The Calgary Flames are celebrating their 26th NHL season, 27th year in Calgary and 22nd year in the Pengrowth Saddledome during the 2006-07 season. Since arriving from Atlanta on May 21, 1980, the Flames have become part of the fabric of Calgary with on-ice success and an off-ice commitment to community. It all began on June 6, 1972 when a group of Georgia businessmen, headed by Tom Cousins, was granted an NHL franchise. The Atlanta Flames, whose emblem was a fiery A, played in the Omni (capacity 15,141). The name, “Flames”, was arrived at by a contest in Atlanta to choose the most representative nickname. Historically, General Sherman captured the city of Atlanta during the Civil War and burned the city down. The flames that engulfed the entire city were extinguished, and the rebirth of the Georgia capital began. Eight years later in 1980, Nelson Skalbania announced that he and a group of Calgary businessmen had purchased the Atlanta franchise and would move the team to Calgary. The Calgary Flames began play in the Stampede Corral (capacity 7,242) and changed the emblem to an explosive C. The Flames’ first ever NHL game in the Corral was against the Quebec Nordiques on October 9, l980 and ended in a 5-5 tie. Sixteen months later, Skalbania sold his interest in the team and ownership of the Flames would be held exclusively by six Calgary business people until June 15, 1990 when Norman Green left the Flames to become owner of the Minnesota (now Dallas) Stars. The last game played in the Corral was a 6-5 playoff win over Edmonton on April 18, 1983. In three seasons in the Corral, the Flames played a total of 146 games (league, playoff and exhibition) including a thrilling win over the Soviet National Team on January 2, 1983. The Flames lost only 28 regular season and four playoff games in the Corral. The Flames moved across the street from the Corral and into the Saddledome in 1983. The Saddledome has been home to three Stanley Cup Finals featuring the Flames – 1986, 1989 and 2004. The Flames formally assumed management of the Saddledome in 1994. The Saddledome underwent renovations and was officially re-opened on October 25, 1995. Additions included premier dining and meeting facilities, 46 Club Suites that are 14 rows from the ice, plus two Super Suites and a club seating section with an exclusive restaurant and lounges. In conjunction with the “Year of the Cowboy” in Calgary, The Flames unveiled a black third jersey on June 23, 1998. The jersey represents “horse power with attitude” and is worn at selected games throughout the season. On June 21, 2000, the third jersey became the official road jersey of the Flames as they unveiled a new home design while temporarily shelving a red road uniform. But 2003-04 saw the rebirth of an exciting new red jersey as the club’s home sweater, while the traditional whites were worn strictly for road games and the black became the alternate jersey. That season the “Sea of Red” was revived during the NHL playoffs and the red Flames jersey became one of the top-selling jersey launches in NHL history. In the span of 26 years in Calgary, the Flames have become one of the premier franchises in the NHL. The accomplishments of the club include two President’s Trophies, first overall (1987-88, 1988-89), three Clarence Campbell Conference titles (1985-86, 1988-89, 2003-04), three season and two Smythe Division playoff championships, two Pacific Division titles and a Northwest Division title (2005-06), plus several NHL individual and team honours and numerous attendance records. The pinnacle of the team’s history was being crowned Stanley Cup champions for the 1988-89 season when they defeated the Montreal Canadiens. The next run to the Stanley Cup finals was in the spring of 2004, electrifying the city and spawning the Red Mile. The Flames followed up that performance by winning the tough Northwest Division in 2005-06 with 103 points, ranking seventh overall in the NHL and winning the William Jennings Trophy. As well, goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff was awarded the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender while rookie defenceman Dion Phaneuf was nominated for the Calder Trophy in 2005-06. On August 8, 1994 the Flames announced revisions to the club’s ownership structure adding six new investors and seeing two (Norman Kwong, Sonia Scurfield) of the team’s original owners leave by selling their entire interest in the club. In 2001, the Flames ownership group bought the interests of two members, Dr. Grant Bartlett and Ronald Joyce. The Flames now presently have eight owners, all local, who jointly control operations of the Pengrowth Saddledome, Calgary Flames and the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen Hockey Clubs. As the Calgary Flames head into their 26th season, the team has a new head coach, Jim Playfair, who takes over the coaching duties after spending three seasons as an assistant coach with the Flames. Darryl Sutter, who guided the team on the bench as head coach since 2002 and in the front office as general manager since 2003, will concentrate on the general manager duties in the upcoming season.