Calgary Mayor Jeremy Farkas is responding to a wave of criticism over the city's Cowboys Park deal. The anger followed social media posts published Wednesday night that questioned how public land was handed over to a private business, with the details kept out of public view. The posts argued that Calgary had never seen a deal quite like this before. The mayor himself acknowledged unease with how the arrangement was structured.
The basics of the deal date back two years. The city signed a 10-year naming and sponsorship agreement with Cowboys in 2024. As part of that agreement, Shaw Millennium Park was renamed Cowboys Park. The change tied a well-known public space to a private brand for the length of the contract.
The renamed space also took on a new role in the city's events calendar. It became the long-term home of the Cowboys Music Festival, which began last year. Former Mayor Jody Gondek had framed the move in 2024 as a way to ensure the space continues to live on. For supporters, the arrangement gave the park a defined future use.
The social media posts, however, focused on unanswered questions. They asked who is paying for what and where the transparency is in the deal. The message stressed that this is public land and public money, and that the public deserves answers. It called for an end to what it described as secrecy, silence and lip service.
In his response, Farkas conceded that he does not think the city struck the right balance with the deal agreed to with Cowboys in this specific instance. He said he is working within the terms set by the previous mayor and council and will abide by them. At the same time, he pledged to push hard for future agreements to better reflect the standard of transparency that Calgarians are owed. His comments tried to separate the existing contract from how the city handles deals going forward.
The confidentiality at the heart of the deal has fuelled the frustration, including on Reddit, where one comment called it embarrassing and urged the city to release the files and let Cowboys sue if it wished. Farkas indicated he is bound by such strict confidentiality that he cannot even share the details with his own staff to analyze. Even amid the dispute, the city points to a growing downtown culture and entertainment ecosystem, citing the upgraded Olympic Plaza, the Stephen Avenue revitalization, Scotia Place and now Cowboys Park.