Events
As the home of the Flames, the Saddledome hosted the 1985 NHL All-Star Game, and the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. The Flames have played three Stanley Cup Finals series in the Saddledome: 1986, 1989 and 2004. The arena is also the home of the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The Hitmen won the President's Trophy in 1999 before a WHL playoff record crowd of 17,139. Playing in the largest arena in the WHL, the Hitmen also hold league records for overall attendance (362,227 in 2004–05), as well as single game (19,305 in 2007–08). The Saddledome is also the home of the Calgary Roughnecks of the National Lacrosse League (NLL) and hosted the 2005 NLL All-Star Game. It has twice hosted the NLL Champion's Cup game: 2004 and 2009, both Calgary victories. The stadium was one of the venues for the 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.
The opening of the Saddledome allowed Calgary to play host to major musical acts that were bypassing the city in the early 1980s, because the city's existing facilities were not large enough to accommodate the industry's top performers.
The Moody Blues were the first musical act to appear with Stevie Ray Vaughan opening, in November 1983, while Rod Stewart has made the most appearances in the Dome, eleven. Many other top acts have made stops in the Saddledome, however the inability of the roof to support the massive light, speaker and special effect rigs that some performers currently use has led the city to again be bypassed for some major tours.
In addition to hockey and figure skating at the 1988 Olympics, the Saddledome has been the site of numerous major national and international events. The facility has hosted Brier, The Canadian men's curling championship, on three occasions: 1997, 2002 and 2009. It also hosted the women's championship, the Tournament of Hearts in 1995. The 2006 World Figure Skating Championships was also held in the arena. Among non-sporting events, the Saddledome most recently hosted a public address by the Dalai Lama in 2009 that was attended by 15,000 people. In 2005, Queen Elizabeth II attended a celebration of Alberta's centennial at the Saddledome.
It has also hosted PBR Bud Light Cup events; in 1998 and 1999 the event was known as "Cody Snyder's Bullbustin'", and in 2000 and 2001 the event was called the Professional Bull Riders Canadian Open. The Saddledome has also been a host for PBR Canada events.
Read more about this topic: Scotiabank Saddledome
Famous quotes containing the word events:
“The phenomenon of nature is more splendid than the daily events of nature, certainly, so then the twentieth century is splendid.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)
“Genius is present in every age, but the men carrying it within them remain benumbed unless extraordinary events occur to heat up and melt the mass so that it flows forth.”
—Denis Diderot (1713–1784)