Stadiums and Arenas of Canada part 2

[tomthumb2]

To me, the Big O is still a nice piece of architecture - from the outside. Inside however, is a completely different story. I suppose we could do what Brazil did: win a World Cup bid and spend millions of dollars to remodel the inside but I think they already proved that's a bad idea.

[tomthumb2]

Originally Posted by elly63

Some good pics of Olympic Stadium here in the baseball-fever.com forum

Thanks for sharing Elly - brings back a lot of memories. I remember going to the Big O for the first time as a kid, it was the Als very first game after the Olympics in 76. For a kid who had never been in a big stadium before it was awe inspiring. Will never forget that feeling, walking from the concourse to our seats. It was massive and LOUD!

[Oilkountry]

Originally Posted by tomthumb2

To me, the Big O is still a nice piece of architecture - from the outside. Inside however, is a completely different story. I suppose we could do what Brazil did: win a World Cup bid and spend millions of dollars to remodel the inside but I think they already proved that's a bad idea.

I guess for me to say knock it down is a bit immature. It's always gonna have it's place in Montreal and Canada. However I don't think it should gather the same financial attention BC place got. BC place has 2 full time tenants and is really un replacable to say the least you will never find another Location like BC place has. The big O is standing in the way of a new CFL stadium and MLB stadium ever being built in the city. Unless they are going to redesign it to suite MLB or CFL (by gutting and rebuilding the interior) they shouldn't invest anymore major money into it.

[osmo]

Originally Posted by Oilkountry

I guess for me to say knock it down is a bit immature. It's always gonna have it's place in Montreal and Canada. However I don't think it should gather the same financial attention BC place got. BC place has 2 full time tenants and is really un replacable to say the least you will never find another Location like BC place has. The big O is standing in the way of a new CFL stadium and MLB stadium ever being built in the city. Unless they are going to redesign it to suite MLB or CFL (by gutting and rebuilding the interior) they shouldn't invest anymore major money into it.

There is zero demand for a new CFL stadium in Montreal.

The MLB question will be addressed with ownership and a adequate site.

BC place "full time" tenants play 35 days a year, hardly a rationale for spending 600 million on a reno using that as a reason. The roof was falling apart so they had to fix it... not much more complex then that (was modernized in the process).

Let us not forget SkyDome cost around 800 million in today's dollars and its a dump. Camden Yards opens a year later and it still has 20 years of life left before a major reno.

What you build with and how you maintain is what keeps a stadium looking good. Canadians are cheap so we use cheap materials and don't pay full for maintenance which is why many old stadiums are in better shape than Canadian ones. BC Place is still shiny now but wait till the canvas stars to discolor and fade and it will start looking ramshackle like the pre-reno version. Commonwealth is probably the only Stadium that has aged well here in Canada.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by osmo

Let us not forget SkyDome cost around 800 million in today's dollars and its a dump. Camden Yards opens a year later and it still has 20 years of life left before a major reno.

Camden Yards is a single-purpose, single-sport facility. SkyDome Rogers Centre is hardly a dump and provides for baseball, football, cricket, and whatever else we want to see as feasible. Have you ever actually been to a dump of a stadium or do you just dislike it?

[king10]

Lol rogers centre isnt a dump. It may not be a good baseball venue but it isnt a dump. Rogers spends millions on its upkeep every year constantly making improvements. And it too like camden will be around for another 20 years.

[esquire]

Yeah, I certainly don't agree with any description of Skydome as a dump. Out of style, certainly... it was essentially the finale to the domed stadium era so it wasn't the amazing self-proclaimed eighth wonder of the world for more than a few years before everyone's attention was captured by the old-school faux-retro baseball stadiums that began taking off in the early-mid 90s.

It's a fine venue with decent atmosphere, provided that you can get the place at least 2/3 full, and preferably with the roof open.

[king10]

Originally Posted by esquire

Yeah, I certainly don't agree with any description of Skydome as a dump. Out of style, certainly... it was essentially the finale to the domed stadium era so it wasn't the amazing self-proclaimed eighth wonder of the world for more than a few years before everyone's attention was captured by the old-school faux-retro baseball stadiums that began taking off in the early-mid 90s.

It's a fine venue with decent atmosphere, provided that you can get the place at least 2/3 full, and preferably with the roof open.

Those last two points really improve the atmoshpere. It was great yesterday on Canada day. If they can somehow manage to maintain natural grass and spend $100- 200 mill on a mid life reno (like they said they will do), it will be a good venue for the next 20 years.

