Halifax Stadium Discussion

[icetea93]

Originally Posted by someone123

From a federal perspective the stadium is a very small project. Halifax is also unimportant in the election.

As is Atlantic Canada in general

[isaidso]

Realistically, if Atlantic Canada wants more clout in Canada the region would need a population at least 3 times higher than where it currently stands. 7 million would get Ottawa's attention, 2.3 million is small any way you slice it.

[FuzzyWuz]

IMHO the region will remain underpowered until the provinces have the guts/wisdom to unify and lobby to become a single province. That decision is not up to us I understand but I think it's the only way we can have any national clout. We should be tired of depending on the token regional mp and the rare strongman/woman in government.

[TheNovaScotian]

That would never happen, the constitutional ramifications would be dire, on the other hand if on a federal level we formed a voting block much like The Bloc Quebecois I feel we would have more luck instead of splitting our votes between the Conservatives, Liberals and NDP. The problem being that it would slowly start to regionalize Canada, not that is not already happening with the Canadian Alliance/Reforms otherwise known as the Conservatives running the show, who feel Ottawa should be merely a small gathering location for the provinces that run themselves to bicker over things while the poorer provinces who sacrificed their own prosperity at the beginning of confederation to prop up the near empty west and central Canada should take a back seat when it comes to major funding for such projects like stadiums, convention centres and rapid transit systems.
I apologize if this post comes across as a little politicized but it is the truth and should be the looked at in earnest because Quebec gets what they want out of confederation with the threat of sovereignty being a mere joke but it makes whatever party in power have to pay close attention to what Quebecers want if they are to steal any seats from the voting bloc

[resetcbu1]

Maybe now with a majority goverment in place it will open up the posibility of federal funding for arens and stadiums? At one point I belive they said they were considering it until backlash from opposition and some tax payers kyboshed that idea possibly because of worries that they would be toppled which inevitably happened but maybe now there could be some money on the table?

[CorbeauNoir]

Originally Posted by resetcbu1

Maybe now with a majority goverment in place it will open up the posibility of federal funding for arens and stadiums? At one point I belive they said they were considering it until backlash from opposition and some tax payers kyboshed that idea possibly because of worries that they would be toppled which inevitably happened but maybe now there could be some money on the table?

Halifax was a landslide NDP win, there's little benefit for the feds to pander to us. In any case, they're already on the record saying they're not funding any sports infrastructure.

[Wishblade]

Originally Posted by CorbeauNoir

Halifax was a landslide NDP win, there's little benefit for the feds to pander to us. In any case, they're already on the record saying they're not funding any sports infrastructure.

Atleast we voted the same party as the provincial government and didn't vote Liberal like Cape Breton and the valley. Good luck to them seeing any funding from anybody lol.

[Empire]

Originally Posted by CorbeauNoir

Halifax was a landslide NDP win, there's little benefit for the feds to pander to us. In any case, they're already on the record saying they're not funding any sports infrastructure.

Sports Minister Gary Lunn said there would be no funding for sports infrastructure but he lost his British Columbia seat to Green Leader Elizabeth May and now he is golfing. Perhaps the new Sports Minister will see things differently?

[halifaxboyns]

Not sure if anyone noticed; but the HRM website has been changed. There is now a 'regional infrastructure' section at the bottom and the two projects listed are convention centre and the stadium.

[q12]

Originally Posted by Empire

Sports Minister Gary Lunn said there would be no funding for sports infrastructure but he lost his British Columbia seat to Green Leader Elizabeth May and now he is golfing. Perhaps the new Sports Minister will see things differently?

[q12]

MacGillivray wants new Metro Centre 2
Games bid or not, the old one's fading

Post a comment | View comments (2) | View latest comment
PHILIP CROUCHER
The Daily News

HALIFAX - Fred MacGillivray plans to push hard for a new Halifax Metro Centre to be funded from some of the government money allotted for the failed Commonwealth Games bid.

MacGillivray admitted yesterday the idea of a new Metro Centre for Halifax hasn't been talked about much in the last two years because of the focus on the 2014 Commonwealth Games venture.

But with the province and city pulling the plug on the idea last week, MacGillivray is focusing on some old battles, and at the top of his wish list is getting a new convention centre and Metro Centre for HRM.

