It’s A Dome That’s Shaped Like A Saddle

CALGARY, Alberta — The Germans are famous for squishing words together to form useful new compounds. But Calgarians perfected the art when they came up with "Saddledome." You look at it, and you say, Yup, that's a Saddledome. The building occupied by the Flames since 1983 is unlike any other in the NHL. Even from a distance at night, the curved red line that lights up the Saddledome's profile makes it unmistakable. The world's largest cowboy could straddle that roof and feel right at home.

If you consider the $1 billion renovation of Madison Square Garden the de facto creation of a brand new building (and I will), the Flames have played in the Saddledome for a decade longer than any other NHL team has called their respective rink home. As someone who gets nostalgic about old arenas, loves Canadian hockey, and had never been to Alberta before, I'd known for a long time that I wanted to catch a game under its iconic parabola before it closes for good next year. Since time was starting to run short on that dream, after a delightful 48 hours in Calgary (I saw Les Mis!), I climaxed my visit with Senators-Flames. It might have been a low point for the franchise, but not for me.

Certain people (N. Murray Edwards) have been trying to bump off the Saddledome for over 10 years, and when the Flames drop the puck on the 2027–28 season, it'll be in a new arena—at the cost of hundreds of millions of dollars contributed by the city, the province, and their taxpayers. You can see the bones of the new building right next door, and when you walk south from downtown to a game, the construction site looms over the ol' saddle. The trick of perspective can't help but feel threatening. You will be destroyed because of me.