Published October 28 2026. Facts checked October 28 2026 on the sources listed at the end of this page.
Stampede Park is Calgary’s exhibition grounds, in Victoria Park beside the Elbow River. Its story starts with the Calgary and District Agricultural Society, founded in 1884, which held its first exhibition in 1886 and bought the land from the Dominion of Canada in 1888 or 1889 (the Calgary Stampede’s own history pages give both years). The first Calgary Stampede was held on the grounds in September 1912, and the Stampede joined the yearly exhibition and became an annual event in 1923. Today the park holds the Grandstand, the Big Four Building, the Victoria Pavilion, the Saddledome and the BMO Centre, whose 565,000 square foot expansion opened on June 5 2024. Scotia Place, the city’s new arena, is being built in the surrounding Culture + Entertainment District for a fall 2027 opening.
Stampede Park history at a glance
| Year | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1884 | Calgary and District Agricultural Society founded | Calgary Stampede (SAM Centre) |
| 1886 | First exhibition held | Calgary Stampede (SAM Centre); The Canadian Encyclopedia |
| 1888 or 1889 | Society buys the land (94 acres) from the Dominion of Canada | Calgary Stampede (SAM Centre), two pages |
| 1901 | City of Calgary buys Victoria Park and leases it back to the Exhibition for $1 a year | Calgary Stampede (SAM Centre) |
| 1908 | Calgary hosts the Dominion Exhibition | Calgary Stampede (SAM Centre) |
| 1912 | First Calgary Stampede, in September | CBC Calgary; Calgary Stampede |
| 1919 | Victory Stampede; new fireproof Grandstand; Victoria Pavilion built | Calgary Stampede (SAM Centre); Calgary Heritage Initiative |
| 1923 | Stampede and Exhibition join in one event; chuckwagon races begin; Stampede becomes annual | Calgary Stampede (SAM Centre); CBC Calgary |
| 1950 | Stampede Corral opens | Calgary Stampede (SAM Centre); The Hockey News |
| 1959 | Big Four Building built | Calgary Stampede |
| 1974 | New, larger Grandstand with a 5/8 mile racetrack | Calgary Stampede (SAM Centre) |
| 1981 | Round Up Centre (now the BMO Centre) completed | Calgary Stampede (SAM Centre) |
| 1983 | Saddledome opens as home ice for the Calgary Flames | Calgary Stampede (SAM Centre) |
| 2007 | City approves a 100-year lease of Stampede Park | Calgary Stampede (SAM Centre) |
| 2018 | Rivers District Master Plan approved (January) | CMLC |
| 2020 | Stampede Corral demolition begins (August) for the BMO Centre expansion | The Hockey News; City of Calgary |
| 2024 | Expanded BMO Centre opens (June 5) | City of Calgary |
| 2027 (target) | Scotia Place opens in the district (fall) | City of Calgary |
How old is Stampede Park?
The grounds have been the exhibition’s home since the Agricultural Society bought them. One Calgary Stampede SAM Centre history page dates the purchase of 94 acres from the Dominion of Canada to 1889; the SAM Centre’s chapter 3 timeline dates it to 1888. By this site’s calculation, that makes the grounds 137 or 138 years old in 2026, and the exhibition itself 140 years old (1886 to 2026). The sources read for this page do not say where the 1886 exhibition was held, before the land was bought.
Sources also differ on the name. The SAM Centre says the society called its land Victoria Park when it bought it. Historian Harry Sanders, quoted by CTV News Calgary, says the fairgrounds adopted the name after Queen Victoria died in 1901, and the homes to the north took the name later.
From agricultural fair to exhibition grounds
The Agricultural Society was founded in 1884, the same year the Town of Calgary was formed, according to the Calgary Stampede. In 1899 the society defaulted on its mortgage and was reorganized as the Inter-Western Pacific Exhibition. In 1901 the City of Calgary bought Victoria Park and leased it back to the exhibition company for $1 a year, according to the SAM Centre.
In 1908 the federal government chose Calgary to host the Dominion Exhibition, a fair that toured the country to showcase its different regions. That same year Guy Weadick, an American trick roper (The Canadian Encyclopedia’s description), visited Calgary with the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Wild West Show, according to the SAM Centre. He came back in 1912 with plans for a “Frontier Days Celebration and Championship”.
When was the first Calgary Stampede?
The first Calgary Stampede was held at Victoria Park in September 1912. CBC Calgary, drawing on newspapers of the time, reports that The Albertan counted an estimated 25,000 out-of-town guests in the city on September 2. Four wealthy ranchers paid for it: Patrick Burns, George Lane, A. E. Cross and Archibald J. McLean, who each put up $25,000, according to CBC Calgary. They became known as the Big Four. The Canadian Encyclopedia puts the rodeo prizes at $16,000. Sources differ on how many Indigenous people took part: CBC Calgary reports 1,800 First Nations people, and The Canadian Encyclopedia gives 2,000.
