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Spruce Meadows is Calgary's suburban playground

Family-friendly venue is a true suburban sports and entertainment district.

Author of the article:Richard White Published Jul 26, 2024 

While Calgary city council and the media are preoccupied with inner-city development and curbing urban sprawl, our city’s outer suburbs continue to evolve as attractive places to live, work and play. Thank you, private sector.

Today, Calgary’s master-planned new suburban communities are some of the most dense, diverse and attractive in North America. One reason why Calgarians love living in the suburbs is they not only get a bigger house for less money, but the suburbs have great parks and recreational facilities thanks to the private sector.

While all eyes are on Stampede Park and the impact of the expanded BMO Centre, SAM Centre and the new arena as Calgary’s premier sports, event and entertainment district (SEED), Spruce Meadows has become Calgary’s suburban SEED.

FYI: While the government has — or will have — invested over $1 billion in Stampede Park upgrades by the time the arena is completed, Spruce Meadows has received no government funding. And though it has been and continues to be funded entirely by the Southern family, it functions like a public amenity.

Since it opened in 1975, Spruce Meadows has evolved from an equestrian centre into a popular year-round gathering place, especially for Calgarians living south of Fish Creek Park. It has become a huge attraction thanks to the vision and community-mindedness of the Southerns. And it provides some of the most affordable entertainment in the city for Calgarians of all ages and backgrounds.

Spruce Meadows at-a-glance

• 120-acre tournament grounds;
• International Ring (one of the world’s best equestrian faculties);
• All Canada ring (eight acres);
• ATCO Field (6,000 seat capacity);
• 20 buildings;
• 10 permanent stables (capacity for 1,000 horses);
• Two indoor arenas;
• Seven outdoor grass rings;
• More than 500,000 visitors annually; and,
• Open 365 days of the year to everyone from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Family Friendly Place

Since the beginning, Spruce Meadows has always been family-oriented with general admission for the international equestrian events starting at $5.40 (with GST) for everyone. Where else can a two-parent family with two young children enjoy and entire day of fun for less than $25?

In addition, it offers numerous family events year-round like the new PetFest (April 2024), as well as Corgi Races, Vintage Car Shows, Gem Show, RCMP Police Dog Show and Musical Rides happening at various times of the year.

And at Christmas, it hosts one of the world’s largest and best Christmas markets featuring more than 300 vendors, as well as an extensive Christmas light show. The popular High Tea and Long Table dinner introduced last year, will be joined by a beer garden this year. 

Come summer, Spruce Meadows is a busy place hosting five equestrian events sanctioned by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports. It is like hosting five Kentucky Derbies, or for golfers five PGA majors every year. In addition, there are numerous other equestrian events year-round — all open to the public.

Spruce Meadows equestrian events are more than just about show jumping; there are numerous other accompanying events and activities. For example, at the National, presented by Rolex, families enjoy a Salute to First Responders (perfect for kids who love police cars and fire trucks), and the FireFit championships, where firefighters show off their skills, along with a mini animal petting zoo, a kid’s zone, Cobb’s Adventure Park, as well as food trucks.

Soccer plays a big role on the Spruce Meadows campus, too! The Cavalry FC soccer team has been a huge success with soccer fans young and old since its inception in 2018 playing out of the ATCO Stadium.

And starting this summer schedule, Spruce Meadows is hosting a series of concerts scheduled in its new amphitheatre.

Southside’s downtown

In many ways, Spruce Meadows serves as the downtown for Calgarians living south of Fish Creek Provincial Park, which stretches 19 kilometres from east to west, creating a natural boundary from the rest of the city.

It is not the traditional 20th century downtown, a place for shopping, entertainment and/or work, but the new 21st century downtown, which is all focused on becoming sports, events and entertainment districts. For many southsiders, Spruce Meadows is their festival site, not Prince’s Island. It is also their place to go for football (European football), not McMahon Stadium.

Spruce Meadows is also a major player in Calgary’s meetings and events sector offering unique venues like British House (200 people), Equi-Plex (5,000 people), Gallery on the Green Congress Hall (700 people) or WestJet Canada House (350 people).

Spruce Meadows expansion

In 2025, Spruce Meadows will celebrate its 50th anniversary with the opening of its new restaurant and cafe building next to the International Ring. This is the first phase of plans to create a restaurant, cafe, retail and hotel hub on site. 

While there are no plans for residential development within the park, significant residential development is happening in the surrounding new master-planned communities — Alpine Park, Yorkville, Belmont and Pine Creek. And now with the completion of the ring road, Spruce Meadows is easily accessible from almost all parts of the city. 

Last word

Like any successful business or major tourist attraction, Spruce Meadows is always evolving, adapting to new economic and market realities and capitalizing on new opportunities.

While the Stampede and Stampede Park is the legacy of the Big Four (Patrick Burns, George Lane, A.E. Cross and Archie McLean), Spruce Meadows is the legacy of the Southern Family.

Unquestionably, one of the reasons Calgary is one of the best places in the world to live is because of its entrenched culture of philanthropy. 

Thank you for the lovely article, Calgary Herald and Richard White