BC Place getting major renovations

[krilow]

PREMIER UNVEILS NEW VISION FOR BC PLACE & ART GALLERY

VANCOUVER ? A major renovation of BC Place Stadium ? including a retractable roof after 2010 ?

will expand the city?s sport, culture and entertainment district; feature a new home for the Vancouver

Whitecaps; and provide a waterfront site for a new Vancouver Art Gallery, Premier Gordon Campbell

announced today.

?We asked PavCo chair David Podmore to develop a long-term plan for one of British

Columbia?s landmark facilities. What he found was BC Place is in good shape but, like any facility

that age, is in need of upgrades,? said Premier Campbell. ?The upgrades pre- and post-Olympics will

significantly reduce energy consumption and extend the life of this world-class facility for another 30

years. It will also give us the opportunity to create a vibrant arts and sporting community for residents

and visitors alike.?

Upgrades to BC Place will occur in two phases. Renovations to suites, seating, washrooms and

concession stands, and enhancement of the existing roof liner will occur before the 2010 Olympic and

Paralympic Winter Games. A new retractable roof will be put in place after the 2010 Games. Both

phases are expected to go out to tender within five months, subject to design, completion of a business

case and cost-benefit analysis and government approval.

?Once we?ve completed our design and planning, we?ll finalize the budget and, subject to

provincial government approval, get a fixed price contract with a guaranteed timeline,? said Podmore.

?As much of the preparatory work on the roof as possible will be done prior to the 2010 Games. The

remaining work to install the new roof will be completed over an estimated eight months after the

Games are over. This is exactly how BC Place was planned and built more than 25 years ago. By

waiting until after 2010 to complete the retractable roof, we?ll get better competitive pricing.?

A retractable roof by itself will cut energy costs for BC Place by one-third, $535,000 annually.

A further $100,000 annually will be saved through operational savings. For example, the stadium will

no longer need air-lock doors to support the roof. Further options, such as solar panels and geothermal

heating, will also be explored.

As part of the new roof and upgrade, which is expected to be complete early in 2011, the

Whitecaps will start playing at BC Place in the summer of 2011, part of a five-year lease with renewals

after 2016. That will give the team the opportunity to apply for a Major League Soccer (MLS)

franchise.

?We are looking forward to playing under the retractable roof at BC Place starting in 2011,?

said Bob Lenarduzzi, president of Vancouver Whitecaps FC. ?We are confident that the planned

renovations will make BC Place a more versatile venue, very suitable for soccer and a variety of other

international calibre events. The move to BC Place will allow us to pursue the opportunity for an MSL

franchise and will open up a host of additional opportunities that we are excited to bring to

Vancouver.?

?BC Place has been our home field for 25 years, so we?re thrilled with the plans to upgrade it

and add a retractable roof,? said Bob Ackles, BC Lions president and CEO. ?To be able to play

outdoors under a retractable roof is going to make the whole experience even more enjoyable for our

fans. As much as we enjoy playing under the dome, the chance to enjoy a game on a summer night will

be very popular with our fans and players alike.?

As part of the bigger vision for this part of downtown Vancouver, PavCo has been working

with the City of Vancouver, the Vancouver Art Gallery and Canadian Metropolitan Properties, the

owners of the Plaza of Nations, to move the Vancouver Art Gallery to False Creek. Currently, less than

three per cent of its collection is on display, because of space restraints.

In return for future development considerations from the City of Vancouver on its False Creek

property, Canadian Metropolitan Properties is providing the Vancouver Art Gallery with a waterfront

site for its new 320,000 square-foot facility. The Province has already contributed $50 million towards

the new gallery.

?The gallery has experienced unprecedented growth in the last decade, and with more than

40,000 members, record-breaking admissions and a growing collection of 10,000 artworks, is now

bursting at the seams,? said gallery director Kathleen Bartels. ?The False Creek location presents an

exciting opportunity to imagine a new Vancouver Art Gallery on this beautiful waterfront site, one that

would serve as an anchor for this extension of Vancouver?s thriving cultural community. In addition to

Premier Campbell?s recent commitment of $50 million, we are extremely grateful to the Province of

British Columbia for bringing us another step closer to realizing our dream for a new Vancouver Art

Gallery.?

