Article contentOlympic Plaza originally opened in 1988 to host medal ceremonies for that year’s Winter Olympics.Article content Olympian and Sport Calgary president and CEO Catriona Le May Doan acts as emcee for the release of the design for the Olympic Plaza transformation project on Monday, April 7, 2025. Gavin Young/PostmediaArticle contentThe plaza became a popular gathering space for community-run festivals, demonstrations and protests, and in winter housed a popular outdoor skating space.Article content“I think the old plaza had an excellent run, but it wasn’t built to last,” said Marc Halle, co-president, landscape architect, for CCxA. “It was built specifically for the Olympics’ gold medal ceremonies, and it served that role really well.Article content“But the things that really were timeless — especially the skating, the water feature, and the way that they brought community together — were amazing.”Article content‘Take something that works and build on it’Article contentThompson said public consultation last year revealed that Calgarians were keen to see the return of the skating rink. Calgarians also indicated they wanted more green space and patio space in the plaza, she added.Article contentArticle content“You want to take something that works and build on it, and I think that’s what the team’s done here,” she said. “It’s a gathering place and it’s a programming piece that people can depend on. What are you going to do on a cold night if you have visitors coming? ‘Let’s go down to Olympic Plaza and skate.’Article content“So I think it was important to integrate the pieces of the plaza that worked and also build off of making it more flexible and more adaptable for pieces in the future, for different uses that maybe we don’t even know about yet.”Article contentHowever, some of the mainstays of the old plaza, including the thousands of personally inscribed Olympic bricks and the Women Are Persons monument, will not be incorporated into the new space.Article content The under construction Olympic Plaza transformation project was photographed on Monday, April 7, 2025. Gavin Young/PostmediaArticle contentNew Olympic Plaza part of Arts Commons transformationArticle contentThe reimagined Olympic Plaza is part of a larger $660-million transformation of Arts Commons, which includes a renovation and enhancement of the current facility, and construction of a new concert venue on the west side.Article contentArticle contentAlex Sarian, president and CEO of Arts Commons — which will soon be renamed the Werklund Centre to honour a philanthropist family that is donating $75 million toward the project — touted the “flexibility” the revamped Olympic Plaza will provide in terms of visitors’ ability to activate the space.Article content“I like to joke that it’s been activated in spite of itself and not because of itself,” he said. “When you look at a lot of the programmers, they have been able to do amazing things (in the plaza), but really fighting against what the plaza was designed to do.Article content“We’ll be able to have giant events without having to shut down lanes and lanes to bring in additional resources.”Article content Guests hold mini 1988 Olympic torches in the Jack Singer Concert Hall at the release of the design for the Olympic Plaza transformation project on Monday, April 7, 2025. Gavin Young/PostmediaArticle contentDemolition of the plaza began in January. Construction of the new amenities will begin in 2027, with completion anticipated the following year. EllisDon will serve as construction manager while Colliers Project Leaders will be the project manager for both the Arts Commons and Olympic Plaza transformations.Article contentSarian added the city will work with organizers of public events and festivals that were held in the plaza to find temporary homes in other parts of the city for the next three years.Article content Conceptual design for the Olympic Plaza Transformation project in downtown Calgary. Released to media April 7, 2025. Courtesy CMLCArticle content Conceptual design for the Olympic Plaza Transformation project in downtown Calgary. Released to media April 7, 2025. Courtesy CMLCArticle content Conceptual design for the Olympic Plaza Transformation project in downtown Calgary. Released to media April 7, 2025. Courtesy CMLCArticle content Conceptual design for the Olympic Plaza Transformation project in downtown Calgary. Released to media April 7, 2025. Courtesy CMLCArticle content Conceptual design for the Olympic Plaza Transformation project in downtown Calgary. Released to media April 7, 2025. Courtesy CMLCArticle content Conceptual design for the Olympic Plaza Transformation project in downtown Calgary. Released to media April 7, 2025. Courtesy CMLCArticle content Conceptual design for the Olympic Plaza Transformation project in downtown Calgary. Released to media April 7, 2025. Courtesy CMLCArticle content Conceptual design for the Olympic Plaza Transformation project in downtown Calgary. Released to media April 7, 2025. Courtesy CMLCArticle content