Quote:
Originally Posted by Zassk
Empire Field did not serve us "well". It was adequate as a stop-gap, nothing more. The location is atrocious and the services were terrible. People liked it because of the nostalgia factor, not because of its inherent qualities. The novelty has worn off already.
Stadiums cost a lot to build these days - especially in locations such as a polluted tidal flat. There is no evidence that BC Place could have been replaced for less than $1 billion. Regardless, building a new stadium every 28 years is incredibly wasteful.
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There are very few stadiums out there costing more than $1 billion. Sure, there is the New Wembly or Cowboy stadium, but those are the exceptions, not the rule. If it was our mission to set out and build the worlds largest cable supported retractable roof, then sure, a new stadium would probably cost $1 billion. But I think the situation was more along the lines: we have a stadium, it needs a new roof, what can we do? The building probably wasn't strong enough to support a full steel roof, and just spectator coverings (like a coliseum) was out of the question as it would be unable to host conventions or concerts reliably. A cable supported roof was really the only option besides replacing the fabric on the old roof.
But that doesn't mean it was really the only thing, or the right thing to do. Other options weren't really considered. It was new roof or fix roof. No real long term options were considered, or what else could have been done with $600 million.
If we built from scratch, we could have made any design we wanted. There are several ballparks and stadium in the States with retractable roofs that come in well under $1 billion. Reliant Stadium at $400 Million, University of Phoenix stadium (which hosts the Cardinals, not just university teams) at $500 million, and Lucas Oil Stadium at $735 million. All of those have quite a bit more seating capacity than BC Place too.
Yes, it does seem like a bit of a waste to tear down a 30 year old building. But on the other hand, the option of waiting 5 or 10 years wasn't considered. Even when the roof is 30 years old, the oldest parts of the building will be 60. The age of the building affects the longevity of the roof, reducing its potential lifespan. We could have cheaply fixed the roof and held out with an adequate park while we consider the future of the city.
The sale of the land of BC Place could have been used to buy land for a new stadium, and it doesn't need to be out in Surrey. The False Creek flats come to mind as a site that could be available 10 to 15 years down the road. The land considered for the White Caps Waterfront stadium could have also been a contender also, as well as land across from the stadium on SEFC.
Building a large, retractable roof stadium near the convention center could justify any extra costs as it could be used to increase capacity of the convention center as a whole (attracting more conventions and expos) and construction could be part of upgrading Waterfront Station. And Portside park could be used to roll out a real grass field for it to grow, creating an amazing Waterfront Complex (where community sports can use the stadiums grass weeknights, then roll it inside for professional sports). Imagine the Convention Center West, Canada Place, and a Waterfront Stadium with integrated Seabus terminal lining the waterfront of Downtown Vancouver. It could have been a reality if we gave BC Place only another 10 years.
That said, we are already on a specific road, so there is little changing it. While it remains to be seen until opening day, it looks like BC Place's remodeling will make it a true world class facility with spectacular architectural design on the roof. I hope the large windows and roof make you feel like the stadium is in the open when really its not.
But I think VancouverPM has every right to complain about the decisions made with BC Place. While I think the new roof looks amazing and will be part of any postcard shot of Vancouver for years, I do question what else we could have done with $550 million. $550 million could have gone a long way to a building that would last longer than the current remodeling and resulted in a more modern facility. In the short term, the $550 million might have been the safest bet, but over the next 50 years I don't know if that will be true.
To put it in perspective, we have squabbled for years over less money to go towards a rapid transit line in the Tri-Cities that will see more riders per day than can sit in BC Place; yet there was no public consultation or alternative plans for BC Place. It was just done. Just think of how many people will board the Evergreen line every year compared with how many people will visit BC Place, but the Evergreen line is still stuck in bureaucratic limbo after years of debate and study while BC Place gets a render and built right away, without any real financing options in place.
On top of it all, many of the people of this province can't even truly enjoy what their taxes just paid for. I was looking today at tickets for the Lions at BC Place and you can't get in the door for under $40. Even nosebleeds along the sidelines go for $90. Good thing I don't have kids, or else I would have to find a sitter, because there is no way I would blow $200 to take a family to sit in the endzone of football game.
Why don't they at least open all the sections of the stadium at lower ticket prices for this year, so they can at least claim that the reopening of BC Place is a 100% capacity sell out? It just seems ridiculous to spend all this money on the stadium and not let as many people as possible enjoy it right after it opens.
For me anyway, the real test of whether BC Place was a good idea or not will come in 2015 when we host the Women's World Cup. With Toronto not participating, the final could be held in any city (they may as well just rename Toronto to Canada City). The main competition for hosting the final will be between BC Place, Commonwealth, and Olympic. If BC Place is not chosen over these aging and rather lackluster stadiums, then spending all this money on a roof will have been pretty much for nothing. If a $600 million roof and upgrade, rivaling the cost of any other complete stadium in Canada, doesn't push BC Place into being the premier facility in Canada, then what was the point?
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