Development and the sale, or lease, of lands around BC Place are expected to generate more

than $100 million towards the cost of the new roof and upgrades. Additional revenues will come from

new sponsorships and expanded business opportunities.

[Jarred Revolver]

Yea, too bad they couldn't get their act together intime for the Olympics to have the roof finished, but this is going to be awesome! I hope they change the colout of the blue seats and added a couple good scoreboards in there with a some nice hd screens.

[CC97]

Alright, now let's get a MLB team in there

[Lee.]

Now, I don't know much about physics, but just how the hell will they be able to drawsting the roof open and shut while keeping the big hangy scoreboard where it is? Some kind of anti-gravity machine, or will there be pullies involved?

No, seriously, I'm having trouble picturing this in my head. Any physics or engineers hanging around, please come to this thread and explain it to me in layman's terms.

[The Nation]

This is the stadium in Germany that BC place is modeling its design after. Those suspension strings will be permenently there. Because its permenently there it supports the jumbotron. The roof opens and closes on these strings.

[Mac the Knife]

Alright, now let's get a MLB team in there

It's not configured for an MLB layout, sadly. I remember reading that in an article back when they built the place.

[DarkJourney]

Hopefully this can get the Vancouver Whitecaps into MLS. A Vancouver-Seattle MLS rivalry would be tremendous.

[CC97]

Alright, now let's get a MLB team in there

It's not configured for an MLB layout, sadly. I remember reading that in an article back when they built the place.

I could've sworn the Mariners have played some games there in the past, according to wikipedia [citation needed] the stadium was built for a MLB team

[OMMF]

Alright, now let's get a MLB team in there

It's not configured for an MLB layout, sadly. I remember reading that in an article back when they built the place.

I could've sworn the Mariners have played some games there in the past, according to wikipedia [citation needed] the stadium was built for a MLB team

Depending on who you believe, BC Place was built with basebal in mind but after they played a few exhibition games, they realized the roof was too white and pop-flys got lost in it.

As far as the Mariners playing there, I know that idea was tossed around and Vancouver was considered as a venue the year the Kingdome had to be closed because of falling tiles. The M's did play an exhibition game there against Toronto in '93. Perhaps that's what you remember?

Edit for pictures:

[Brendan]

Alright, now let's get a MLB team in there

It's not configured for an MLB layout, sadly. I remember reading that in an article back when they built the place.

I could've sworn the Mariners have played some games there in the past, according to wikipedia [citation needed] the stadium was built for a MLB team

I?m pretty sure it was originally built for Expo, but they might have had the idea of the Canadians playing in there.

I can?t wait to go see a Lions game with the roof down, that will be so much fun, and maybe the Seahawks can play a few exhibition games in the stadium when it?s finished. This seems like it puts an end to the Whitecaps water front stadium though, which is too bad that would have been perfect for a MLS team.

[Lee.]

Well, technically, although BC Place is a junior-sized version of the Metrodome, the sightlines for baseball aren't that great. I believe during the press conference announcing this project, they had mentioned that part of the renovations would enable baseball to be held in the dome to greater effect; whether this means that the roof issue is solved or some sort of seating reconfigurations, I don't know.

And yes, this means that the Whitecaps waterfront stadium project is dead. Which is a shame, particularly when the new soccer stadium in Montreal is built to its original specs, and went up in exactly three years. On the bright side, though, MLS has stated that this new development for the 'Caps has most definitely helped their cause in moving out of USL and into the'bigs.'

[krilow]

Alright, now let's get a MLB team in there

It's not configured for an MLB layout, sadly. I remember reading that in an article back when they built the place.

I could've sworn the Mariners have played some games there in the past, according to wikipedia [citation needed] the stadium was built for a MLB team

I?m pretty sure it was originally built for Expo, but they might have had the idea of the Canadians playing in there.

