Jim Steele – Trilogy Promotions Inc.
I would like to take this opportunity to summarize the origin of the name, The Red Mile™. The idea actually was hatched in 2001 when I was looking to develop an online merchant directory to showcase all of the merchants along 17th Avenue SW between 4th Street and 14th Street West. I had planned on marketing a Christmas vacation promotion giveaway which was outright rejected because the Uptown 17 BRZ (Business Revitalization Zone) already had other plans which would conflict with mine. Also, the post 9-11 travel fears were still rampant and my proposal was deemed “inappropriate” at that moment in history. Thus, the project was temporarily shelved.
Had my concept been adopted, several marketing names would have been suggested for the district such as Flames Avenue, Sports Central, The Hot Zone, Saddledome Drive, Mall 17, Olympic Drive, Victory Lane, Red Avenue, Stampeder Way, Walk of Fame, Stanley Cup Drive, and of course, The Red Mile™. The only problem with renaming the avenue to an internationally recognizable name was that none of Calgary’s professional sports teams were succeeding in 2001 and the party atmosphere had not yet infected the area. Not until 2004, that is, with the unexpected rise of the Calgary Flames and the euphoria that followed. That is where I must thank Melanie Risdon of Jack FM for popularizing the name, The Red Mile™. For those of you who heard my on-air interview with her, you may have heard some of this history. Here is her story…
The Origin of "The Red Mile" from Mel Risdon on 96.9 JACK FM
I took a drive down 17th Ave in Calgary one night during the Calgary/Detroit series. I noticed so many red Flames jerseys and t-shirts and fans, it was so cool. It gave me the idea that since so many people hang out on 17th Ave for the games, we should rename the road in tribute to the Flames.
Monday May 3rd, on 96.9 JACK FM, between 3 and 6 PM, I did just that. I brought up the idea of renaming 17th Ave to the listeners and asked for suggestions. Thinking I would only receive a couple dozen suggestions, I figured we'd all come up with a new name by the end of the day. Well, by the end of the show, I literally had to do a "to be continued". I took so many suggestions that I couldn't process them all in one day.
So I took the suggestions home with me and, coincidentally, watched Game 6 where Calgary eliminated Detroit. During the game I went over all the suggestions and thought "outside the box". We need a name that can represent our Flames, but one that represents much more at the same time. And it has to be a name that people could hear themselves say without feeling silly. So eventually I decided that the name shouldn't so much as focus on the Flames alone, but should encompass more of our city's pride. Red is a recurrent theme in Calgary…The Flames, The Stampeders, The Stampede, The Roughnecks, Team Canada.
The name had to have the word "Red" in it…of course! So a cross-referencing of all the suggestions, I came up with "Red Ave" and "The Red Mile".
Tuesday May 4th, I put the suggestions out and had JACK FM listeners call in their votes for one hour. I took calls for that solid hour and the results were about 80 per cent in favor of "The Red Mile".
So unofficially that day on JACK FM, we dubbed 17th Ave, "The Red Mile".
I even went so far as to contact Mayor Bronconnier to talk to him about the possibility of actually officially changing the street signs on 17th Ave to read "The Red Mile”
Thanks for helping "The Red Mile" become a household name across the nation and through the States…
GO FLAMES GO!!! | 