The 1912 show was not planned as a yearly event. Weadick returned for a Victory Stampede in 1919, after the First World War; the SAM Centre says it only broke even. The Calgary Stampede’s history pages say the Stampede was not held again between 1920 and 1923. In 1923 the Stampede and the Calgary Exhibition joined forces in a single event for the first time, and Weadick created the chuckwagon races for it. CBC Calgary dates the Stampede’s start as an annual event to that year.
Landmark buildings on Stampede Park
The Grandstand
The Exhibition built a new, fireproof Grandstand in 1919, according to the SAM Centre. In 1974 a new, larger grandstand went up with a 5/8 mile racetrack and infield. The Canadian Encyclopedia gives the grandstand’s seating as 16,000.
Victoria Pavilion
The Victoria Pavilion dates to 1919. The Calgary Heritage Initiative calls it “the oldest functional building in Stampede Park”. It was the home ice of the Calgary Canadians, who won the Canadian junior championship in 1926, according to the SAM Centre. Avenue Calgary describes it as a cattle pavilion and curling rink, and the Calgary Heritage Initiative lists dairy shows, bull sales, livestock judging and Stampede Wrestling among its uses. On the Stampede’s venue pages, the Victoria Pavilion is now a space with bleacher seating inside the Agriculture Building.
What was the Stampede Corral?
The Stampede Corral was the park’s arena. The Stampede built it in 1950, and the SAM Centre calls it the largest hockey arena west of Maple Leaf Gardens. The Hockey News reports it opened on Victoria Day 1950. Its tenants included the Calgary Cowboys of the WHA from 1975 and the Calgary Flames, who played three seasons there after moving from Atlanta in 1980 while the Saddledome was built, according to The Hockey News.
Sources differ on its size: The Hockey News gives 6,492 seats, and Avenue Calgary says it held around 9,000 spectators. The Hockey News reported in July 2020 that demolition would start that August; the City of Calgary lists the demolition of the Stampede Corral and the old Hall A as part of the BMO Centre expansion.
What is the Big Four Building?
The Big Four Building was built in 1959 and is named for the four backers of the 1912 Stampede, according to the Calgary Stampede’s Big Four Roadhouse page. It was built for curling: by 1960 it held 48 sheets of curling ice, which the SAM Centre says made it the world’s largest indoor curling rink. Avenue Calgary reports the lower level opened with 24 sheets and that number was doubled in 1960. During the Stampede, the Big Four Roadhouse runs there as a corporate hosting space for groups of 50 to 500.
The Saddledome
The Saddledome officially opened in 1983 as home ice for the Calgary Flames, according to the SAM Centre, and Avenue Calgary notes it was the main venue of the 1988 Winter Olympics. The City of Calgary plans to demolish it once Scotia Place opens. Game-night details: Saddledome seating and parking.
What is the BMO Centre?
The BMO Centre is Stampede Park’s convention and trade show building. The original Round Up Centre was completed in 1981 and is now the BMO Centre, according to the SAM Centre; the Calgary Stampede’s venue site says the BMO Centre has hosted gatherings “since 1982”. The building added 50,000 square feet of exhibition space in 2009.
On the 2024 expansion, according to the City of Calgary’s BMO Centre project page:
- The expansion added 565,000 square feet, bringing the building to over one million square feet, Western Canada’s largest convention centre.
- It cost $500 million, paid in equal shares by the Government of Canada, the Government of Alberta and the City of Calgary (the City’s share through the Community Revitalization Levy), and was delivered on budget.
- CMLC managed the project for the City and the Calgary Stampede. Construction broke ground in April 2021, according to CMLC.
- The expanded centre opened on time on June 5 2024.
What is on there this month: BMO Centre events.
How Stampede Park grew over Victoria Park
The SAM Centre’s timeline records each step in the park’s growth:
| Year | Change to the grounds |
|---|---|
| 1954 | Stampede Park expands east to the Elbow River |
| 1960 | City approves a 50-year lease of the park |
| 1968 | City Council approves expansion north to 14th Avenue SE |
| 1988 | Stampede begins buying properties in Victoria Park north of 14th Avenue SE |
| 2007 | City approves a 100-year lease of Stampede Park |
Victoria Park is no longer a recognized residential community. CTV News Calgary reports that Victoria Park and Connaught were merged into one planning district, the Beltline, in 2003, and that, according to the City of Calgary, there are no residents of Victoria Park “as the community doesn’t exist.” The Calgary Heritage Initiative lists older buildings in and around the park, among them the Stephenson and Co. Building, built in 1911 as a grocery store and post office, which the Initiative described in July 2024 as “soon to be moved”. More on the arena project: Scotia Place: what to know.
