Stadiums and Arenas of Canada part 2

[elly63]

Closed dome, track, I'm not feelin' the love, unless they have some major technology involved to get fans closer to the field aside from retractable seats.

I'll reserve judgment though until we see some real architectural drawings.

[SkahHigh]

Just saw the trailer. So Calgary-esque it looks like some members of this forum made it themselves.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Migs

With this image it looks like there would be an incredibly small capacity for the stadium, only seating on one side it looks. So no more Grey Cups for Calgary?

To my eyes it looks like there is seating on both sides, just that the lower rows retract to make way for a track.

I'm not sure what the point of the track is, given that:

a) retracting the lower rows to make way for the track would probably knock seating capacity down to about 15,000 or so, and

b) you'll never attract a major international athletics event with that kind of seating (15,000 really really high up seats), basically Canada Games or national-level meets are about as much as that facility will attract. What will it deliver that Calgary's existing track facilities don't?

Really, why not just deep-six the track? It just seems like a pointless additional expense.

Edit: OK, saw the NEXT website and it appears that the intent is to combine a pro football stadium and a general fieldhouse for use by amateur athletes and the public. It does seem like a decent way to get better bang for the buck, but I honestly wonder how well these uses will mesh together.

[elly63]

[Oilkountry]

30,000 seats according to the website

[Riise]

Source: hockey.modern@CalgaryPuck

[esquire]

Hard to tell from the renderings (which appear extremely preliminary and conceptual), but the general concept for football appears to be an uneven U-shaped seating arrangement with one stand being quite a bit bigger than the other.

A bit surprising that it's only projected to be 30,000 seats though. Calgary has a pretty healthy football fanbase and it'll probably grow with a new facility. I would have expected something bigger than Winnipeg and Regina, maybe in the 35-40 thousand range. But at least it's expandable for major events.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by SkahHigh

Just saw the trailer. So Calgary-esque it looks like some members of this forum made it themselves.

There would have been a few population projection tables thrown in if that were the case

[elly63]

Originally Posted by Oilkountry

30,000 seats according to the website

Not seeing it, can you point out where you found that. Just read a Globe and Mail article that states 30K

[FrankieFlowerpot]

Originally Posted by elly63

Not seeing it, can you point out where you found that. Just read a Globe and Mail article that states 30K

In this picture

https://i.gyazo.com/b2dfb9f1523474490221c8282f5d5bf7.png

[elly63]

Thanks

[Oilkountry]

To tell you the truth I'm not a fan of this concept at all. It seems really amateur to me. I hope they make this a more football friendly stadium. Why in gods name wouldnt they centre the field instead of having 1 side with more seating? And a brand new stadium with a running track at the end. The thought of that makes me cringe. A part of me hopes this doesn't happen. I would rather see a THF built in Calgary than this.

[Boris2k7]

This announcement is not going over well from what I've seen. The mayor has reiterated that there's no public money available for this, and that the merits of this proposal vis-a-vis public benefit are very dubious.

MAYOR NENSHI'S STATEMENT ON A NEW ARENA/FIELDHOUSE PROPOSAL

Post Date: Tuesday, August 18, 2015

The following is a statement from Mayor Naheed Nenshi regarding the "CalgaryNext" announcement made earlier today:

Today, the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation (the company that owns the Calgary Flames and Stampeders, among other professional sports teams) released an intriguing proposal for a new arena, sports fieldhouse, and football stadium. This project has been in the works for some time, and I am pleased that the Flames ownership group is now engaging the public on what they would like to see. I also appreciate that the ownership group has come forward with a definitive financial commitment—something that has rarely been seen in other cities.

However, there are a number of challenges that must now be addressed:

• The proposal has not been part of The City's comprehensive capital planning process, and does not form part of the plan, under which the City's capital funds are fully allocated through 2018.
• The proposal includes incorporating The City’s proposed (and much-needed) fieldhouse into the facility. However, that project, while a very high priority for the City, remains unfunded.
• The funding proposal includes a $250 million “ticket tax”, but it is unclear if The City will be asked to provide the upfront financing for this.
• The proposed site requires significant expenditures to remediate the environmental contamination there. That remediation is also unfunded.
• In addition, the proposal requires the contribution of land, a community revitalization levy and significant investments in infrastructure to make the West Village a complete and vibrant community.
• Therefore, there are very significant requirements for public funding beyond the fieldhouse funding, and there is currently no money.

I have said for a long time—and continue to strongly believe—that public money must be for public benefit and not private profit. The question for Council, the ownership group, and all Calgarians is whether this proposal meets that test.

