POLL: Do you want an OUTDOOR stadium or happy with the dome?

[harry]

Dome all the way. Now it would be nice if it had a retrackable roof. Then you could satisfy the one who likes the feeling of outdoor and when it's cold as heck, the team will be a little warmer than they would be in the rain, sleet and snow. :lol:

[Steve O'Brien]

I've never been to BC Place.

But it's 22 yrs old and for a stadium shelf life, it's almost past.

We all hear stories of what a sauna it can be esp if it's hot outside.

I don't know if it's true but I heard that it's rarely if ever rained the day of a Lions' game since the stadium opened.

How can anyone who's sat in Commonwealth, Frank Clair, McGill etc think their team w/b better in a dome.

I agree with calls for 35-40K outdoor stadium. It'd be easier to get financing if you forgot about retractable roof. Last one built costs taxpayers of this province $600 million.

I remember hearing lots of stories from Jim Taylor about games at Empire --- sounds like it was quite adventure.

Now as long as they remember not to build the next outdoor park on a site with quicksand --- and in a pigeon-free area (if there is such a thing) :lol:

[LFITQ]

I've been to CW many many times.

I've been to McMahon a few times.

I've been to Canad Inns.

I've been to Taylor Field.

Gimme the Dome each and every time.

[sackmaster]

People forget that we had an OUTDOOR stadium, with Empire Stadium, and the last several years, the attendance dropped and dropped and dropped. The weather hasn't changed, and besides...watching football in the dome, is so comfortable. You can wear shorts, sandals most games, and it's like you're watching the game in your living room. Park 100 yards away from the stadium (or less) for 10 bucks..what's wrong with that? Plus I'm sure you wouldn't see parents with their young infants at the games if it was outdoors, and cold, and windy, and rainy, and also the elderly if the seats/stairs were wet and slippery.

People talk about how great it is in Montreal with a sell out crowd every game.."so exciting" Yeah, maybe, but they forget to mention that the stadium only holds 18-20,000. We get more than that on a BAD night at the Dome. But if they want to try and please most EVERYONE...why don't they consider putting a retractable roof on B.C. Place. It would be far cheaper than building a new stadium AND having B.C. Place demolished. And the location of B. C. Place is also excellent.

[120dB]

What I heard is that they want to demolish BC Place to make way for new condos. The land that BC Place rests upon is becoming very valuable and expensive and mabey a developer would want to build more condos on that lot after 2010.

Can't these developers find enough space in this huge city to build their condos? Why do they have to pick the exact spot the Stadium rests upon to build their monuments?

Message to developers: Build your towers of arrogance somewhere else and leave BC Place alone.

By the way, has anyone looked at the massive gaping hole they've dug at Georgia and Thurlow? That will be the Shangri-La tower,
Vancouver's tallest at 646 feet high.

Imagine a stadium with a roof that high. The highest point on the roof of Seattle's Kingdome was 250 feet.

[Leo_on_Rideau]

I've seen CFL games at BC Place, Molson Stadium, SkyDome and Ivor Wynne, plus I've watched baseball many times at the Big Owe in Montreal...

Gotta say, I side with Steve O'Brien that it's not the same indoors. Molson Stadium is small, but cozy, and everyone has a good time. Ivor Wynne was a great experience, if only because it felt so, well, Hamilton-y... really felt I was experiencing part of the local culture. And SkyDome isn't that different from BC Place, but when it's open, it does make a difference. (Olympic Stadium, needless to say, comes in dead last, even though it technically has a retractable roof).

Retractable technology is ultra-expensive, though... I don't think there would ever be enough support (whether public or private) for one in BC unless Vancouver got a Major League Baseball team.

The one option that simply won't happen is the demolition of BC Place with no indoor replacement. The mega-domes remain profitable (when they do) because of exhibitions and car fairs, etc., not professional sports. That's the reason they always refused to rip off the roof at the Big Owe, since the Expos brought in a fraction of what a boat show could.

