CKNW - BC Place stadium roof collapsed

[Rammer]

I've been told that without the roof inflated it would be a slow process of three to seven years before stress fractures would begin to show in the structure.

Never passed that engineering degree, but it is what I've been told.

I'm not doubting that you've been told that, but I'm still interested in where that info came from. I've worked in construction for 35 years, and spent a lot of time with engineers and blueprints, and it doesn't make sense to me. My son has just completed a degree in civil engineering and although he doesn't have his P. Eng. yet, he is working for an engineering firm as an engineer in training, and he agrees with me. I'd like to know how your source figures that the roof contributes structurally to the rest of the structure. I don't think it does. It is a load only.

It's just a matter of interest, since we agree that this stadium needs a roof due to other factors in its design.

No engineering degree by any means here, but I do grasp the idea that the entire Dome is pressurized and with the roof intact, all the forces would be pushing outwards, with the roof being the weakest point. If that makes sense doesn't it make sense that the outward force would also push the top of BC Place ever so slightly outward also?

[B.C.FAN]

Can someone please confirm that speakers fell from the roof during the collapse? I read that a worker saw that a speaker had fallen before deflation.

No. The official version is that workers noticed the speakers hanging lower than normal and deliberately inflated the roof to raise the height of the speakers. That's when it popped. Did they overinflate it? That will have to be determined. There's insurance and liability issues at stake, so no one will own up to making a mistake.

The latest estimate is that the new roof panel will arrive in town Wednesday. When the weather is calm and dry, staff will work around the clock to install it over a period of 24 to 48 hours, then when they are assud everything is safely repaired, they'll reinflate the roof. There's lots of time before the building is next scheduled to be rented Jan. 22.

[Gerry]

I've been told that without the roof inflated it would be a slow process of three to seven years before stress fractures would begin to show in the structure.

Never passed that engineering degree, but it is what I've been told.

I'm not doubting that you've been told that, but I'm still interested in where that info came from. I've worked in construction for 35 years, and spent a lot of time with engineers and blueprints, and it doesn't make sense to me. My son has just completed a degree in civil engineering and although he doesn't have his P. Eng. yet, he is working for an engineering firm as an engineer in training, and he agrees with me. I'd like to know how your source figures that the roof contributes structurally to the rest of the structure. I don't think it does. It is a load only.

It's just a matter of interest, since we agree that this stadium needs a roof due to other factors in its design.

No engineering degree by any means here, but I do grasp the idea that the entire Dome is pressurized and with the roof intact, all the forces would be pushing outwards, with the roof being the weakest point. If that makes sense doesn't it make sense that the outward force would also push the top of BC Place ever so slightly outward also?

Yes, when the roof is inflated there would be a slight outward pressure at the outer ring of the stadium structure. There would be even more uplift on the structure. When the roof is deflated as it is now is when there is the most pressure on the rest of the structure, as it is taking the entire weight load of the cables and fabric that compromise the roof, and awkwardly at that, since the weight is pulling inwards.

But, without the roof in place, none of those loads would be in place. There would be no load due to the roof, and since the roof does not hold the walls up, or keep them in place, the remaining structure would be fine without the roof.

If they wanted to they could take the roof off, redo all of the wiring, replace all of the non-weatherproof fixtures, add towers for lighting, add appropriate drainage etc. and run the stadium then as an open air facility. But it would likely be cheaper to sell the land and build a new stadium elsewhere, so a roof repair is definitely the way to go.

[120dB]

Jeff Lee I feel went overboard in today's Province description of the wind's effects yesterday at the dome:

"As BC Place officials were telling reporters during a tour inside the stadium why they were pulling 35 riggers off the roof for safety reasons, the wind howled down into the funnel created by the sagging, 250 ton roof and snapped the material, causing blasts that sounded like cannon-fire.

All around the stadium, dust, water and bits of fabric blew into the air, obscuring much of the playing field in a haze. Loudspeakers suspended from heavy cables around the rim snapped wildly up and down, nearly smashing on the seats below."

An article like this really angers me. Totally blowing things out of proportion, implying that the building was falling apart. It's not Jeff. The mess will be cleaned up. There's no need to sensationalize.

Jeff Lee, you ought to expand your horizons and attend a Lions game. The way you worded your article, it sounds as if you had never been inside the dome in your life. You seem so shocked over nothing.

All we need is the international print media picking up this description, and I have no doubt they will now, and the IOC will have second thoughts about the Olympics being here.

[Lion Guy]

Jeff Lee I feel went overboard in today's Province description of the wind's effects yesterday at the dome:

"As BC Place officials were telling reporters during a tour inside the stadium why they were pulling 35 riggers off the roof for safety reasons, the wind howled down into the funnel created by the sagging, 250 ton roof and snapped the material, causing blasts that sounded like cannon-fire.

All around the stadium, dust, water and bits of fabric blew into the air, obscuring much of the playing field in a haze. Loudspeakers suspended from heavy cables around the rim snapped wildly up and down, nearly smashing on the seats below."

