Stadiums and Arenas of Canada part 2

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by osmo

MLSE can keep in thinking they are ugly sisters of the family but the Raptors in 2 years will being in more revenue each year than the Leafs.


:

Is this really true?

[Horus]

Originally Posted by osmo

The new ACC board looks good, but what about the Raptors?

MLSE can keep in thinking they are ugly sisters of the family but the Raptors in 2 years will being in more revenue each year than the Leafs.


MLSE needs to invest real money into making hte arena truly dual tennant and not the hodge podge 50/50 split that it is now. The irony also is that it was the NBA All-Star game that mandated this new board investment as the NBA made it a stipulation of Toronto winning its bid for the game. It would be ideal if some sort of Raptors compenent was put into the board also but I guess thats hard to do when your logo now is just a basketball...

Nobody says the giant Leaf inside the scoreboard has to ONLY light up in blue as shown in the picture. With LED lighting as it is, it can just as easily light up in red or purple to match Raptor branding. The maple leaf is integrated into the Raptor uniform as it is, so it's no stretch at all to have that scoreboard align with the ACC's other tenant(s - the Rock could also have a use for a Red Maple Leaf - it's in their logo too)

[esquire]

Originally Posted by king10

I can't see Calgary going with no stadium. Once Mosaic 2.0 is built Calgary will by far have the worst stadium in the CFL. That won't sit well in Canada's 4th largest city with an abundance of wealth during good economic times.

Will it really the worst "by far"?

It may be the worst after this season, but I'd say that the eastern division CFL stadiums could at least give McMahon some stiff competition:

-Molson Stadium... it's ultra-urban and it has loads of charm, but it's old and cramped.

-TD Place... also a good urban location and nicely renovated, but at its core it's basically a 60s grandstand facing a nice but really small new stand, with a huge empty void at one end of the field

-Tim Hortons Field... the most stripped down, ultra-basic underwhelming new stadium imaginable. Like the Nissan Micra of stadiums.

-BMO Field... kind of a weird bolted-together undersized franken-stadium.

[SkahHigh]

^I love Percival Molson and I don't find it that cramped (not enough to be wishing a new stadium anyway). It has a near-perfect blend of nature and urbanity and is conveniently located right at the edge of Downtown on Park Avenue (not far from McGill and Peel Metro stations).

I bet if you ask season ticket holders if they'd rather have a new stadium or keep Molson, most of them (including me) would want to keep Molson.

This photo represents the charm best:


http://en.montrealalouettes.com/uploads/...papers/08-10-10-PMolsonStadium_south.jpg

[Oilkountry]

Originally Posted by osmo

The new ACC board looks good, but what about the Raptors?

MLSE can keep in thinking they are ugly sisters of the family but the Raptors in 2 years will being in more revenue each year than the Leafs.


MLSE needs to invest real money into making hte arena truly dual tennant and not the hodge podge 50/50 split that it is now. The irony also is that it was the NBA All-Star game that mandated this new board investment as the NBA made it a stipulation of Toronto winning its bid for the game. It would be ideal if some sort of Raptors compenent was put into the board also but I guess thats hard to do when your logo now is just a basketball...

Did you read the article? it will shine raptors colors and flash every time they hit a basket

Not only that the maple leaf is a part of MLSE not just the Leafs

[Oilkountry]

Originally Posted by esquire

Will it really the worst "by far"?

It may be the worst after this season, but I'd say that the eastern division CFL stadiums could at least give McMahon some stiff competition:

-Molson Stadium... it's ultra-urban and it has loads of charm, but it's old and cramped.

-TD Place... also a good urban location and nicely renovated, but at its core it's basically a 60s grandstand facing a nice but really small new stand, with a huge empty void at one end of the field

-Tim Hortons Field... the most stripped down, ultra-basic underwhelming new stadium imaginable. Like the Nissan Micra of stadiums.

-BMO Field... kind of a weird bolted-together undersized franken-stadium.

Molson by far is the worst. It's old and ugly and IMO Should be laughed at as a "pro sports venue" this acceptance of a stadium is what will keep the CFL's image of a bush league . They aren't even the main tenants. Such a joke, it's the embarrassment of the league

The stamps need a new home but at least what they have now is semi intimate and close to the field and doesn't look like something from the medieval times...I think you could renovate that venue into a decent home.

You cant grup TD,BMO and THF in the same class as Molson and Mcmahan

[king10]

Originally Posted by esquire

Will it really the worst "by far"?

It may be the worst after this season, but I'd say that the eastern division CFL stadiums could at least give McMahon some stiff competition:

-Molson Stadium... it's ultra-urban and it has loads of charm, but it's old and cramped.

