Stadiums and Arenas of Canada

[elly63]

1970's Montreal

Prior to building Stade Olympique, several other stadium concepts were considered in Montreal. These designs are among those that were never built.

[esquire]

Following Ed's lead, here's my ranking of the stadiums. This is an assessment of the facilities mainly on their own merits as buildings as compared to the overall fan experience.

I've attended games in all of the CFL stadiums except for the one in Ottawa, but I've been inside the place and have a pretty good idea of what it's like.

1. Rogers Centre. Don't care what anyone says, this place is a palace. A great place to watch football in spite of Toronto's horrible fan support.

2. BC Place. Beautifully renovated and protected from the elements. Spacious and comfortable. This place is awesome when there's a large crowd in attendance.

3. Investors Group Field. Everything that a new CFL stadium should be. Best overall fan experience.

4. Commonwealth Stadium. The fact that it has aged so well is testament to its great design. Really the only CFL stadium that looks like it was built to NFL standards.

5. McMahon Stadium. Basic and a bit outdated but still good.

6. Frank Clair Stadium (pre-reno). Nothing flashy but provides a basic level of fan amenities.

7. Molson Stadium. Old and small but offers good sightlines, and has been well renovated. Oddly detached fanbase that knows way less about the CFL and football in general than in other cities (but they still yell, scream and make noise).

8. Ivor Wynne Stadium. This facility had a lot character, but its time came and went.

9. Mosaic Stadium. This frankenstein stadium is horribly primitive and outdated. Obviously the fan experience is impressive, but as a building this place is ready for demolition.

[elly63]

This kinda rings a bell

Trillium Dome Concept

This plan for a dome in Mississauga, Ontario was considered in 1983. The site was approximately 25 kilometers from Toronto. Plans were for a publicly financed, multipurpose dome that seated approximately 65,000. Due to land acquistion problems, the plan was abandoned and the SkyDome was eventually built.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by elly63

1970's Montreal

Prior to building Stade Olympique, several other stadium concepts were considered in Montreal. These designs are among those that were never built.

I get the first one at the top but the second one is actually the existing Aréna Maurice-Richard in east end Montreal. It was built 10-15 years before the Olympic complex that is now basically a part of. The Olympic complex is located right behind (above) the arena you can see there.

The street at the bottom is Boulevard Viau and the street to left is Sherbrooke going west towards downtown.

EDIT: the street to the left is actually Pierre-de-Coubertin. Sherbrooke is the one coming in diagonally from the right.

[esquire]

Great pics, elly. I haven't seen those Skydome concepts in years!

[elly63]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I get the first one at the top but the second one is actually the existing Aréna Maurice-Richard in east end Montreal. It was built 10-15 years before the Olympic complex that is now basically a part of. The Olympic complex is located right behind (above) the arena you can see there

That's what I thought, re Maurice Richard but I wasn't sure about the top right.

[FrankieFlowerpot]

Originally Posted by elly63

I've actually seen this model in the architects office

[elly63]

Originally Posted by esquire

Great pics, elly. I haven't seen those Skydome concepts in years!

My favourite at the time was the Bregman and Hamann Architects design. I think many stadiums since have borrowed from that concept. IIRC part of the reason the other designs lost was the amount of permanent shadow they cast on the field.

Bregman and Hamann Architects

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by esquire

Following Ed's lead, here's my ranking of the stadiums. This is an assessment of the facilities mainly on their own merits as buildings as compared to the overall fan experience.

I've attended games in all of the CFL stadiums except for the one in Ottawa, but I've been inside the place and have a pretty good idea of what it's like.

1. Rogers Centre. Don't care what anyone says, this place is a palace. A great place to watch football in spite of Toronto's horrible fan support.

2. BC Place. Beautifully renovated and protected from the elements. Spacious and comfortable. This place is awesome when there's a large crowd in attendance.

3. Investors Group Field. Everything that a new CFL stadium should be. Best overall fan experience.

4. Commonwealth Stadium. The fact that it has aged so well is testament to its great design. Really the only CFL stadium that looks like it was built to NFL standards.

5. McMahon Stadium. Basic and a bit outdated but still good.

6. Frank Clair Stadium (pre-reno). Nothing flashy but provides a basic level of fan amenities.

7. Molson Stadium. Old and small but offers good sightlines, and has been well renovated. Oddly detached fanbase that knows way less about the CFL and football in general than in other cities (but they still yell, scream and make noise).

8. Ivor Wynne Stadium. This facility had a lot character, but its time came and went.

9. Mosaic Stadium. This frankenstein stadium is horribly primitive and outdated. Obviously the fan experience is impressive, but as a building this place is ready for demolition.

I've always loved Commonwealth. It's the little brother of Arrowhead in Kansas City which has also aged very well I'd say.

Frank Clair I've been to a million times and though the old vibes were there in "Montreal Forum/Maple Leaf Gardens" sort of way, it wasn't that pleasant in the last 10 years or so. I generally sat in the south stands and it wasn't the most reassuring structure to share with 10,000 people stomping up and down.

I also think Rogers Centre wouldn't get dissed so much if CFL attendance was in the 35-40,000 range. Same goes for Olympic Stadium, which is an awesome looking stadium from the outside, and pretty cool on the inside when there is a decent-sized crowd.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by esquire

1. Rogers Centre. Don't care what anyone says, this place is a palace. A great place to watch football in spite of Toronto's horrible fan support.

