Stadiums and Arenas of Canada part 2

[elly63]

City of Manchester Stadium (now Etihad Stadium) conversion from athletics venue to soccer stadium.



The Commonwealth Games configuration had two tiers of seats



After conversion CoMS had three tiers

Stadium conversion

Sections of the track were removed and relaid at other athletics venues, and the internal ground level was lowered to make way for an additional tier of seating, on terracing already constructed then buried for the original configuration.

The two temporary stands with a total capacity of 16,000 were dismantled, and replaced with a permanent structure of similar design to the existing one at the southern end. This work took nearly a year to complete and added 23,000 permanent seats, increasing the capacity of the converted stadium by 7,000 to approximately 48,000.

The total cost of this conversion was in excess of £40 million, with the track, pitch and seating conversion being funded by the city council at a cost of £22 million; and the installation of bars, restaurants and corporate entertainment areas throughout the stadium being funded by the football club at a cost of £20 million.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by flipv

Sepp Blatter is FIFA. You know, the organization that let us host Women's WC2015 with no participation from Toronto

That wasn't anybody's fault but Toronto, and I certainly didn't feel I missed anything by any games not being there.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by Acajack

So the feds won't fund a new CFL stadium in Halifax or renos to CFL stadiums in other cities, or NHL rinks in other cities, or CHL rinks, or... but they'll just hand over the keys to a billion-dollar NFL stadium in Toronto to a private owner? Really?

That's what some people here seem to think.

[Biff]

Originally Posted by esquire

No, the idea is not to build a multipurpose stadium, but rather to build a track stadium that gets reconfigured to baseball, much like Turner Field in Atlanta.

How it looked in 1996:



You can tell it was built with baseball in mind, and to go there now you'd never know it ever did anything apart from host baseball.

The thing is, the Braves are currently having a new baseball specific stadium built - SunTrust Park. Only 20 years in thie current Olympic stadium.

[Villaggio]

[osmo]

Originally Posted by Biff

The thing is, the Braves are currently having a new baseball specific stadium built - SunTrust Park. Only 20 years in thie current Olympic stadium.

Supposedly it was built in the wrong side of town (Turner Field) and the Braves have blamed this as the reason they have had so-so attendance for now 20 years. They (not outright of course) say its hard for the fan base (white) to come to the ballparks area (mostly black).

But the reality is Atlanta is a crappy sports town in general and the Braves will still draw mediocre crowds once the new car smell dies off the new ballpark being built.

[king10]

Originally Posted by osmo

Rogers will have to dump money in a renovation. Where else are you going to get a downtown ballpark? Blue Jays are stuck there if they want to stay downtown.

I dont know. If you offer Rogers the ability to take over an Olympic stadium say in the Portlands and say here you go its yours, just pay for the conversion cost like Turner field did. I think they'd jump all over it. Say $200 million to convert it instead of $600 mill for a new stadium.

Open air stadium, natural grass, in the portlands. This would be around 2030 after the conversion is done. Rogers Centre would be 41 years old. The Jays will be looking for a new option.

[king10]

Originally Posted by elly63

That's what some people here seem to think.

The Feds would fund anything tied to a World Games. ie. FIFA, Olympics, Pan Ams, Commonwealth.

If Halifax didn't drop the ball and pull out of the Commonwealth games bid they would have got a new stadium partially funded by the Feds.

If Quebec City had waited to build their rink for the 2026 winter olympics they would have got partial fed funding to pay for it.

[king10]

Originally Posted by Biff

The thing is, the Braves are currently having a new baseball specific stadium built - SunTrust Park. Only 20 years in thie current Olympic stadium.

That has more to do with location and the fact that Atlanta builds new stadiums after 20 years.

Basketball, Football, and Baseball all getting new stadiums after 20 years as another poster pointed out.

[Horus]

This story came out a little while ago - I don't recall it coming to light in this forum. Back in May, Sportsnet's Shi Davidi wrote about consideration for a complete dirt infield to be installed for next year's baseball season. With the recent acquisition of All-Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and concerns about his durability playing on the present-day turf infield, perhaps this may become more than a thought exercise? The Jays have a lot invested in Tulowitzki (over $100M in salary still due) for the next 5-6 years.

It was always stated that the primary obstacle in the past was the need to keep the turf surface configurable for the Argos. Now that is going away. Could this happen?

