We know that the lease at the Saddledome ends in 2014 so certainly any decision made on the location would need to based on the timeliness of obtaining the land. I feel that the Stampede needs the Flames as much as the Flames need the Stampede. As much as I like the idea of the Greyhound site (the notion of an arena as a gateway to downtown is stunning, but the pedestrian and traffic access concerns me) I think that land cost could be surprising and acces would be trickly.
I like the big four site, I think that it has lot of potential. It would appear that the Stampede board wants the grounds to become a hub of sorts, entertainment, conferences, hotels etc. So having an arena onsite would be fantastic. I think that if the new arena were to bridge the LRT tracks there is a strong potential for great pedestrian access and a revitalization of the east end of 17th ave.
The PDF map of the expansion shows that the distance from the existing Stampede station would not be too far, which is great. I have said in past threads on this topic that it would FANTASTIC to have a station incorporated into the new arena itself. It would not have to be used fulltime but maybe just for game nights and big concert nights.
As for the Arena itself I see it being around 18,000-21,000 for hockey. The bottom line is that there are going to be WAY more corporate boxes. HOK will likely be the designer as they are ACES with this stuff! But really believe that there will be a number of low cost 500 level seats with great sight lines (see Bell Centre). The Bell Centre is a very well deigned arena. I am partial to the Desjardin Club (essentially the box seats and fhigh end seats) where all the food is included in the price of the ticket. It is a neat concet. Although it is a bit different, i like the way the Philips Arena in Atlanta was done with the boxes all on one side. It makes for one end of the building that can be fancied up for the high end user.
I imagine that since this arena will be largely privately funded that we will see an entertainment centre as well with a smaller concert venue along with some sort of convention space. The Staples centre in LA would be a good model for this kind of facility (Seats 18,997, 2500 club seats, 160 boxes). Attached is the Nokia theatre that seats just over 7000 people. I think that a concert venue of this size would be great as part of the arena and for the city.
As for the Saddledome, it has potential for many things. I doubt that we will see it being used for the Hitmen or Roughnecks (although there is a small chance it would happen). Quite simply put the operational costs of running 2 18,000+ arenas just don't make sense. The Flames are free of the Saddledome lease and I don't think that the Stampede would want to absorb the costs. That being said, if the concert venue doesn't happen at the new arena some modifications to the building could make it useful for a small concert venue around 8000 capacity.
That being said, the long term viability of the Corral is limited. This I could SERIOUSLY see the Stampede modifying the dome into a year round rodeo facility. If it were used as a full time rodeo and indor riding facility it could be used for Rodeo Royal and other events. I am not sure how the Canadian finals Rodeo works but if it could somehow be moved to a "full time rodeo venue" in Calgary that would be great.
Anyway, just some thoughts. I could talk about this all day