Jordan Weavers works as a Fitness Consultant at Talisman Centre. With a passion for writing and journalism, here’s the first of an article series for members, Sport Partners, customers, and employees to enjoy. Stay tuned for more from Jordan.
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This is not so much a piece about a place, as it is about a place in time. 1983 means a lot of things to a lot of people. Personally, it carries no meaning for me. I did not yet exist. But for some, it may involve a wedding, their first child, or a promotion towards a fulfilling and generously compensated career. There are many things that 1983 could represent on an individual level, just as there are many things 2013 could represent.
1983 as a macrocosm was an unstable time in world diplomacy, with the Cold War in full swing. It was the new discovery of a virus by Robert Gallo and Luc Montagnier that would spawn a global pandemic for future generations and societies to struggle with. 1983 was the birth of the Chicken McNugget, the death of Paul “Bear” Bryant and Jack Dempsey, and a step towards ending apartheid in South Africa with the doctoring of a new constitution. The Red Hot Chili Peppers released their first studio album, and Sony invented the camcorder, selling it to general consumers eager to capture memories in motion as they happen. This corresponded nicely with the beginnings of production on the mini-van, introduced by Chrysler to North American families everywhere the following year. Also in that year, the Iron Lady was re-elected Prime Minister by a majority landslide in Great Britain, and the Chicago Cubs still had not won the World Series.
As a microcosm of the community, 1983 was a somewhat memorable time for sport and fitness. The University of Calgary Dinos football team captured their first Vanier Cup, and the scorned rivals of the Flames – the Edmonton Oilers – were swept in the Stanley Cup finals four games to zero by the New York Islanders. Only two years previous to this, Calgary was named the host city for the 1988 Winter Olympic Games, beating out Falun, Sweden and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy in the bidding process.
From a more civic perspective, Calgarians elected the Honorable Ralph Phillip Klein as Mayor of the city in 1983. Construction of Western Canadian Place, the headquarters of Husky Canada was completed, at the time making it the city’s third tallest structure, after the Calgary Tower and First Canadian Centre. Another astonishing structure erected in that year was the Olympic Saddledome, currently home to NHL, WHL and NLL franchises. The population of the city was approximately 620,000, and in the summer of ’83 the average price tag on a Calgary home was $100,000.
Ground was broken in the months leading up to 1983 on Talisman Centre (originally Lindsay Park Sports Centre), with a scheduled completion date for summer of that year. It was to be an exciting new addition to the core of the city, especially for the communities of Mission and Erlton.
The original building was over 130,000 square feet of space, nestling nicely into a grassy-green park encompassed by the Elbow River on the West and North ends. The facility opened on July 30th to accommodate the Western Canada Summer Games. The ’83 games were also the inaugural year for competition between Yukon and the Northwest Territories. In autumn, the centre opened to the general public. Back then, the drop-in fee for an adult was $4.50, compared to the current price of $13.
As a young child, I vividly remember road trips up to Calgary with my family. We would travel into downtown via Macleod Trail, and I recall the intrigue of driving by, what I thought at the time, to be the world’s largest tent. The roof design of Talisman Centre is undoubtedly an iconic architectural feature unique to the city of Calgary. In recognition of this, Talisman Centre was one of the first facilities given an award by the International Working Group for the Construction of Sport and Leisure Facilities (IAKS) in the category of an exemplary and functionally well designed sports facility in 1987. This achievement coincided with the premiere of the very first episodes of The Simpsons, appearing in shorts on the Tracy Ullman Show. Globally, Ronald Reagan traveled to Berlin, and for the first time challenged Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall. United Nations experts estimated the planet’s population had then surpassed 5 billion inhabitants.
By international standards in the year 1992, Talisman Centre’s resume continued to grow. It had hosted a World Dive Meet, an international basketball tournament, and functioned as an important operations hub for media and organizers during the 1988 Olympic Games. Additionally, the facility was the home training grounds for 21 of 26 Canadian athletes set to participate in the Seoul, Korea Olympic Games. All the while still a pillar of fitness in the community, pivotal demises occurred throughout the world.
Only a few years earlier, Reagan got his wish, and the Berlin Wall fell, thus ending communism in a world super power the likes of Russia. On February 2 of 1990, Nelson Mandela’s incarceration came to an end, and hope was restored amongst the unjustified oppression of South Africans everywhere. A major step forward in communication and globalization took place in 1993, with the World Wide Web going public. In the sporting world, the pinnacle of achievement in America’s pastime is accomplished for a second consecutive year by a Canadian team, as members of the Toronto Blue Jays hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy after winning the 1993 World Series. Similarly to the much still maligned Chicago Cubs, the Maple Leafs are yet to hoist a Stanley Cup since ’67. However, in 1989, less than a decade after relocating to Calgary, the Flames were crowned champions of the NHL.
