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CHAPTER THREE
Building the Stampede!
1946-2011
1950
THE CORRAL
Sports have always been at the heart of Stampede Park. At one time, car racing and horse racing were held on the track. In the winter, the Victoria Hall animal stalls were converted into curling sheets, and hockey was played in the Victoria Arena. In 1950, the Stampede built the Corral, the largest hockey arena west of Maple Leaf Gardens. It became the home to the Calgary Stampeders hockey team, and in 1984 Stampede wrestling. It was home ice for the Calgary Flames while the Saddledome was under construction, and hosted hockey and figure skating during the 1988 Winter Olympics.
- The Calgary Canadians won the Canadian junior championship in 1926. Their home ice was the Victoria Pavilion.
- In 1960, the Big Four building became home to 48 curling sheets, making it the world’s largest indoor curling rink.
- The Stampede Corral has 6450 seats. The seats used to be colour coded to reflect the cost of the ticket.
- The Corral used technology that allowed them to make ice in 34 hours.
- The first hockey game played in the Corral was between the Calgary Stampeders and the Edmonton Flyers; Calgary won 5-0.
- Between 1988 and 1992, the Saddledome was home to the Calgary 88s, part of the World Basketball League.
The Big Four building opened in 1959 with 24 curling sheets and was a popular home for the sport.
In 1960, another 24 curling sheets were added. With 48 sheets, the Big Four was the world’s largest indoor curling rink.
The Ice Cycles held figure skating shows in the 1950s in the Corral.
Victoria Arena burned down in the early 1960s. Here, firefighters work to put out the fire.
In 1961 the Stampede acquired the 23,000 acre Calgary Stampede Ranch, located near Hanna, Alberta. It became home to the Stampede’s “Born to Buck” program, which produces some of the world’s best rodeo stock.
History of the Rodeo
The heritage of rodeo dates back to the 1600s and relates to caring for animals on the open range. Around the world roping, riding and herding were all essential activities that evolved into competitions among the working hands on ranches.
The Calgary Stampede rodeo is profoundly linked to the region’s ranching culture and heritage.
The Wild West shows that toured North America in the late 1800s had a major role in shaping popular images of cowboy life. Performances mythologized the “old west” and created an entertainment culture that featured riding, roping and shooting.
However, Calgary Stampede founder Guy Weadick had a different vision. His dream was to create a genuine cowboy contest that tested the skills and horsemanship required by working cowboys. So for the first Calgary Stampede in 1912, cowboys (and cowgirls) gathered from across North America to test their wrangling skills in the burgeoning sport of rodeo.
Some early events did grow out of the Wild West genre — such as bulldogging (steer wrestling) — invented by Wild West performer Bill Pickett — or buffalo riding, which would never have taken place historically. Other events, however, emerged from ranching traditions: saddlebronc riding, tie-down roping, and bareback riding all originated from roundup and branding activities.
During spring roundups in the late 1800s, cowboys would gather the cattle that had wandered on the range during winter months, and brand the new calves. Ropers were key figures in the branding corrals, and many went on to win championships in rodeo events. One of the outstanding ropers at the Bar U ranch in the 1920s, for example, was a Nakoda cowhand, Jonas Rider, who was known for his exceptional speed and dexterity. He became the Calf Roping champion at the Calgary Stampede in 1923 and was a top contestant through the rest of the decade.
Clearly as time has passed the lines between historical working cowboys, rodeo cowboys, and romanticized Hollywood cowboys have blurred. But the western heritage and values that the Calgary Stampede promotes and preserves, in significant part through its western events, have authentic roots in the local conditions, economy, and culture of the region in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
— By Stampede historian Aimee Benoit
The Development of Stampede Park
When the Calgary Agricultural Society purchased Victoria Park in 1889, it came with a string attached: the Park was to be used for no purpose other than hosting fairs and exhibitions as a community gathering space. The Stampede remained true to this purpose.
By the 1960s, attendance at the annual Stampede had skyrocketed, and the Stampede was looking to expand. After failed bids to expand to Lindsay Park or move to Lincoln Park, the Stampede—working with the City of Calgary—began to expand north into Victoria Park.
The Union Milk Company delivers milk to Stampede Park, ca 1910s.
A mid-1960s conceptual rendering of what Stampede Park would look like if it moved to Lincoln Park.
Calgary Stampede Park, late 1980s.
100 Years of Royalty
HOSTING THE CROWN
Prince William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, visited the Calgary Stampede as part of their Canadian tour. They officially launched the Stampede Parade and attended a special rodeo. In doing so, Will and Kate joined a long line of British royals who have attended the Stampede, signifying the Stampede's international reputation.
Past royal visits included:
1912 – The Duke and Duchess of Connaught (Canada’s Governor General and son of Queen Victoria) attended the inaugural Stampede
1923 – Edward, Prince of Wales, presented a special Prince of Wales trophy to the 1923 bronc riding champion, Pete Vandermeer. A private ceremony was held on the Prince’s ranch near Pekisko, the EP Ranch.
1939 – King George VI and Queen Elizabeth attended the Stampede as part of their royal tour
1951 – Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh visited Calgary in October. A special Stampede was held in their honour.
1958 – Princess Margaret attended
1959 – Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip made their second visit to the Calgary Stampede, where they toured Indian Village and watched the chuckwagon races.
1968 – the Duke and Duchess of Kent opened the Stampede on July 4th and rode in the Stampede parade
1973 – Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip made their third visit to the Calgary Stampede and officially opened the occasion. The Duke of Edinburgh was an honoured guest.
1977 – Prince Andrew and Prince Charles honoured Alberta First Nations on the hundredth anniversary of the signing of Treaty 7. They led the Parade as Grand Marshal and officially opened the Stampede
2005 – Premier Ralph Klein hosted Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on Stampede Park for a luncheon in May. 600 special guests were invited to lunch with the Queen.
2011 – The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited the Calgary Stampede
In 2011, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited Calgary and enjoyed the Stampede Parade.
The Duke and Duchess of Connaught, along with their daughter Princess Patricia, attended the first Stampede in 1912.
Queen Elizabeth has visited the Stampede four times (once as Princess Elizabeth, in 1951). Here she is with a Mountie in 1973.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip enjoying a Stampede event in a special box seat for them at the Grandstand, 1973.
Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh stay warm under a Hudson’s Bay blanket during their first visit to the Calgary Stampede.
A special arch was set up in downtown Calgary to welcome the Duke and Duchess of Connaught in 1912. The parade went through the arch.
