa Bay won Game 7 at home.
The 2013 flood
In June 2013, flood water filled the event level to about nine feet and rose to the eighth row of the lower bowl. The dressing rooms went under, along with equipment, kitchens, the scoreboard electronics and the ice plant.
The repair ran around the clock. Two crews on 12-hour shifts replaced about 2,500 seats and the ice plant, fitting roughly six months of work into two. The building reopened with concerts in September, and the Flames played their regular-season home opener there on 6 October 2013.
Milestones in the building
| Date | Moment |
|---|---|
| 15 Oct 1983 | The first game: Oilers 4, Flames 3. Lanny McDonald scores the first Flames goal in the building |
| 21 Mar 1989 | McDonald scores his 500th NHL goal in a 4-1 win over the New York Islanders |
| 10 Feb 1993 | Flames 13, Sharks 1, still the club record for goals in a game |
| 7 Jan 2012 | Jarome Iginla scores his 500th goal in a 3-1 win over Minnesota, the 42nd player to reach 500 |
| 15 May 2022 | Johnny Gaudreau’s overtime winner beats Dallas 3-2 in Game 7 of the first round |
How the Flames are saying goodbye
The farewell logo, unveiled in March, is a red shield with gold ‘Dome’ lettering, a curved top that follows the roof and a 1983 to 2027 line. The same crest sits at centre ice this season, above the names of season-ticket members embedded in the ice.
There are 22 theme nights on the home schedule. The biggest: an ’04 Run Celebration against Detroit on 24 October, the ’89 Championship Celebration against Montréal on 28 January, the last Battle of Alberta in the building against Edmonton on 23 March, and a Farewell Celebration against Vancouver on 10 April. That one sold out in about a minute. The Flames will also wear their 2004 black throwback four times, against the clubs they met on that playoff run.
The start of the season has brought Johnny Gaudreau back to mind. His sister Katie marked it with a tribute to the building, which CTV headlined with her words: “So many memories.” Gaudreau scored 609 points in 602 games for Calgary before joining Columbus in 2022. He and his brother Matthew were killed in August 2024 when a driver struck them while they were cycling in New Jersey.
Flames vs Kraken: the home opener
Thursday’s opener against Seattle starts at 7 p.m. MT (9 p.m. ET). Our Calgary Flames team page has the full schedule and roster, the Seattle Kraken page covers the visitors, and our how to watch the NHL in Canada guide lists the channels.
Saddledome FAQs
The 2026-27 season. The Calgary Flames play their final year there before moving to Scotia Place, which is due to open in the fall of 2027.
Scotia Place, a new arena just north of the Saddledome in Calgary’s Culture + Entertainment District. It will seat about 18,400 for hockey.
On 15 October 1983, as the Olympic Saddledome. The first game that night was a 4-3 Edmonton win over the Flames.
No. Calgary won the 1989 Cup in Game 6 at the Montreal Forum. The only time the Cup has been won at the Saddledome was in 1986, when Montreal clinched it there.
Flood water rose to the eighth row of the lower bowl and submerged the dressing rooms. Crews rebuilt the event level in time for the 2013-14 season.
The last scheduled regular-season home game is on 10 April 2027 against the Vancouver Canucks.
It seats 19,289 for hockey.
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