2. BC Place. Beautifully renovated and protected from the elements. Spacious and comfortable. This place is awesome when there's a large crowd in attendance.

Just curious why you place the RC above BC Place, appreciate your list.

[Chadillaccc]

Thank the gods that Trillium Stadium never happened

[esquire]

Originally Posted by elly63

Just curious why you place the RC above BC Place, appreciate your list.

There isn't much not to love about Rogers Centre (once you factor out tepid fan support). Location is perfect, the facilities are very spacious and comfortable, the amenities are top notch, the protection from the elements is wonderful, the stadium itself has a great big-time look... the supposed drawbacks of the place like the low rise of the lower grandstands is pretty small potatoes in my books.

I have to admit I was thinking more of pre-renovation BC Place since I haven't attended a game there post-renos. The old version was a bit outdated and somewhat spartan, although I concede that the new version now has a lot of the amenities that only Skydome used to have like a retractable roof and a massive jumbotron. Now that I think about it, I could probably say that Rogers Centre and BC Place are effectively tied for first.

Although it isn't regularly used, I like Montreal's Olympic Stadium for football. The place is starting to feel like a bit of a ruin with the sketchy roof that could collapse at any moment, the grungy, dirty appearance of much of the place, the lack of any signage inside the bowl, and the vast void that exists in the scoreboard endzone. But once the place fills up with fans, there is something about the place that is very endearing. And it is a pretty comfortable place to watch a game to boot.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

Thank the gods that Trillium Stadium never happened

It reminded me slightly of a proposal for the Big O's roof

[EdFromOttawa]

Originally Posted by esquire

There isn't much not to love about Rogers Centre (once you factor out tepid fan support). Location is perfect, the facilities are very spacious and comfortable, the amenities are top notch, the protection from the elements is wonderful, the stadium itself has a great big-time look... the supposed drawbacks of the place like the low rise of the lower grandstands is pretty small potatoes in my books.

I have to admit I was thinking more of pre-renovation BC Place since I haven't attended a game there post-renos. The old version was a bit outdated and somewhat spartan, although I concede that the new version now has a lot of the amenities that only Skydome used to have like a retractable roof and a massive jumbotron. Now that I think about it, I could probably say that Rogers Centre and BC Place are effectively tied for first.

Although it isn't regularly used, I like Montreal's Olympic Stadium for football. The place is starting to feel like a bit of a ruin with the sketchy roof that could collapse at any moment, the grungy, dirty appearance of much of the place, the lack of any signage inside the bowl, and the vast void that exists in the scoreboard endzone. But once the place fills up with fans, there is something about the place that is very endearing. And it is a pretty comfortable place to watch a game to boot.

Ditto with all these comments. I never understood the Rogers Center/Olympic Stadium hate....

Yah the latter is a bit dirty and broken ass now, but it's still better than Molson.

Rogers Center is big league. Full stop. Incredible facility.

If you want your team to be worth something, you play in a venue with that kind of presence.

[many]

If you consider rogers centre to be a good stadium for baseball then you not a true baseball fan. If the jays had real baseball field not would I only buy season tickets I would be willing to get personal seat license like what is offered with MLSE. So would other baseball fans that I know.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by many

If you consider rogers centre to be a good stadium for baseball then you not a true baseball fan. If the jays had real baseball field not would I only buy season tickets I would be willing to get personal seat license like what is offered with MLSE. So would other baseball fans that I know.

No one who makes season ticket decisions on the basis of what the playing surface is made of should be considered a true baseball fan.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by esquire

No one who makes season ticket decisions on the basis of what the playing surface is made of should be considered a true baseball fan.

Have to agree, a true fan will get enjoyment out of any level.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by Berklon

But to people living in the Hamilton area whose opinions only matter (not opinions from those who are constantly cheerleading this from hundreds or thousands of miles away) it's a disappointment. I'm not going to re-hash the reasons why - if anyone wants to learn about it, they can go to the Hamilton sub-forum.

Everyone's opinions matter, Canada-wide. Almost half of the funding for this stadium is coming from the federal contribution to the Pan Ams.

The debate and the aftermath are something I understand very well. That whole period was a disappointment to me - regarding both the city and the team. I'm still disappointed in the team for not putting up some cash, and I'm a season ticket holder, though I think/hope they'll eventually invest in improvements.

But no matter where the stadium ended up, or what it would have looked like, there would be disappointed people and there will be grumbling and criticism for a long time. I just think it's time to try to move past all that, and despite the other options there are a lot of positives about the building and the site that we need to begin to embrace.

[Migs]

Originally Posted by Nathan

I believe the designs are to be released and then city administration will announce a decision a little later based on specs, cost, useability, etc.

Only the winning design will be released to the public. Bidders don't tend to want their losing ideas out there.

[many]

Originally Posted by esquire

No one who makes season ticket decisions on the basis of what the playing surface is made of should be considered a true baseball fan.

When you are at baseball game it should feel sound and smell like baseball game. For example the outfield, should have unique look like what you have at get at Fenway, Yankee stadium, San Francisco stadium, even in Houston you get a unique look. Almost ever stadiums has this and not what rogers has which symmetrical look from left to right.

Even how they celebrate past players with sticking the name on blue rectangle and pasting it on cement facing look so cheap and devalues the accomplishment of past players compared to how other teams do it.