The Calgary Flames could be taking to the ice in the city's brand new arena and event centre as early as the 2024-2025 hockey season, according to Calgary Municipal Land Corporation.

The CMLC's vice president of marketing and communications Clare LePan says a year has been slated for designing the building and getting approval on all necessary permits. Then, it's expected that shovels will be in the ground by early 2021.

"We hope so, but it's still really early," LePan told The Homestretch.

This rendering of a proposed arena in Victoria Park shows how it would fit into the streetscape that the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation is planning on Olympic Way. This is the view from 14th Avenue S.E. (Rossetti/Calgary Flames)

"There's a lot of heavy lifting on behalf of all the partners involved to get to that point."

As far as what the design of the building will look like, LePan said the artist's renderings are based on a vetted concept for the event centre. So while it is more than a generic image, there is still a ways to go.

"I think the notable parts of it are really its interaction with the street and the permeability of the building. So it's very visual and you can see what's happening inside the facility from outside. So it's not as contained of the structure as we see with something like the Saddledome, or some of the older facilities," LePan said.

LePan said she expects that the architecture firm that created the renderings, Rossetti, will continue to work on this project, however it is a large group of partners that has to be organized and nothing has been set in stone at this point.

"I think the design that's coming forward from that team is one that we'll see continue. It's who else is helping partner with that project moving forward that still has to be determined," LePan said.

This conceptual drawing of a new hockey arena in Victoria Park is from the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation, which owns the Calgary Flames. Although Mayor Nenshi doesn't know when we be able to return to big gatherings of 20,000 people, he believes it will be sooner rather than later. (Rossetti/Calgary Flames)

The next steps in the project will involve determining what level of public engagement there will be on the design of the building and determining how the building will work in the community as other projects are also set to move forward in tandem with the area, including the expansion of the BMO Centre, LePan said.