"To continue what we're doing now, a new Metro Centre is very necessary," the Trade Centre Ltd. president and CEO said yesterday after a news conference for the 2008 world hockey championship in Halifax. "And more so than that is our convention centre. We do a lot of business in the conventions and meetings business - we're way undersized. People want to come to Halifax. We turn away, not as much, but close to as much business as we bring here, because we have limited facilities. So that's going to drive the agenda."

The federal, provincial and municipal governments had allotted a total of $900 million towards Halifax's Commonwealth Games bid. MacGillivray, who headed the Games bid, doesn't want to see that money walk out of the city.

'Ambition level'

"I think there certainly is a desire to do that from the city and the province, and they would have to meet with the federal government to see what their ambition level is," he said about giving money to the city's infrastructure.

"I've been pushing hard for years, and I'll continue to help our potential funding partners make a good decision on that regard."

The 10,595-seat Metro Centre was built in Feb. 1978, and according to MacGillivray, the facility is wearing down. It also doesn't meet the needs of the customer anymore, which if not corrected, will hurt HRM business in the years to come.

"If we want to go to the next level, it's a larger stadium," MacGillivray said. "Look at the sightlines in our facility. There is certainly a challenge for many of the events that we do ... (and) look at the canteen facilities. We can only serve up to 40 per cent of the customers ... The line-ups are just too long."

In a perfect world, MacGillivray would have a new Metro Centre of between 14,000 and 15,000 seats built within the next three to five years. It's estimated the cost would be $150 million.

"But that has to take the commitment of our potential funding partners, whether that be the city of Halifax, the province of Nova Scotia, the federal government," MacGillivray said. "But all of those things will get discussed, and I think hopefully, in a short period of time."

MacGillivray also spoke about the idea of a new outdoor stadium, but didn't give it the same priority as a new Metro Centre and convention facility.

From: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=386681&page=9


Interesting story from 2007 in The Daily News and how it compares to what is going on now in regards to a new convention centre, Metro Centre and Outdoor Stadium.

[fenwick16]

I think that Halifax could build a basic stadium designed somewhat like Calgary's McMahon Stadium which was built 50 years ago for $1 million dollars (initially it was only 22,000 seats - it has been expanded by about 50% in size since then to about 35,000 permanent seats). If Halifax decides to spend $60 million on a stadium then it could possibly do even sightly better than the McMahon Stadium design (perhaps have a partial roof but fewer seats, perhaps about 25,000 seats).

Here is an interesting nostalgia piece on McMahon Stadium - Story - Still in love with McMahon Stadium

Here is a picture: (posted by Boris2K7 with credit to hardwiredindustries)

[thurmas]

what happened to your stadium drive it seems to have died off in the last 2 months what happened.also the merto centre is the perfect size for a city the size of halifax it won't ever be an nhl city so 10500 is perfect just have some renos for the metro centre and a naming rights deal for more money.

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by thurmas

what happened to your stadium drive it seems to have died off in the last 2 months what happened.also the merto centre is the perfect size for a city the size of halifax it won't ever be an nhl city so 10500 is perfect just have some renos for the metro centre and a naming rights deal for more money.

The first part of a 3 part study is underway and the municipality now has a website - municipal website. The first part of the study is to establish a business plan, the second part would be to decide on a stadium design and the third part would be the construction.

I think many of us are waiting until June when the first stadium study is supposed to be complete.

I agree about the Metro Centre - it is a good facility and there is even some room for expansion.

[Waye Mason]

Originally Posted by fenwick16

The first part of a 3 part study is underway and the municipality now has a website - municipal website. The first part of the study is to establish a business plan, the second part would be to decide on a stadium design and the third part would be the construction.

I think many of us are waiting until June when the first stadium study is supposed to be complete.

I agree about the Metro Centre - it is a good facility and there is even some room for expansion.

HMC is old, but... the main complaints are concessions and loading.

The HMC is old enough that the ramps onto the floor are designed for 48 foot trailers, and the standard is now 53 foot. You can't get a 53 footer in one side, and barely (literally an inch or less clearance) on the other. But that can be fixed.

If you look at the design, the building is basically four concrete box pillars at each corner holding up the roof. Not impossible to rework everything inside of that envelope.

I think it would be possible and desirable to do a major mid-life refit, but something in the 20-30 million range at the existing space, rather than $150 million for a new almost NHL size facility.