An article like this really angers me. Totally blowing things out of proportion, implying that the building was falling apart. It's not Jeff. The mess will be cleaned up. There's no need to sensationalize.

Jeff Lee, you ought to expand your horizons and attend a Lions game. The way you worded your article, it sounds as if you had never been inside the dome in your life. You seem so shocked over nothing.

All we need is the international print media picking up this description, and I have no doubt they will now, and the IOC will have second thoughts about the Olympics being here.

Imagine how NOISY it was in there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[TheLionKing]

[Wally!]

The snow accumulation today can't be good ... a lot of extra weight ...

I seriously hope they end up replacing the whole roof. Patch fixing is a waste of time. It may be a faster / cheaper short term solution, but long term not good. It means that 85% of the roof (maybe more) is still going to be older than the suggested life span. The building has a life beyond 2010 with a new roof and the proper management in place, by that I mean private ownership.

[MacNews]

An article like this really angers me. Totally blowing things out of proportion, implying that the building was falling apart. It's not Jeff. The mess will be cleaned up. There's no need to sensationalize.

Jeff Lee, you ought to expand your horizons and attend a Lions game. The way you worded your article, it sounds as if you had never been inside the dome in your life. You seem so shocked over nothing.

All we need is the international print media picking up this description, and I have no doubt they will now, and the IOC will have second thoughts about the Olympics being here.

I totally agree 120dB. Totally. I'm not surprised to see the Province be the conductor on the Hyperbole Express. I come back from Castro-land on Sunday morning, pick up a Globe from Saturday and read the front page. Not only do they point out that the roof collapsed but also talk about how "it raises concerns about 2010". What? The roof lasted for 23.5 years without a hitch, and now because of some rips everything is in jeopardy? Get a grip.

Props dB, you hit the nail on the head.

[MacNews]

I seriously hope they end up replacing the whole roof. Patch fixing is a waste of time. It may be a faster / cheaper short term solution, but long term not good. It means that 85% of the roof (maybe more) is still going to be older than the suggested life span. The building has a life beyond 2010 with a new roof and the proper management in place, by that I mean private ownership.

I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. If they simply patch it, and it is problem-free for the Olympics, then they did their job. But if there are problems only 5-10 years from now then they screwed up.

I'd love to see private ownership because I think there are lots of efficiencies that can be achieved. For example, employee salary costs. Nowhere is it written down that your employees have to be unionized. If I'm BC Place management I either hire private workers or try to limit the amount of unionized workers I use. There's no reason for BC Place management to handicap their decisions by using unions exclusively.

[120dB]

Hope you like my new Avitar !

Are those anti lightning rods sticking up on the dome roof running along the cables? I would think the dome is a lightning attractor

[pinkfreud]

Hope you like my new Avitar !

Nice. That baby's ripped.

[TheLionKing]

Made alot of NOISE

[B.C.FAN]

Jeff Lee I feel went overboard in today's Province description of the wind's effects yesterday at the dome:

"As BC Place officials were telling reporters during a tour inside the stadium why they were pulling 35 riggers off the roof for safety reasons, the wind howled down into the funnel created by the sagging, 250 ton roof and snapped the material, causing blasts that sounded like cannon-fire.

All around the stadium, dust, water and bits of fabric blew into the air, obscuring much of the playing field in a haze. Loudspeakers suspended from heavy cables around the rim snapped wildly up and down, nearly smashing on the seats below."

An article like this really angers me. Totally blowing things out of proportion, implying that the building was falling apart. It's not Jeff. The mess will be cleaned up. There's no need to sensationalize.

Jeff Lee, you ought to expand your horizons and attend a Lions game. The way you worded your article, it sounds as if you had never been inside the dome in your life. You seem so shocked over nothing.

All we need is the international print media picking up this description, and I have no doubt they will now, and the IOC will have second thoughts about the Olympics being here.

Jeff Lee, whose story was quoted above, writes for the Vancouver Sun. Ian Austin has been providing the daily coverage of the roof in The Province. He is a Lions season ticket-holder.

[120dB]

Has anyone seen any YouTube of the roof, lights and speakers swaying back and forth from Tuesday's windstorm?

[Lionut]

Given that Hurricane Katrina blew the roof of the Superdome off, we shouldn't be all that shocked that the recent extreme weather in Vancouver took a toll on a fabric roof that was expected to start needing repair/replacement at about this stage. The roof has been so stable that it was easy to forget the fact that the teflon was there as an economical solution to a fixed roof. (The fact that it was translucent also avoided that horrid cave-like feel you always got at the Kingdome.)

You don't bulldoze your house just because your roof leaks or fails -- you get it fixed, and move on. That's what they will do here. Having said that, I still get a kick out of Howard Crossley's insistence that it was a "controlled deflation" by stadium staff when there is clear video evidence to the contrary. The roof collapsed, Howard -- as the kids would say, deal...