Years after this feat in 2002, Lindsay Park Sports Society accepts a $10 million sponsorship by Talisman Energy. The contribution gives the global oil and gas company naming rights over the facility until 2022. Also in 2002, the Centre hosted another event comprised of international participants, the Worlds Underwater Hockey Tournament.
In 2004, Talisman Centre celebrated the opening of a $24 million expansion project. The new dryland centre was named the Dr. Neville Lindsay Sport Wellness Centre to honour Calgary’s first physician and prominent businessman, who had owned the land it stands on. The addition currently houses a second fitness centre, two gymnasiums, a second indoor track, the Triathlon Club, multiple offices, and a LifeMark physiotherapy and massage clinic.
In the same year, the newly constructed aquatic centre, featuring a 50m pool and therapeutic whirlpool, is officially named The Calgary Foundation Aquaplex, recognizing the foundation by contributions made through an anonymous donor. I personally recall conversations in the past with a man named Doug Hawkes. A WWII and POW fighter pilot survivor, he was an active member of the community and one of the pioneers who helped establish The Calgary Foundation in 1955. It was in 1996 that Mr. Hawkes was awarded a lifetime membership to Talisman Centre for his philanthropic deeds. Well into his nineties, Doug still regularly attended deep water fitness classes and was a pleasure to have around. His melancholic passing occurred exactly 22 years to the day of Mandela’s release from prison.
Following the two expansions to Talisman Centre, the facility became the largest indoor athletic complex of its kind in Canada, second only to Chelsea Piers in Manhattan as the largest and most diverse in all of North America.
In 2010, more plans were underway to revitalize the facility. The main building was shut down for renovations. Dubbed the “Facility Enhancement and Roof Replacement Project,” all three gymnasiums had new hardwood floors installed. The pool received new tiling, and the tented portion of the roof was replaced with newer, more technologically advanced material. Amidst the renovations, membership dipped to below 2,000 people at Talisman Centre. Once the main tent was given the green light to re-open in January of 2011, Mayor Naheed Nenshi was on hand to cut the ribbon and make things official at a ceremony. Because of strategic marketing and a loyal customer base appreciative of its history, membership more than tripled in less than two years, with the facility now boasting over 6,000 current members. Annually, the facility sees over 1.4 million visitors pass through its doors. It is renowned for the number of services it offers to a thriving city full of adventurists due to Calgary’s close proximity to the Rocky Mountains. The facility is also acclaimed for its dual mandate of being equally accessible to recreational individuals and high performance athletes, and in 2003 received The Calgary Award for Accessibility for providing a facility and training equipment for people with disabilities.
The yearly Stampede Breakfast put on by Talisman Centre, in partnership with its tenants and naming sponsor, is one of the more notable ones in the city, as it is free, delicious and health conscious. The facility continues to host multiple events throughout the year. Everything from volleyball to synchronized swimming to water polo can be found under the tent, drawing participants and spectators from all over the province, country and world. Amongst these and many other things, Talisman Centre contributes heavily towards many charitable organizations and events within the community.
Through the years, individuals change, the community changes, and the world changes. So too has Talisman Centre, yet all the while remaining a staple of Calgary and a standard by which the world measures a fitness facility. People have no doubt moved on in their lives, maybe to different parts of the world and different gyms. Some will take with them memories of this place that coincide with memories of the world at that juncture in time. Perhaps they met their significant other here on a gray and rainy day when the only expectation was to burn a few calories. Perhaps a parent watched as their child grew from an adolescent into a future Olympian, all the while devoting time to their craft at this place. Or maybe, like many people, they found the inspiration and motivation they had been seeking for so long to lose that excess weight and capture their confidence once again, vindication for time lost wallowing in self-pity and bitterness.
For three decades now, this facility has presented people with the opportunity to grow as an individual. And as an individual grows, a community grows. As a community grows, a province flourishes and becomes an exemplary model for economic sustainability. The world has changed much in the last thirty years. Some people will remember this place for what it is – a gym – nothing more, nothing less. Others will remember this alongside a sacred event in time, personally affected and shaped as an individual by it. Bill Gates once said, “If you give people tools, [and they use] their natural ability and curiosity, they will develop things in ways that will surprise you very much beyond what you might have expected.”
Talisman Centre can be a tool, used in the capacity of an individual to experience positive change and growth as they train, compete or play. The past thirty years can never be reclaimed, only remembered. The next thirty years are yours to use as you will. Through it all, perhaps Talisman Centre can be part of your future memories. Within these walls is this place, accompanied by your moment in time.
