Quote:
Originally Posted by esquire
Yes, I didn't mean to suggest that the stadium itself wasn't paid for. It's just that it was paid for with taxes as opposed to operating profits.
My comment was in response to Acajack's remark about the stadium's profitability... it could only be regarded as a profitable enterprise if you overlook the massive taxpayer hit to get the complex built in the first place.
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Sure, I agree. But we can't talk about the big O like any other stadium. The level of corruption and mismanagement, and of course a budget tied to the Olympics that had no end, was all beyond ridiculous. The true cost of that stadium will never be known, but we do know the amount paid out has no relation to the end product. At the scale of the overall Olympic fiasco, there is probably no other project in Canada that comes close. The big O goes way beyond white elephant status.
I do like the stadium though, well at least the exterior architecture. It was OK for the Expos, but never had a good feel to it. I even saw a game with the roof open. Under the permanent roofs, the atmosphere has become less good. It is shocking how different BCPlace feels after the new roof. The old roof was oppressive and I think the stadium had a worse feel than the Big O. So there is always hope that it could finally become a great stadium with the right retrofit. Then again, the BCPlace reno cost more than many stadiums, and a Big O reno would probably be even more.
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