-TD Place... also a good urban location and nicely renovated, but at its core it's basically a 60s grandstand facing a nice but really small new stand, with a huge empty void at one end of the field

-Tim Hortons Field... the most stripped down, ultra-basic underwhelming new stadium imaginable. Like the Nissan Micra of stadiums.

-BMO Field... kind of a weird bolted-together undersized franken-stadium.

Yes by far. All the above you mentioned save for Molson stadium have modren amenities and are brand new. Im talking about quality of facilities, not if they have endzone seats or not or how big the stands are.

THF despite its no frills is night and day compared to Ivor Wynne. Just last month posters were saying McMahon was worse than Ivor Wynne. THF has tons of washrooms. the widest leg rooms and largest seats out of any outdoor stadium in Canada. Premium catering, endzone patios, etc etc.

BMO with the recent upgrades is not bolted together. All the new additions are concrete. 4 different club sections. 40 suites. party suites. roof. And not sure where you're getting undersized. At its CFL capacity it will be larger than all 3 other CFL stadiums in the east.

The only stadium relatively as poor as McMahon would be Molson. But McMahon still takes the cake.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Oilkountry

Molson by far is the worst. It's old and ugly and IMO Should be laughed at as a "pro sports venue" this acceptance of a stadium is what will keep the CFL's image of a bush league . They aren't even the main tenants. Such a joke, it's the embarrassment of the league

They are without a doubt the main tenants of that stadium. It was falling apart until the Als moved in...without the Als there would have been no renovation or expansion.

But that said, the stadium is really small and basic. But like I said, those shortcomings are offset by its historic charm (even though the Als themselves don't really have a lengthy and grand history in that venue) and lovely urban setting. In some ways it's allowed off the hook in much the same way that Fenway Park is not held up to modern standards.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by esquire

They are without a doubt the main tenants of that stadium. It was falling apart until the Als moved in...without the Als there would have been no renovation or expansion.

But that said, the stadium is really small and basic. But like I said, those shortcomings are offset by its historic charm (even though the Als themselves don't really have a lengthy and grand history in that venue) and lovely urban setting. In some ways it's allowed off the hook in much the same way that Fenway Park is not held up to modern standards.

I was just thinking of that comparison. It's kind of a poor man's Fenway.

[osmo]

Originally Posted by Horus

Nobody says the giant Leaf inside the scoreboard has to ONLY light up in blue as shown in the picture. With LED lighting as it is, it can just as easily light up in red or purple to match Raptor branding. The maple leaf is integrated into the Raptor uniform as it is, so it's no stretch at all to have that scoreboard align with the ACC's other tenant(s - the Rock could also have a use for a Red Maple Leaf - it's in their logo too)

I understand that now. I was worried the leaf was styled like the Maple Leafs logo but they attempted to style it as best as they could to a "Maple Leaf" even though it does look like the Maple Leaf off the Leafs alternate jersey.

Actually what am I saying, it is cleary just a massive Air Canada logo in hiding.

[osmo]

Molson has a dumpy charm. Its like your Uncles ugly house that needs a reno but is still comfy and homey feeling.

I think the fact it is built into a hill and on a campus that offer a unqiue setting for Canadian stadiums. Its a hole but it always feels cool being there.

[king10]

Originally Posted by esquire

They are without a doubt the main tenants of that stadium. It was falling apart until the Als moved in...without the Als there would have been no renovation or expansion.

But that said, the stadium is really small and basic. But like I said, those shortcomings are offset by its historic charm (even though the Als themselves don't really have a lengthy and grand history in that venue) and lovely urban setting. In some ways it's allowed off the hook in much the same way that Fenway Park is not held up to modern standards.

I think what he was getting at regarding being main tennants was the fact that after games, no Al's signage is allowed to remain. They can't practice there. No logos on the field. After every game all Al's everything has to be removed.

355 days a year, McGill and its athletics programs are its primary tennants.

Yes without the Al's there would be no renovation. That still doesn't make them main tennants. Just means they paid to renovate someone else's place while they were renting it.

I love Molson stadium though. The setting is beautiful on a fall day.

[tomthumb2]

Originally Posted by Oilkountry

Yeah man I doubt it. It's gonna be a stripped down version of whatever dream they have. Edmonton's project came in at a cost of 650M So if calgary is looking for the same arena and a feild house and stadium with all the same bells and whistles Edmonton for It's gonna be close to a billion dollar project

Totally agree with you there Oil. Don't have to be a math wizard to figure out that this would be at least 2x the amount of Edmonton's. Timing was perfect for Edmonton, Calgary waited way too long and now the price may be that this doesn't get done at all - at least postponed for a few years until Calgary recovers. I'd rather have that happen then have some crappy watered down version.

