Calgary is already built for big meetings – and what the city has planned over the next two years gives planners even more reason to take a closer look.
The capacity for large events is already in place, but it’s what’s happening around its convention centres that makes now such an exciting time to consider the city. New venues, new hotels, a reborn cultural quarter and an Olympic landmark brought back to life are all on the way.
Here’s what’s coming, where it is, and what it means for your next event.
Downtown: a cultural quarter on the convention centre’s doorstep
The Calgary TELUS Convention Centre already has the advantage most planners want: 122,000 sq ft of space and three directly connected hotels, with restaurants and offsite venues within walking distance. Right on its doorstep, a whole new cultural quarter is taking shape.
Glenbow, home to Western Canada’s largest public art collection, is directly connected to the convention centre. It is set to reopen in 2027 as the JR Shaw Centre for Arts & Culture, with 312,000 sq ft over eight floors, including a 13,000 sq ft rooftop terrace and pavilion overlooking downtown. It will be the first major museum in Canada to offer free general admission. A new Blackfoot Gallery, curated by Elders from the Siksika, Piikani, Kainai and Amskapi Piikani, gives groups a way to connect with Blackfoot culture and history without leaving downtown.
Steps away, the Werklund Centre (formerly Arts Commons), one of the largest performing arts centres in Canada, is adding a 170,000 sq ft expansion with a new 1,000-seat theatre and a 200-seat studio theatre. Beside it, Olympic Plaza, where Stephen Avenue ends, is being transformed into a new public space with a pavilion, food and drink outlets, green space and a skating area. Both projects are due to complete in 2028, giving planners another ready-made option for an evening performance followed by drinks or dinner on the plaza, all within walking distance of the convention centre.
Culture + Entertainment District: a convention campus takes shape
For ten days every July, Stampede Park belongs to the Calgary Stampede. For the rest of the year, the area around it is becoming something new: a walkable district where delegates can meet, stay, dine and be entertained without the hassle of a coach transfer.
Since its 2024 expansion, the BMO Centre at Stampede Park offers more than 1 million sq ft in total, with the expansion adding 38 meeting rooms and two new ballrooms. That means it’s already equipped to host large international congresses, while the surrounding district continues to evolve.
Scotia Place is due to open in autumn 2027, in time for the 2027–28 NHL season. It will seat around 18,400 for hockey and 20,000 for concerts. Alongside the arena will be indoor and outdoor plazas, a community rink, and year-round restaurants, shops and gathering spaces around Stampede Trail and 12 Avenue SE. That makes a game night or headline concert an exciting add-on to a delegate programme, while giving planners more ways to extend a convention at the BMO Centre beyond the meeting room, with sport, live entertainment, dining and social spaces all within the same district.
Construction began in early 2026 on a 320-room Autograph Collection hotel, the first hotel ever built on Stampede Park, due to open in 2028. A W Calgary and a JW Marriott Calgary are also planned for the district, adding further upscale accommodation close to the BMO Centre. Together, the three developments will significantly expand hotel choice for groups meeting in the area.
1988 to 2028: Calgary’s second act
There’s a symmetry to the timing. In 2028, Calgary marks 40 years since it hosted the Winter Olympics, the moment many people still associate with the city. That same year, the new Olympic Plaza reopens with the Olympic cauldron and a 12-metre centrepiece inspired by the 1988 emblem. Across town, WinSport’s Olympic legacy site already offers event space for up to 3,000 guests.
The Games built the Calgary many people still picture. The next two years are building the one delegates will actually meet: ready now, and with more to discover each year you come back.