[pat]

ask yourself in november!

[Steve O'Brien]

Trend in US is building outdoor parks for baseball and football. --- often separate. So the multi-use attraction has severely waned. Besides, it doesn't mean an outdoor field can't get other attractions. --- concerts, other sports etc

Teams have played in Regina, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg and have survived. There's been games in January at Lambeau and Rich Stadium and a host of others with comparable climates to Canadian cities. That is what separates football fans from soccer or baseball fans. :lol:

[Sir Purrcival]

I've been to both BC Place and Empire as well. Sure there were good things to say about Empire but I will take a dome any day although I would like a retractable.
I think 40000 would be bare minimum. Someday the Dome with come down but it seems to be wearing quite well. When it does die, a replacement will still have a roof for some of the reasons mentioned. Most notably, the use for trade shows etc. This city lacks space for such events and to have a facility that will sit vacant for 6 months of the winter months and cause events to be under attended because like this year, our June was one of the wettest on record, is simply foolish.
I would like to see the stadium move out from the downtown core as well. Either back to the old Empire site or down at Scott Road Surrey area. Probably the latter. The soil is so contaminated there because of all the auto junkyards, that I doubt it could ever be used for anything other than a concrete building. It has the added benefit of Skytrain and makes it easy for people from points east to get to and from a game.

[agent2]

I had my first season tix at Empire and yea the atmosphere was pretty good but frankly, the stadium sucked. Most seats were covered but the roof support poles got in your way. The seats were wooden benches and the field was crowned so the water would run off, problem was the water gathered on the sidelines and any action there was like watching water skiiers. They took the real grass out because it eventually turned to mud. Cold damp Vancouver weather in October/November can cut through you like a knife (and now they check for thermoses). I'll rattle around in the dome if I have to, even if i have to look forward to the playoffs for the big crowds.

[Shi Zi Mi]

Ask a Winnipeg fan, particularly after last season, what they would prefer........most would gladly give up their right one for a domed stadium !! You "football is meant to be played outdoors" people need to spend a season in Winnipeg........I guarantee your attitude would do an "about face".

In the words of Joanie Mitchell, "don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone".

[LFITQ]

Ask a Winnipeg fan, particularly after last season, what they would prefer........most would gladly give up their right one for a domed stadium !! You "football is meant to be played outdoors" people need to spend a season in Winnipeg........I guarantee your attitude would do an "about face".

In the words of Joanie Mitchell, "don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone".

I have been asked in almost EVERY outdoor stadium that I have attended in my Lions jersey ...

"Did you happen to bring the roof with you??"

[CB123]

We live in Vancouver, I dont wanna be sitting out in the rain half the season. I also Love the noise factor of the Dome.

[GCG]

There are plenty of designs in europe that protect the fans from weather, yet still allow for an outdoor feel. The use this lightweight breathable mesh that is less costly to integrate into the design because of it's light weight. Covers the seating area and no rain pelts on you during the game, yet allows all the natural light into the stadium. To me this would be, by far the better choice, rather than the indoor option. Just surf on over to the Architects sites or stadium sites for all the new Football stadiums in Europe and korea, Japan as well.

[MacNews]

...People talk about how great it is in Montreal with a sell out crowd every game.."so exciting" Yeah, maybe, but they forget to mention that the stadium only holds 18-20,000. We get more than that on a BAD night at the Dome. But if they want to try and please most EVERYONE...why don't they consider putting a retractable roof on B.C. Place. It would be far cheaper than building a new stadium AND having B.C. Place demolished. And the location of B. C. Place is also excellent.

I agree sackmaster, BC Place is king. But, alas, even BC Place has limitations.

Will B.C. Place be getting a retractable roof?
No, the current Teflon coated fibreglass fabric roof was chosen due to its light weight, saving $20 million in construction costs and a year of construction time. The current structure could not support a much heavier retractable roof.