That said, I truly appreciate the efforts of the ownership group in bringing forward an innovative project in a thoughtful, professional, and ethical way. I firmly believe that these Calgarians want to do something exceptional for our community.

City Council will ensure that that there is significant public engagement and will work cooperatively with the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation and the other orders of government to determine whether this project is viable.

-Mayor Naheed Nenshi

http://calgarymayor.ca/stories/mayor-nenshis-statement-on-a-new-arena-stadium-fieldhouse-proposal

[FrankieFlowerpot]

I see that they will be able to host a major soccer game in the morning and be able to turn the stadium around to host a CFL game in the afternoon

[elly63]

For once we might agree on something (Oilkountry). I'm having a bad vision of this being SkyDome's and Commonwealth's love child. Will fans be far from the action and stifle in the summer heat? I'm hopin' they've put some major new technological thought into this because it seems real 80's to me.

But as I said before this is just an idea and will likely not end up looking like this and hopefully they can find a way to figuratively make the track disappear for other events and get the fans close to the action.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by FrankieFlowerpot

I see that they will be able to host a major soccer game in the morning and be able to turn the stadium around to host a CFL game in the afternoon

Saw that too and thought that was interesting.

[Steveston]

It would be interesting to learn how many temporary seats can be added. A covered facility obviously makes it a candidate to join the Grey Cup rotation, but if they can only get it up to 40,000 seats, that would be a bit disappointing. Though with the constraints of the site (it's very narrow), I can see how they wouldn't be able to plan a full double-loaded set of full grandstands.

It might also be challenging to design the movable seating system so that the angle of the stands provides for good viewing of track & field events AND football/soccer events. Unless, of course, they're not expecting large crowds for the track configuration.

While it's good to say "we're expecting people to arrive via transit, or on foot", is that a realistic option in Calgary? Does the LRT system have the capacity to handle those volumes on a game day? In VanCity, when you get the odd date with a Lions game & Canucks game happening simultaneously, the combo parking/SkyTrain/pedestrian crush can get pretty ugly (and that's with two SkyTrain lines servicing the site).

Finally, it's a bit disappointing that the roof is fixed, and not retractable. As a season ticket holder of the Lions, I've sat under a fixed roof, open air (Empire Field), and retractable roof, and I'll state the obvious that the third option is so far superior to the other two, that it's really no comparison. If they can find the $$ to make that roof even partially retractable, then they'd have a pretty sweet facility. As it is, it seems like something done on cheap.

[Oilkountry]

"Therefore, there are very significant requirements for public funding beyond the fieldhouse funding, and there is currently no money.
I have said for a long time—and continue to strongly believe—that public money must be for public benefit and not private profit. The question for Council, the ownership group, and all Calgarians is whether this proposal meets that test.
That said, I truly appreciate the efforts of the ownership group in bringing forward an innovative project in a thoughtful, professional, and ethical way. I firmly believe that these Calgarians want to do something exceptional for our community.
City Council will ensure that that there is significant public engagement and will work cooperatively with the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation and the other orders of government to determine whether this project is viable.
-Mayor Naheed Nenshi"

Above says alot about this project.

-Build an Arena beside the Saddledome or some other land without the baggage and call it a day, Start trying to gather funding for a more modest Stadium. I honestly believe Nenshi Just put the hammer down before this vision even got off the ground. Welcome to the start of a decade long battle Calgary. Hopefully They just Build the Arena sooner than later and Figure out the Stadium another day/decade instead of dragging this out for 10 years to save on a stadium

Plus like I said before I would rather see a larger THF in Calgary then a domed Stadium with a running track

[thurmas]

Design for this stadium/arena combo obviously are not the finished design at all just something to get people talking. Looks like though the Stamps stadium will be a larger version of the Fargo Dome in North Dakota with 30,000 seats and maybe room in the endzones for temp seats when hosting Grey Cups. I was hoping the Stamps stadium was going to actually look more like a Field House ALA a smaller version of Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis was what I was hoping for.

[ZeDgE]

Originally Posted by Boris2k7

This announcement is not going over well from what I've seen. The mayor has reiterated that there's no public money available for this, and that the merits of this proposal vis-a-vis public benefit are very dubious.



http://calgarymayor.ca/stories/mayor-nenshis-statement-on-a-new-arena-stadium-fieldhouse-proposal

Yea.. we are not seeing a new stadium or arena for another decade at least.. Lucky you Edmonton, getting in when you did. Sigh..