[esquire]

^ Yeah, Edmonton caught the last bus to poshtown. It'll be interesting to see what Calgary manages to do, whether it cobbles together a proposal in the current climate, or simply renovates the Saddledome and waits things out for a few years in hopes of a recovery.

The era that a building is built makes a big difference... looking at Winnipeg, MTS Centre (conceived in the late 90s when Winnipeg still had a recession hangover, completed 2004) was very modest by NHL standards, while IGF, which was first pitched when were in relatively good economic times, is comparatively opulent by CFL standards.

[tomthumb2]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ Yeah, Edmonton caught the last bus to poshtown. It'll be interesting to see what Calgary manages to do, whether it cobbles together a proposal in the current climate, or simply renovates the Saddledome and waits things out for a few years in hopes of a recovery.

The era that a building is built makes a big difference... looking at Winnipeg, MTS Centre (conceived in the late 90s when Winnipeg still had a recession hangover, completed 2004) was very modest by NHL standards, while IGF, which was first pitched when were in relatively good economic times, is comparatively opulent by CFL standards.

Yeah I never thought about the blandness of those 90's designs until I saw all the pics in this thread. None of them could be called "iconic" that's for sure. They look more like hospitals than hockey arenas. Its almost like they gave zero thought whatsoever to the exterior look.

Not sure what else you could do with the Saddledome - it's been renovated already and was just fixed up after the flood. Can't really do anything with the concourse area, short of knocking down walls and expanding them outwards which is highly unlikely. McMahon is even more hopeless. They added a jumbotron, some screens in the concourse and some extra porta-potties and called that "improvements". It's almost impossible to do anything else to it IMO. Sort of like the situation with that one side in Ottawa. You can only put on so much lipstick on an old pig.

[Nathan]

Instead of writing a new post, I'll just post this from the Mosaic Stadium 2.0 thread:

Originally Posted by Stormer

New Webcam!

http://www.reginarevitalization.ca/stadiumcam/

On the time lapse you can watch the trains go by.

First webcam is a a view from the East, the new one looks from the South, so you can see into the stadium.

[tomthumb2]

Originally Posted by Nathan

Instead of writing a new post, I'll just post this from the Mosaic Stadium 2.0 thread:



First webcam is a a view from the East, the new one looks from the South, so you can see into the stadium.

Was just in Regina and have to say that stadium looks even more impressive up close. I don't see how anyone will miss Taylor Field that's for sure. My only small criticism is the location. I friend showed me where it was originally supposed to go - just north of the casino and downtown. That would have been way better, with all the pubs and restaurants around there. Where it is now is kind of an ugly neighborhood with train tracks right beside it. I did see a DQ though so I bet the owner of that will be happy, lol.

[Nathan]

Originally Posted by tomthumb2

Was just in Regina and have to say that stadium looks even more impressive up close. I don't see how anyone will miss Taylor Field that's for sure. My only small criticism is the location. I friend showed me where it was originally supposed to go - just north of the casino and downtown. That would have been way better, with all the pubs and restaurants around there. Where it is now is kind of an ugly neighborhood with train tracks right beside it. I did see a DQ though so I bet the owner of that will be happy, lol.

Unfortunately CP decided they didn't want to part with as much land as originally planned and the stadium couldn't fit on the smaller footprint. (It would have been beside the tracks there too BTW).

Where it is now is on the exhibition grounds is a block further than the current stadium from downtown. So, still well within walking/stumbling distance. I think they are supposed to be building a path-connector of sorts to make the journey easier too. Definitely the second best option available in terms of location, but yeah, a bit of a let-down from where it could have been.

[osmo]

The location for the new Mosiac is fine. Much better to use free municpal land versus using future prime real estate to plunk down a Stadium that will get use 12-15 days out of the year.

[North_Regina_Boy]

Originally Posted by osmo

The location for the new Mosiac is fine. Much better to use free municpal land versus using future prime real estate to plunk down a Stadium that will get use 12-15 days out of the year.

Mosaic gets used a lot more than people think.

Riders 10-12 times / year
Regina Rams 4-5 times / year
Regina High School Football 15 times / year or so
Regina Outdoor Soccer Plays when they have free times. So 3-4 days a week during the spring/summer/fall.

Not to mention the new indoor heated spaces in the new stadium I can only imagine will have functions like Christmas parties, charity events, weddings, business meetings. Programming for the stadium I can only imagine will be more than just football events it is likely to host a multitude of events. Similar to the function that the Green and White lounge in the existing Mosaic does now, only on a bigger scale I imagine, as it has twice the area of the existing stadium.