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/blue-jays-mulling-installation-of-dirt-infield/

Blue Jays mulling installation of dirt infield

Shi Davidi
May 21, 2015, 2:14 PM

TORONTO — Logistical issues won’t allow the Toronto Blue Jays to fast-track plans for a natural grass playing surface, but installing a dirt infield in the interim is something they’re examining.

While nothing is set in stone, the intriguing possibility is opened up by the Toronto Argonauts’ departure for BMO Field in 2016, two years ahead of schedule.

That won’t change the 2018 goal for putting grass into Rogers Centre, as first reported by Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star. Resolving issues such as ventilation, humidity control and the development of a sustainable turf blend all require time.

But putting in a dirt infield — no small task in its own right — might be possible before then with the Argos leaving after this season.

“I would say it is something we’ve discussed internally but certainly nothing definitive and certainly won’t put a time on it,” Stephen Brooks, the Blue Jays’ senior vice president, business operations, said via email. “It requires the removal of several inches of concrete, and all the planning and logistics around committed events.”

A dirt infield would ease the physical toll of playing on artificial turf for infielders and baserunners, while also offering a more aesthetically pleasing look.

The Tampa Bay Rays, the only other team in the majors with an artificial surface, have a dirt infield.

[Coldrsx]

http://www.rogersplace.com

[Coldrsx]

Rogers Place construction on time, on budget, officials say

BY DAVID HOWELL, EDMONTON JOURNAL

EDMONTON - Project officials were beaming Tuesday as they showed off the downtown arena quickly taking shape on 104th Avenue.

“It’s like showing baby pictures,” said a smiling Rick Daviss, executive director of the downtown arena project for the City of Edmonton.

“It’s been extremely satisfying to hear the buzz and the excitement ... that’s being generated by the scope and the pace that this development is taking.”

Work on the $480-million arena and adjoining $56.5-million Winter Garden is proceeding on budget and remains on schedule for its planned fall 2016 opening, Daviss said.

Construction began in March 2014.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/...ing+building+details/11248644/story.html

[elly63]

Originally Posted by king10

The Feds would fund anything tied to a World Games. ie. FIFA, Olympics, Pan Ams, Commonwealth.

Yes, but the point is they won't be flipping any new near billion dollar stadium to the NFL after the Games.

I think it would be difficult even if they pleaded poverty and tried to sell it to prospective NFL owners. Political suicide.

[esquire]

^ Ontario taxpayers already gave away a costly mega-stadium to private interests. Seems unlikely that they would do it again right away.

[king10]

Originally Posted by elly63

Yes, but the point is they won't be flipping any new near billion dollar stadium to the NFL after the Games.

I think it would be difficult even if they pleaded poverty and tried to sell it to prospective NFL owners. Political suicide.

Of course not.

They'd still own it, but sign a management agreement similar to BMO field or Copps Colliseum where a large chunk of profits go back to the government and it is managed by a company that manages performance venues for a living.

BMO has actually been bringing in profits for the city of Toronto since its opened.

[Oilkountry]

Originally Posted by esquire

That's more of an Atlanta thing, though. For some stupid reason, governments there keep building new free stadiums, and naturally the owners keep taking them up on it.

The Falcons are leaving the Georgia Dome, which isn't even 25 years old. And get this - the Hawks are trying to get traction on a new arena to replace the Philips Arena which opened in 1999.

http://www.fieldofschemes.com/2015/07/27...ar-old-arena-but-only-if-its-reasonable/

So there is nothing really wrong with Turner Field, it's just Atlanta's fetish for demolishing stadiums once they reach 20.

Given that by 2024 the Skydome will be pushing the half-century mark which is apparently completely untenable by modern-day sports standards, you know the Blue Jays will be crying for a replacement. There's the fix. Olympic Stadium reconstituted into a ballpark after the games. The best part is that Atlanta already did it once so there is a real world case study on what works and what doesn't.

Just to add to that the Omni arena in Atlanta wasn't even 23 years old when they tore it down to build Philips arena

[esquire]

^ It is really astounding how much money the people of Georgia are willing to piss away on sports venues that end up being used for at best a quarter of their actual lifespan.

[king10]

That omni arena looks like it could be Bowsers Castle in Mario 64.

[SkydivePilot]

That Atlanta arena looks like the Black Crypt of Hell. Huh.

[Daveography]

They need to build more ziggurats.