A day the Calgary Stampede has been building towards since the opening of the Nutrien Western Events Centre in 2014 is here.

NWEC and the Northern Lights Arena will host all of the agriculture and western competition events at this year’s Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.

As a result, the Saddledome, which in the past has hosted half of the events, will not have any events this year.

Melissa McKay, who is the Competitions Manager at the Calgary Stampede, says they are excited they are able to do this.

She says it is like when you buy a new house and there is something that doesn’t quite work right, like the island in the kitchen not being plugged in. She says they have been making tweaks to the facility since it opened in anticipation of this day.

McKay says the building has been designed to give the audience a great experience.

“It will be wonderful for our exhibitors and competitors to have a 360 crowd around them, closer to the action and it will just be a great energy and atmosphere in there,” said McKay.

To see the complete schedule of the events in the NWEC and the Northern Lights Arena click here.