[esquire]

Roof + crowd makes all the difference in the world at Skydome. Roof closed + 15K in the stands makes an event look dank and depressing, roof open + 35K in the stands looks awesome.

[Oilkountry]

I cant believe You called rogers centre a dump. It's a great Stadium and even at a 1989 design it stands up well with modern Stadiums. It needs to be modernized but even in it's current set up its a great venue.

[Horus]

Dump:




Not Dump

[elly63]

Originally Posted by osmo

Canadians are cheap so we use cheap materials and don't pay full for maintenance which is why many old stadiums are in better shape than Canadian ones.

Bullshit Calvin, you've said it before and I'll say it again, bullshit!

Just for argument sake, let me know where are these perfect countries that maintain perfect buildings so I can go and find the ones they don't maintain.

[king10]

^^^ ya i dont think Canadian's cheap out on maintaining their stadiums. I'd say the reason the lifespan of Canadian stadiums is so long is because we maintain them and dont blow them up after 20 to 30 years like they do in the states because they lose their new car smell.

Sure we build more bare bones no frills stadiums when compared to the States, but I'd argue we do well in maintaining them and getting longevity out of them.

You want to look at some poorly maintained stadiums, go check out 40 year old stadiums in South America, Central America, even Italy.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by Oilkountry

How the hell is it not? This is what you get for 1.5 Billion?

You're obviously not a fan of Ron Popeil, "But wait there's more"

In total, repaying the mortgage ($1.5 billion) took 30 years (same as a house) for all the facilities combined: the Olympic Village and its subsequent conversion to rental apartments, the Velodrome and its conversion to the Biodôme, and the Stadium and adjacent Sports Centre. Soooo... it's this

"Le Stade Olympique 3" by Tolivero - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons


+ this



+ this





+ this



= 1.5 billion

[matt602]

If Rogers hadn't sunk so much money into the Dome, I think it'd be fair to call it kinda dumpy but as it is now, definitely not. I think a lot to do with Rogers Centre's bad reputation/perception has more to do with the Jays being a constantly dumpy team since 1994/1995. A big stadium like that will always look bad when it's half empty because the product isn't worth watching.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by king10

You want to look at some poorly maintained stadiums, go check out 40 year old stadiums in South America, Central America, even Italy.

You speak the Gospel and there's a lot more countries. I honestly don't know why some people have to denigrate what we have, and I've taken off my pro Canadian hat here. Aside from an amount of countries you can probably count on one hand we match up quite well.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by Oilkountry

Here's what that kind of money should look like. I get it's a different era but holy man montreal has to be embarrassed by now

$1.3B

So this beggars the question; does Cowboys Stadium (or whatever the hell they call it) have it's own double apartment complex, cycling velodrome (or Biodome), and Olympic sized swimming pool and diving tank?

Nice video showing the structures (including the pool) where that 1.5 billion was spent (not sure what that last minute was about)

• Video Link

[elly63]

A couple of more good Olympic Stadium vids, the first is en francais the latter is an amateur effort but has some good early footage.

• Video Link

• Video Link

[elly63]

While I'm still vomiting Olympic Stadium info (and I'm doing this from memory) I believe the Velodrome used to hold the world's record (maybe it still does?) for the amount of weight (roof structure) lifted by hydraulic jacks (4 inches?). Somebody correct me on this, if you care (not dare)

I can't remember if I posted this here before or not but it is interesting reading.

The 1976 Montreal Olympics: A Case Study of a Project Management Failure

[osmo]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Camden Yards is a single-purpose, single-sport facility. SkyDome Rogers Centre is hardly a dump and provides for baseball, football, cricket, and whatever else we want to see as feasible. Have you ever actually been to a dump of a stadium or do you just dislike it?

Yes. I'm there at least 10 days a year, Its a pit and needs a large reno. After a fixer-up it will be fine. Nothing wrong with the whole complex but it needs a big touch up as its showing its age. They need to find a way to get as much light in there as possible and introduce more glass to warm up the concrete. It only gets away with it because Tampa and Oakland are on such another level of crap and quirkiness. SkyDome doesn't have open sludge pits right beside the stadium like Oakland, and it isn't a glorified circus big top either like Tampa. SkyDome isn't a crap hole, but its a aging relic and needs some plastic surgery, its more like a aging celebrity that needs some botox and maybe a new set if twins.


Oddly enough I find Molson Stadium charming. It is what it is and it doesn't hide it. It has a lot of raw dumpy charm. Fenway has the same effect as you forget about the smell of urine, cracked walkways, and leaky pipes with all the charm it has as a park.