[c-way-dude]

I agree with the fact that McMahon Stadium is the perfect size for the CFL. It has the capacity to host big crowds and is easily expandable to host Grey Cups while not being so big that smaller crowds look tiny. I also love how tight the stands are to the sidelines.
The only serious fault anyone seems to have with McMahon Stadium is that there aren't enough washrooms.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Waye Mason

HMC is old, but... the main complaints are concessions and loading.

The HMC is old enough that the ramps onto the floor are designed for 48 foot trailers, and the standard is now 53 foot. You can't get a 53 footer in one side, and barely (literally an inch or less clearance) on the other. But that can be fixed.

If you look at the design, the building is basically four concrete box pillars at each corner holding up the roof. Not impossible to rework everything inside of that envelope.

I think it would be possible and desirable to do a major mid-life refit, but something in the 20-30 million range at the existing space, rather than $150 million for a new almost NHL size facility.

Another thing I find very odd about MC is the access from other levels. It has a plethora of relatively steep, narrow stairways you need to negotiate if you enter from lower levels. Most places these days have escalators or ramps. If there is an opportunity to take some space from the WTCC should the new CC go ahead, there needs to be some revisions to that aspect as well.

[Empire]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Another thing I find very odd about MC is the access from other levels. It has a plethora of relatively steep, narrow stairways you need to negotiate if you enter from lower levels. Most places these days have escalators or ramps. If there is an opportunity to take some space from the WTCC should the new CC go ahead, there needs to be some revisions to that aspect as well.

40% of the upper bowl seats have been rendered unusable because of the construction of the sykboxes. This was done consciously because the revenue from the sykboxes outweighs the whining from bleacher creatures. One thing that could be done is project the clock in real time to the upper bowl so everyone can see things like time left in penalties etc.

Also, reduce the price in the upper bowl from the skybox viewplane cutoff point to the roof to $5.00 per seat.

[TedWilliamsHead]

Centre support below 50%: Poll
An outdoor sports stadium is a bigger need for the region, a survey of HRM residents finds A different poll by Corporate Research Associates in March had convention centre support at 58 per cent


Survey
The CityThink survey polled 600 people in HRM from April 13 to 23. It carries a margin of error of four per cent, 19 times out of 20.
Total percentage of people who either disagree or or completely disagree that Halifax needs a new convention centre is 52%

ALY THOMPSON
METRO HALIFAX
Published: May 09, 2011 1:04 a.m.
Last modified: May 09, 2011 7:49 a.m

A majority of Haligonians say we need a new outdoor sports stadium, a poll reveals.

The same can’t be said for the convention centre.

The CityThink survey, conducted by Marketquest-Omnifacts Research for Metro Halifax and the Greater Halifax Partnership, shows more residents oppose the proposed development of a new downtown convention centre than support it.

Thirty-six per cent of people said they disagree when asked if HRM needs a new, larger, upgraded convention centre, with another 16 per cent completely disagreeing. That compares with 33 per cent who agree and nine per cent who completely agree.

“I’m speculating here, but maybe people see it as more of a business thing. People believe it’s not something that the general public is going to use, like a stadium,” said Craig Wight, senior vice-president of Marketquest-Omnifacts Research.

Fred Morley, executive vice-president of the Greater Halifax Partnership, said support for the proposed centre is reflective of residents’ misunderstanding of the project.

“I don’t think the convention centre and the need for the rejuvenation of the downtown core have connected in people’s head yet,” he said. “The downtown of any city is the showroom of that city. What you see is creating first and lasting impressions.

“This is an opportunity to do that.”

Sixty per cent of residents either agree or completely agree with HRM’s need for an outdoor stadium. Morley said this idea has caught people’s attention because “they can see themselves using it.”

Scott Ferguson, Trade Centre Ltd.’s president and CEO, said Halifax needs the convention centre.

“The convention centre project has been ongoing for a number of years and in my view, there has been a tremendous amount of analysis and research. I’m very optimistic that positive decisions have been made,” he said.

[fenwick16]

Here is the link to the survey - link.

It is interesting to note that only 34% either disagree or completely disagree. So the ratio of in favour versus against is almost 2:1 (5% had no opinion regarding a stadium, and because of rounding errors the result adds up to only 99%).