Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas has confirmed he’ll meet with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of hosting the 2028 World Cup of Hockey.
The event — featuring eight of the top hockey nations in the world, with the anticipated participation of players from the NHL — will take place in February 2028 in North America and Europe, with the host cities to be announced following a bid process.
The construction of a new arena in Calgary, scheduled to be ready for the 2027-28 NHL season, could be one of the city’s main selling points.
“The prospect of hosting events like this are very exciting,” Farkas said when asked about a bid to host the event. “I think it shows the value of the investment in the event centre, the fact that we can host larger events… I think it would be very exciting to to be able to welcome the world, for this event. And I understand that there’s going to be some more news coming very shortly on that.”
An artist’s rendition of what the new Calgary events centre will look like when completed. The venue is expected to be a major selling point in any Calgary bid to be a host city in the 2028 World Cup of Hockey.
Courtesy: City of Calgary
Asked about the possibility of Alberta being chosen to host the event, Premier Danielle Smith said she’s excited.
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“I understand it’s a joint bid so both Calgary and Edmonton would benefit from it. It would be 2028, so right after the new event centre is open in Calgary and it would be mid year on Olympics, so it would be the second most watched sporting even in the world when it comes to hockey. So we are crossing our fingers and hoping that the NHL players association as well as the owners make a decision for the Calgary-Edmonton bid.”
When asked to comment reports the province is willing to offer up to $15 million to support a bid, a spokesperson for Tourism and Sport Minister Andrew Boitchenko provided a written statement saying the government hasn’t entered any agreements at this time.
“Details regarding the bid are commercially sensitive and their premature publication could adversely impact the competitiveness of Alberta’s bid against others,” the statement said.
Construction of the new events centre, which broke ground in July 2024, has a total budget of $1.2 billion with the city contributing $515 million in upfront costs.
During his lobbying efforts for a new Calgary arena, Bettman suggested that Calgary might not be chosen to host any big future NHL events without a new venue.
While Farkas wasn’t part of the previous city council that negotiated the arena deal, he was highly critical of both it and a previous arena deal he voted against when he was on council. On Monday, however, he adopted a conciliatory tone.
“I think that will be up ultimately for our city council to determine and weigh the benefits of that type of investment,” Farkas said.
“But what I will say is that Calgary’s at its best when we are welcoming the world. We have that Olympic legacy of being able to welcome the world… and as we think about the future prospect of hosting events like this, there’s a huge business case.”
Farkas also confirmed he and the NHL commissioner will attend a Flames game together on Tuesday. “I’m sure we’re going to have a lot to talk about.”
Bettman also has a media availability scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, although the Calgary Flames said there won’t be any announcement.
The World Cup of Hockey has been held on three occasions, with the United States winning the event in 1996 and Canada winning it in 2004 and 2016.
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