Government considering tearing down BC Place and no Retracta

[TheZeppo]

Didn't Jim Pattison at one time want the Lions and BC Place stadium?

You have to wonder where BC Place would be at had the Provincial Gov't at that time gone through with the sale?

I remember Pattison investigating the possiblity of buying either the team, the stadium, or both.
This occured prior to David Braley's involvement (and perhaps prior to Comrie's involvement with
the team), but once he got a look at the books, he gracefully backed away from any futher
discussion of the matter.

[TheZeppo]

I don't want a new stadium, especially not in Gastown. BC Place is easy to get to, but gastown would mean a lot of surface street driving, and downtown traffic is bad enough as is without having todeal with 10-20 K cars on game day.

If such a stadium were ever be built, I suspect that you would not be driving to the game because there would be limited parking within practical walking distance. Instead, you would likely
take the train (take your pick of which one) to Waterfront Station, get off, and walk for 5-10 minutes to get to the stadium.

[B.C.FAN]

If such a stadium were ever be built, I suspect that you would not be driving to the game because there would be limited parking within practical walking distance. Instead, you would likely
take the train (take your pick of which one) to Waterfront Station, get off, and walk for 5-10 minutes to get to the stadium.

Kerfoot's stadium site was right beside Waterfront Station.

[Jim Mullin]

This was posted on the Southsiders forum:

Gordon Campbell was on CKNW this morning. He was asked straight up "Yes or No" if the BC Place roof will be going ahead. He said he wish he could give a yes or no answer, but that the plan is being reviewed by treasury board and he is working with PavCo to find a solution.

In a further question, he said that the government is not concerned about adding to the debt over BC Place, if the cost benefit case can be made. He also emphasized the difference between accumulating debt for infrastructure that brings an economic return, and accumulating structural deficits that remove dollars from the economy.

[Jim Mullin]

This was posted on the Southsiders forum:

Gordon Campbell was on CKNW this morning. He was asked straight up "Yes or No" if the BC Place roof will be going ahead. He said he wish he could give a yes or no answer, but that the plan is being reviewed by treasury board and he is working with PavCo to find a solution.

In a further question, he said that the government is not concerned about adding to the debt over BC Place, if the cost benefit case can be made. He also emphasized the difference between accumulating debt for infrastructure that brings an economic return, and accumulating structural deficits that remove dollars from the economy.

BTW, I think that's a pretty fair and honest answer.

[Lionut]

"Working with PavCo to find a solution" = finding a cheaper solution. In other words, the Cadillac roof will get scaled back down to a mid-range Chevy. Understandable, given the times and circumstances...

[Bobbyp]

Why not take the 365 million and build a new football/soccer 40 000 seat stadium at the old empire site. Then blow up the dome and sell the land.

[Wakesbetterthanyou]

Now we know for sure the Retractable Roof won't be going ahead. Not at One Billion dollars cost which is the new rumoured cost. The bids came in much higher than the $ 360 million, much much higher.

The day a new roof would ever cost 1 billion is the day Canada is renamed Zimbabwe. The convention centre almost cost a billion, not the new "proposed" price for a new roof on BC Place.

to repair a hole in the roof of stadium Olymipque cost more than it cost to build BC place. I'm sure the govt can find a way to make the roof cost a bill.

[David]

Why not take the 365 million and build a new football/soccer 40 000 seat stadium at the old empire site. Then blow up the dome and sell the land.

For sentimental reasons I like this idea, but the NIMBYs in East Van would kick up one almighty fuss (even though they'd welcome your $20 to park on their property). Moreover, this site is not served by Skytrain. Yes, it's Hwy 1 accessible and transit buses run along Hastings, but being several km's outside of the downtown core, it wouldn't be the sexy choice.

My preference would be a new stadium on the BC Place land (scaled down of course to accommodate development around it) or a 35,000 seat stadium near Waterfront Station for the Lions and Whitecaps, which could be expanded for Grey Cups and international games. As a side note, I don't know why the Whitecaps are thinking so small. English powerhouse Chelsea FC played the Seattle Sounders in a 'friendly' in front of over 65,000! While Vancouver is arguably an even better soccer market than Seattle, they couldn't pull off internationals in such a tiny footprint. I believe an expandable 35,000 seat stadium would be purrfect for both clubs. But you can bet your Bob Lenarduzzi tooth whitener that Greg Kerfoot will want to brand his own "Whitecaps Stadium" with soccer-specific dimensions, natural grass, and control of its revenues.

My nightmare scenario? The Liberal government decides 'retractable' is too expensive and installs another Teflon roof. Then, the various levels of government realize Kerfoot has been jacked around long enough and capitulate, approving the zoning of land north of Gastown for a 15,000-20,000 seat soccer-specific venue. In the meantime, Braley and Chayka are fine with just getting a new roof as it stilll means 60,000 seats for Grey Cups and West Finals - even though we're lucky to see those crowds 4x a decade. The other 95% of the time, we'll continue to spend the summer months melting inside a dome gazing out at 300-400 lonely souls sparsely spread across the north side of the upper deck.

DH

[B.C.FAN]

My nightmare scenario? The Liberal government decides 'retractable' is too expensive and installs another Teflon roof.

Until the retractable idea was floated about a year ago, I hoped this would happen and that the Dome wouldn't be imploded to make way for redevelopment. Who would have thought that people's hopes could be deflated by a commitment to replace the inflatable Teflon roof?

[Hambone]

For sentimental reasons I like this idea, but the NIMBYs in East Van would kick up one almighty fuss (even though they'd welcome your $20 to park on their property). Moreover, this site is not served by Skytrain. Yes, it's Hwy 1 accessible and transit buses run along Hastings, but being several km's outside of the downtown core, it wouldn't be the sexy choice.DH

Sentimental reasons are about the only justification for a stadium back on the old Empire location. Much has changed in the 27 years that have passed since the Lions departed Empire. Skytrain didn't exist in 1982. Seabus had only been around for 5 years but was effectively a dead end stop beside Canada Place. Now with close to 70km of track the combination offers rapid transit access to BC Place to a large portion of the lower mainland. Empire offers none. To get there you're driving or taking a bus. Further compounding that is the fact driving in to the PNE area in 1982 was like a Sunday drive in the park compared to today. In 1982 on Hwy 1 traffic probably didn't start slowing much until Burnett on a bad day, but more likely was a breeze until Willingdon. Now if things don't slow down until 154th or whatever it is at the top of Johnson Hill you're high-5ing yourself and considering traffic to be light. No doubt not unlike the BC Place area the PNE grounds have also lost some parking capacity to encroaching development since 1982.