I can?t wait to go see a Lions game with the roof down, that will be so much fun, and maybe the Seahawks can play a few exhibition games in the stadium when it?s finished. This seems like it put the end to the Whitecaps water front stadium though, which is too bad that would have been perfect for a MLS team.

The Mariners did play there for an exhibition game,it was the game where Edgar Martinez tor his ACL (or something like that) and missed the all but like 12 games that year. Lou Penella blamed the astro turf,and than he went on to say that the roof was crap...well both those problems have been fixed.FYI the exhibition game was a sellout, 60,000+ took in the event.

[oddball]

I look at this and cringe as it reminds me of the Olympic Stadium fiasco in Montreal.

[FrankCostanza]

I seem to recall in 1994, the Blue Jays, Expos, Mariners and Astros each playing a couple of exhibitions there at the end of Spring Training. Then later that year BC Place was mentioned as a temp home for the Mariners after the tiles fell and the next year they were thinking of playing x-amount of home games there every year.

[marlinfan]

MLB to BC is highly unlikely. The Mariners claim BC and Alberta as their territory. Considering FSN Northwest recently paid between $400-450 million over 12 years to broadcast Mariner games, I think they would have a say in the matter.

[CC97]

MLB to BC is highly unlikely. The Mariners claim BC and Alberta as their territory. Considering FSN Northwest recently paid between $400-450 million over 12 years to broadcast Mariner games, I think they would have a say in the matter.

Considering FSN Northwest isn't available in BC and Alberta, I think they wouldn't... plus the distance from Vancouver to Seattle is greater than the distance from New York City to Philadelphia, it's not exactly across the street.

[-kj]

plus the distance from Vancouver to Seattle is greater than the distance from New York City to Philadelphia, it's not exactly across the street.

Well, it's 32 miles longer (143 v 111, according to Google Maps, using the stadiums as end points), not not a huge distance.

I only posted this to be a map geek.

[edwardgr]

The Mariners did play there for an exhibition game,it was the game where Edgar Martinez tor his ACL (or something like that) and missed the all but like 12 games that year. Lou Penella blamed the astro turf,and than he went on to say that the roof was crap...well both those problems have been fixed.FYI the exhibition game was a sellout, 60,000+ took in the event.

It was his hamstring not the ACL and I believe it was as he tried to get back to third after rounding the base. It was blamed on poor quality infield dirt IIRC. Edgar's career may have been considerably different had this not occurred. The HOF arguments may be moot as he was never the same after this and could no longer effectively play the field (not that he was the greatest third baseman to begin with but he was serviceable at the time.)

[marlinfan]

MLB to BC is highly unlikely. The Mariners claim BC and Alberta as their territory. Considering FSN Northwest recently paid between $400-450 million over 12 years to broadcast Mariner games, I think they would have a say in the matter.

Considering FSN Northwest isn't available in BC and Alberta, I think they wouldn't... plus the distance from Vancouver to Seattle is greater than the distance from New York City to Philadelphia, it's not exactly across the street.

Right, but Rogers Sportsnet Pacific has a TV rights deal with FSN Northwest to redistribute Mariner games.

Comparing distances and TV territories in the Pacific Northwest and the Northeast is like comparing apples to oranges.

[Lee.]

MLB to BC is highly unlikely. The Mariners claim BC and Alberta as their territory. Considering FSN Northwest recently paid between $400-450 million over 12 years to broadcast Mariner games, I think they would have a say in the matter.

Considering FSN Northwest isn't available in BC and Alberta, I think they wouldn't... plus the distance from Vancouver to Seattle is greater than the distance from New York City to Philadelphia, it's not exactly across the street.

Right, but Rogers Sportsnet Pacific has a TV rights deal with FSN Northwest to redistribute Mariner games.

Comparing distances and TV territories in the Pacific Northwest and the Northeast is like comparing apples to oranges.

The MLB won't go to Vancouver, ever, but I'd think that Sportsnet Pacific wouldn't give a rat's about Mariners broadcasts if they had a team in Vancouver that they'd be able to market to BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Yukon, the NWT and Manitoba. If there was a real alternative in this country to watching nothing but Blue Jays games on national television, I know I'd be all for it.