Investors Group Field | Winnipeg

[esquire]

^ It is a weird situation. If anything, you'd expect Calgary to have the biggest and flashiest set of venues. Maybe Calgary's 80s sheen of petro-prosperity is starting to wear off and they're becoming a normal city too

[Goldie]

2026 World Cup of soccer is coming to Canada! But not Winnipeg. Not IG Field.

1) IG Field is too small and/or
2) The Bombers didn't bother bidding for any games

https://www.tsn.ca/fifa-to-announce-...-tsn-1.1813461

Huge soccer games, concerts, etc. still bypassing Winnipeg. Why did we build IG Field again? Oh, right, for a place for Winnipeg football fans to get drunk off $10.00 cans of Budweiser in public 10 times a year. Little else.

[thebasketballgeek]

Hot take: for IGF to truly thrive the U-lot HAS to go. I get that parking lot is a cash cow for the U of M and the Bombers but the game day experience is sorely lacking amenities adjacent to the stadium. Imagine how much more enjoyable Bomber games would be if that surface lot was replaced by a 5 over 1.

[pegcityboy]

Goldie you can be as cynical as you want and negative , but Canad Inns Stadium needed replacing and IG Field is a fantastic venue to watch Bomber games , Valour FC games and Bison games. I don’t think IG Field was ever built for the promise of 10 concerts a year or big events your after year at the stadium coming to Winnipeg. It’s main tenant is the Winnipeg Football Club and it served it’s purpose well, Bombers have been successful on and off the field since it opened .

[pegcityboy]

Goldie you can be as cynical as you want and negative , but Canad Inns Stadium needed replacing and IG Field is a fantastic venue to watch Bomber games , Valour FC games and Bison games. I don’t think IG Field was ever built for the promise of 10 concerts a year or big events your after year coming to Winnipeg. It’s main tenant is the Winnipeg Football Club and it served it’s purpose well, Bombers have been successful on and off the field since it opened .

[biguc]

Originally Posted by thebasketballgeek

Hot take: for IGF to truly thrive the U-lot HAS to go. I get that parking lot is a cash cow for the U of M and the Bombers but the game day experience is sorely lacking amenities adjacent to the stadium. Imagine how much more enjoyable Bomber games would be if that surface lot was replaced by a 5 over 1.

That would be great but U Lot is probably one of the last lots to go. The plans for the golf course seem to indicate that K and Q Lots' days are numbered--the University wants the corner of Syndey Smith and Sifton to become something of a gateway between the University and the new neighbourhood; they'll probably expand onto those lots.

As for improving the area around IGF, I really like Esquire's idea of building a new arena for the Ice next to IG fieldhouse. A hotel along the east side of UC between Dysart and Sifton would fill that space nicely and inject some life into the area. From there, the golf course redevelopment could carry the rest.

[WildCake]

Originally Posted by Goldie

2026 World Cup of soccer is coming to Canada! But not Winnipeg. Not IG Field.

1) IG Field is too small and/or
2) The Bombers didn't bother bidding for any games

https://www.tsn.ca/fifa-to-announce-...-tsn-1.1813461

Huge soccer games, concerts, etc. still bypassing Winnipeg. Why did we build IG Field again? Oh, right, for a place for Winnipeg football fans to get drunk off $10.00 cans of Budweiser in public 10 times a year. Little else.

The demands to host any FIFA Men's World Cup games would bankrupt the Bombers and the City before you even consider stadium size. The greedy demands from the organizers are outrageous.

I believe Montreal and Edmonton, cities well better off to host with existing amenities, were still on the fence about bidding for games. There's a reason the tournament is hosted by
a) corrupt countries like Russia, Qatar, Brazil, whose government will splash all the money they want or
b) multi-country like the upcoming US/CAN/MEX tournament.

Out of the confirmed 2030 bidding organizations, there's only Morocco as a standalone country. The rest are:
Portugal/Spain
Uruguay/Paraguay/Argentina/Chile
Romania/Greece/Bulgaria/Serbia

Its way too expensive for one country to run on its own.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2030_FIFA_World_Cup

[drew]

^ pretty sure we would have to replace the artificial turf with real grass in order to host a game, which is basically a deal breaker right off the hop.

[esquire]

There was a pretty big laundry list of things that were needed for Winnipeg to host, it was fairly daunting for a city without a huge existing soccer infrastructure.

https://winnipegsun.com/2017/08/15/w...world-cup-list

It could have been done, but would people in Winnipeg have been thrilled with the idea of dropping up to nine figures on all the stuff we would have needed to host six group stage games or whatever?

