Source: Calgary Herald

With the lease on the Scotiabank Saddledome set to run out in 2014 after more than three decades of hockey games and concerts, speculation continues to build about the location of a new arena.

The Calgary Flames want a modern building to allow the team to compete financially with other National Hockey League franchises. Opened in 1983, the Saddledome is the league's sixth-oldest arena and nearing the end of its life cycle as far as professional rinks go.

But as the clock ticks on Calgary's iconic sports facility, Flames officials remain tight-lipped about when — and where — they will break ground on a new arena.

Team president and CEO Ken King said there isn't any hurry. Although the Flames' lease on the Saddledome will soon expire, it can be extended for as long it takes to construct a new facility.

"We certainly won't be ready to move by 2014," King said.

"If we dropped the flag and started building today, I don't think we'd meet the deadline. We have an arrangement to be here as long or frankly, as short, as required."

Many rumoured locations for a downtown arena have circulated since the Flames first announced their plans to build a new home.

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