What is planned now: the Culture + Entertainment District and Scotia Place
The plan now underway is the Culture + Entertainment District in east Victoria Park. According to CMLC:
- CMLC and the Calgary Stampede unveiled a 20-year plan for the area, the Rivers District Master Plan, approved in January 2018.
- At build-out, the plan calls for four million square feet of new mixed-use development and 8,000 more residents, and expects more than 3 million visitors a year.
- The 17 Avenue SE extension and the rebuilt Victoria Park/Stampede CTrain station broke ground in July 2021 and were completed in October 2024; CMLC says the aim is to open Stampede Park “365 days a year”.
- The Stampede Trail retail corridor broke ground in April 2023, and a hotel in the district is in progress.
Scotia Place, the city’s new arena, is being built in the district. The City of Calgary lists it as “Opening fall 2027”. Its frequently asked questions say the City will own the building and the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation will lease and operate it. When Scotia Place opens, the City will demolish the Saddledome; the land stays owned, maintained and operated by the Calgary Stampede. No demolition date has been published. Construction, cost and road changes: Victoria Park development.
Visiting Stampede Park today
The grounds’ venues are listed on Venues at Victoria Park, and the rebuilt station is covered in the Victoria Park/Stampede CTrain station guide. Parking lots and transit routes for events are on Stampede Park parking and transit, and every dated event is on What’s On at Victoria Park.
Frequently asked questions
How old is Stampede Park?
The Agricultural Society bought the land in 1888 or 1889 (the Calgary Stampede’s history pages give both years), so the grounds are 137 or 138 years old in 2026 by this site’s calculation. The first exhibition was in 1886.
When was the first Calgary Stampede?
September 1912, at Victoria Park, backed by the Big Four. It became an annual event in 1923, when it joined the Calgary Exhibition.
What was the Stampede Corral?
The park’s arena from 1950 to 2020, home to teams including the Calgary Flames from 1980 until the Saddledome opened. It was demolished for the BMO Centre expansion.
What is the Big Four Building?
A 1959 building named for the four men who funded the first Stampede. In 1960 it held 48 curling sheets, the world’s largest indoor curling rink, according to the Calgary Stampede. During the Stampede it houses the Big Four Roadhouse.
What is the BMO Centre?
Stampede Park’s convention centre, first built as the Round Up Centre in 1981. Its $500 million expansion opened on June 5 2024 and made it Western Canada’s largest convention centre, at over one million square feet, according to the City of Calgary.
Sources: Calgary Stampede SAM Centre, “Stampede through the years”, chapters 1, 2 and 3 (society, exhibitions, land purchase, 1901 lease, Dominion Exhibition, Weadick, 1919 and 1923, Grandstand, Victoria Pavilion, Corral, Big Four Building, Round Up Centre, Saddledome, park expansion and leases), read October 28 2026; Calgary Stampede, The Big Four Roadhouse (1959, named for the backers, group size), read October 28 2026; Calgary Stampede venues, “Building our vision” (BMO Centre since 1982, expansion size) and Agriculture Building (Victoria Pavilion today), read October 28 2026; City of Calgary, BMO Centre major project (cost, funding, size, opening, Corral demolition) and Scotia Place landing page and frequently asked questions (opening, ownership, Saddledome demolition, land), read October 28 2026; CMLC, The Culture + Entertainment District (master plan, expansion groundbreaking, station rebuild, Stampede Trail), read October 28 2026; CBC Calgary, “5 things only the diehards know about Calgary’s first Stampede”, Tony Seskus, July 11 2023, updated July 5 2024 (1912 crowds, backers, First Nations participation, 1923), read October 28 2026; The Canadian Encyclopedia, “Calgary Stampede”, Jean Leiper, last edited July 12 2019 (1886, prizes, Indigenous participation, Grandstand seating), read October 28 2026; Avenue Calgary, “The History of the Stampede Ground Buildings”, Andrew Guilbert, July 6 2015 (Corral capacity, Big Four curling, Victoria Pavilion, Saddledome), read October 28 2026; The Hockey News, “Remembering Calgary’s Stampede Corral 1950 to 2020”, Brian Costello, July 31 2020 (Corral opening, seats, tenants, demolition), read October 28 2026; Calgary Heritage Initiative, “Heritage in and around Stampede Park”, Anthony Imbrogno, July 1 2024 (Victoria Pavilion, Stephenson and Co. Building), read October 28 2026; CTV News Calgary, “Where did Victoria Park go?” (date not shown; name origin, 2003 merger, residents), read October 28 2026.