[esquire]

Originally Posted by biguc

That would be great but U Lot is probably one of the last lots to go. The plans for the golf course seem to indicate that K and Q Lots' days are numbered--the University wants the corner of Syndey Smith and Sifton to become something of a gateway between the University and the new neighbourhood; they'll probably expand onto those lots.

I will say this, U lot is huge... the university could build Mr. Geek's proposed 5 over 1 along the streetfront and create an actual streetscape in that area, maybe a restaurant or two catering to staff/students/fans attending events... that would still leave lots of space behind it for parking. I don't think development would even cut into half of the spaces.

If the need is there, there are empty lots along Dafoe Rd./Innovation Dr. to the south that could be paved over to offset most, if not all of the lost spaces. Or if a parkade was built on the remaining U lot space then that would more than replace any surface lot losses.

I realize the area around IG Field will probably not ever be a vibrant urban environment in my lifetime, but it would be kind of nice if there was at least something adjacent to it other than parking lots and open fields.

[borkborkbork]

Originally Posted by esquire

I realize the area around IG Field will probably not ever be a vibrant urban environment in my lifetime, but it would be kind of nice if there was at least something adjacent to it other than parking lots and open fields.

it is laughable that the university of manitoba offers degrees in planning when you look at how they've developed their campus

[esquire]

Originally Posted by borkborkbork

it is laughable that the university of manitoba offers degrees in planning when you look at how they've developed their campus

Well, in fairness, Smartpark is practically a helpful textbook example of how not to do a greenfield development

[blueandgoldguy]

With a maximum of 3 cities in Canada hosting for this World Cup, we never had a realistic chance, even if we put in a bid and had increased the initial budget on the stadium by 50% and increased the stadium capacity to 40,000. There are too many obstacles as mentioned above.

-poor road infrastructure and lack of rapid transit.
-airport that majorly lacks in international connections.
-4 and 5 star hotel accommodations

...among other things.

The only hope that Winnipeg would have hosted World Cup matches would be if Canada had bid on and won exclusive rights to the game...and now that it has recently been expanded to 48 teams, we will likely never see an individual country host again with the need for 16 - 18 stadiums.

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by thebasketballgeek

Hot take: for IGF to truly thrive the U-lot HAS to go. I get that parking lot is a cash cow for the U of M and the Bombers but the game day experience is sorely lacking amenities adjacent to the stadium. Imagine how much more enjoyable Bomber games would be if that surface lot was replaced by a 5 over 1.

My hot take -- when IG Field was being built rumors at the time suggested what became the Pinnacle Club was being considered for a restaurant similar to how Moxies opened as part of MTS Centre. With the student and staff population on the U of M campus, the lack of facilities on the west side of the campus, and the student employment potential it all made sense. That this did not happen seems to suggest a lack of interest from outside parties on this model.

Further, when the press box initially had an open air model and many media outlets complained about it David Asper stepped forward to fund the upgrades to make it enclosed with windows which can be opened. In return he had (has?) exclusive rights to develop a hotel near/attached to the stadium. There is currently zero chatter on such a hotel moving forward.

Looking at both these past proposals definitely gives anyone considering a possible U Lot development reason to pause.

I'll toss in one more example here, Westgate a similar concept to what people are looking at for U Lot, has had lots of struggles down in Phoenix. Part of the struggles for Westgate seem to be generating traffic on non-event dates. That would be very similar to the issues any development at U Lot would face. Yes the Bomber game day experience could be better outside the stadium but we are talking about approximately 10 days out of 365. It is those other 355 that need to be factored in.

[thebasketballgeek]

Fascinating to hear about the rumours of a hotel adjacent to the stadium. That would do so much for the area.

Originally Posted by CoryB

I'll toss in one more example here, Westgate a similar concept to what people are looking at for U Lot, has had lots of struggles down in Phoenix. Part of the struggles for Westgate seem to be generating traffic on non-event dates. That would be very similar to the issues any development at U Lot would face. Yes the Bomber game day experience could be better outside the stadium but we are talking about approximately 10 days out of 365. It is those other 355 that need to be factored in.

Imo Westgate and U of M are not comparable site contexts. There are a few factors that make them too different.

Firstly, Westgate made the mistake (like all those stupid entertainment districts in the US) to just fill the site with surface parking lot AND not adding any infill to the area. The U of M and areas adjacent to it on the other hand are booming and actually adding residents.

Secondly, the area around U of M is much denser and experiences much more traffic on a daily basis. There’s plans for adding 10,000 units just with the Southwood Golf course. Not to mention the area on Pembina stretching from Plaza Dr to Bison is ridiculously underrated in this forum when it comes to density but it’s plastered with a bunch of midrises and commie blocks. I’ll give another hot take in saying that area is dare I say walkable. Not to mention that we’re going back to in person so during the school year that’s a guaranteed 20,000 people at campus everyday. Any businesses that could get their hands on a CRU at the U-lot would never have to worry about losing money. It’s a gold mine.

Thirdly, the infrastructure is a lot more suited for pedestrians then in Westgate. Say what you want about lack of built form on the west side of the campus but the infrastructure is most certainly there. I bet those multi-use paths on Bison are better then anything in Phoenix. Then you got the Transitway which takes you to Downtown in like 20 mins. Of course the wider sidewalks and road diets are also much more noticeable in the U of M to handle the pedestrian traffic.

Lastly, it’s climate and attitude of the people. The Phoenix summers are simply an uninhabitable space for humans even though 6 million people would say otherwise. It’s just pure arrogance to even have a city there lol. Winnipeg of course has the notorious winters but at least you can dress for it. How the hell do you dress for +45 degree days?

Also, this is a US phenomenon that I found out about in Cali. People will go above and beyond to stay in their cars at all times. When I went to In-n-Out there were 20 people in the drive thru so I thought it was insanely packed inside as well. Turns out there was only 1 person ordering inside… Even Winnipeggers don’t cling to their cars like that.

TL;DR Phoenix bad, Winnipeg much better so development at U-lot would significantly enhance the area around IGF.

[BlackDog204]

Originally Posted by Goldie

2026 World Cup of soccer is coming to Canada! But not Winnipeg. Not IG Field.

1) IG Field is too small and/or
2) The Bombers didn't bother bidding for any games

https://www.tsn.ca/fifa-to-announce-...-tsn-1.1813461

Huge soccer games, concerts, etc. still bypassing Winnipeg. Why did we build IG Field again? Oh, right, for a place for Winnipeg football fans to get drunk off $10.00 cans of Budweiser in public 10 times a year. Little else.

The CSA was never seriously considering playing World Cup Soccer games in Winnipeg. It's a relatively small city, in the middle of the country. They were always going to go with Toronto. Vancouver did not expect Canada to be much of a threat to make the World Cup, and after a lot of panic, and regret, pulled out all stops to host some of the games.

Winnipeg just is not a World Class city. It's fine for living and raising a family, but let's not kid ourselves. The World Cup was never coming here or Regina.

[esquire]

^ I don't think it's an issue of whether or not Winnipeg is a "world class city" or not. You either have the things that tick the boxes on the checklist or you don't. Look at the list of World Cup host cities in the past and you will see plenty of globally obscure, low-profile places in addition to the major world cities.

Winnipeg came up short in several respects, and there was no political will to spend money on fixing those things. Which makes sense, because relatively speaking, the World Cup is not the huge deal in Canada that it is in other places. No one wants to make major sacrifices elsewhere so that Winnipeg can host a half dozen World Cup games.

As far as the U lot discussion goes, I would never expect that area to become a Westgate-type entertainment destination. 10 football games a year just isn't enough to support that. I think the realistic best-case would be lowrise student housing (maybe 5 or 6 storeys) with commercial spaces at the base. Realistically I would not expect more than one or two actual sit-down, table service type restaurants in such an arrangement. It wouldn't be an entertainment district, but at least it would be something... the stadium wouldn't feel like it was so isolated if there was a place like that across the street.

A hotel would be nice too, it doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility for a campus the size of the U of M. But the hotel business does strike me as a bit uncertain right now. Could be a while before we see something like that take shape near IG Field.

[Biff]

I think Edmonton's bid would have cost the city in excess of $110m. As much as I love sports, I don't think that was/is a priority for this city right now.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Biff

I think Edmonton's bid would have cost the city in excess of $110m. As much as I love sports, I don't think that was/is a priority for this city right now.

Pretty much.

We've proven that we'll dig deep for the things we collectively love... IG Field and Canada Life Centre are testament to that. But a World Cup bid? Not so much.

[The Unknown Poster]

A friend of mine who owns a hotel in the area heard us talking about the U of M development and said, "with our luck, they'll build a hotel." I get his drift. His place is packed for any events at IGF.