Stadiums & Arenas of Canada, Part 3

[Oilkountry]

Originally Posted by Berklon

I thought it was 40m per year... a 20 year deal for 800m.

Still blows my mind. Naming rights for Calgary's arena could potentially pay for the arena itself in 35-40 years if Toronto is setting a trend.

An argument could be made just approach a company like TD and say pay for half our arena and you can have naming rights for 40 years

It blows my mind that an NHL team can demand a city pay for a large portion of a venue that will make them millions on gate revenue, Sponsorship, concession and Still demand the naming rights revenue. Flames would most likely scoff at the idea of a revenue share of non hockey related revenue.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Few more details on the proposed Halifax stadium in this CBC article:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-...rops-1.5006177


"Anthony LeBlanc, the founding partner of the would-be Atlantic Schooners team, said the estimated cost is now in the ballpark of $120 million to $140 million, down from a previous estimate of $170 million to $190 million.
...
Those details include changing some of the seating in the upper deck to benches and adding general admission areas for about 4,000. The capacity of the domed stadium would still be 24,000, LeBlanc said.
...

Domed? Must be referring to putting a bubble over the field for winter use.

For this cost range, it probably also means cutting back on private suites and club level seating, a cheaper press box, barer bones under the grandstands, fewer elevators, etc. The suites and club seats should be preserved as much as possible to provide that revenue stream to the Schooners (and perhaps the soccer team, if they use the stadium as well)

[someone123]

The stadium proposal for Halifax seems to be getting more and more reasonable. There's a decent case to be made that a $130M or so stadium that has a lot of seating and limited bells and whistles would be a good piece of civic infrastructure. That makes it more likely that the municipality will put in a substantial amount of funding and that's probably the only way a stadium can be built.

Once you correct for inflation and growth in the city this current proposal is similar to some past stadium proposals that Halifax regional council has voted in favour of.

[Chadillaccc]

Really happy to hear more news on the Schooners Stadium. Canada's east is woefully underserved by sports infrastructure, and this will be an enormous step forward. Could the foundation of the Atlantic Schooners be eventually seen as a watershed moment for Halifax, like moving into the leagues of an actually major city in the Canadian context? I only ask because, I'd never really thought about it before, but the Atlantic isn't really represented in any major sport, even curlers from there don't fair all that well at the Brier, in the last 40 years an Atlantic province has only won gold twice.

[JakeLRS]

"Those details include changing some of the seating in the upper deck to benches and adding general admission areas for about 4,000. The capacity of the domed stadium would still be 24,000, LeBlanc said."

Do you really wanna have a stadium looking like McMahon and McGill?

I understand about cutting costs but having bench seats look awful and will surely make the fan experience uncomfortable.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by JakeLRS

"Those details include changing some of the seating in the upper deck to benches and adding general admission areas for about 4,000. The capacity of the domed stadium would still be 24,000, LeBlanc said."

Do you really wanna have a stadium looking like McMahon and McGill?

I understand about cutting costs but having bench seats look awful and will surely make the fan experience uncomfortable.

Yeah, when you're charging $75+ for a ticket as I'm sure they will, it's a bit tough to explain why fans have to sit on bench seats. It's one thing if you inherit an old legacy stadium like Montreal and Calgary, but it's inexcusable for a new stadium unless it's just temporary seating in an end zone.

If they cut back too deeply and provide a lacklustre fan experience as a result, it could come back to bite them. I mean, BMO was small at the outset, but my impression of it never having been there is that it had a good basic array of features and amenities. Not even Winnipeg's minor league baseball park subjects fans to bench seating... neither should the football stadium in Halifax.

[MonctonRad]

I'm most happy with the fact that LeBlanc confirmed that the Schooners will be playing their first year (and maybe their second year too) in Moncton.

I will most definitely be there!

BTW, the Moncton Stadium comes complete with 10,000 actual comfy seats. They will have to erect bleachers in the end zones to bring the stadium up to capacity (21,750), but at least half the fans will have a comfortable spot for their fannies.

[Oilkountry]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I'm most happy with the fact that LeBlanc confirmed that the Schooners will be playing their first year (and maybe their second year too) in Moncton.

I will most definitely be there!

BTW, the Moncton Stadium comes complete with 10,000 actual comfy seats. They will have to erect bleachers in the end zones to bring the stadium up to capacity (21,750), but at least half the fans will have a comfortable spot for their fannies.

Hate to say it but moncton stadium although it serves the city well isnt a stadium that should even be mentioned in the light of the CFL or even the CPL without some major renovations. Its a great venue for Moncton I'm not trashing it by any means but I would be horrified to see a CFL team playing out of it in it's current state even for a few lame duck seasons.

[Oilkountry]

lets also remember that a 130M stadium from scratch Should look something like this.. or better when you factor in the price of ivor wynnes demo. I'm not entirely sure Why they are talking about bench seating

[HomeInMyShoes]

Originally Posted by Oilkountry

Hate to say it but moncton stadium although it serves the city well isnt a stadium that should even be mentioned in the light of the CFL or even the CPL without some major renovations. Its a great venue for Moncton I'm not trashing it by any means but I would be horrified to see a CFL team playing out of it in it's current state even for a few lame duck seasons.

This is the CFL. Surely a new team would at least be as competitive as Montreal, Toronto, and probably Saskatchewan this year. Given that six of ten teams would make the playoffs they've only got to beat one other to have a successful season.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Oilkountry

Hate to say it but moncton stadium although it serves the city well isnt a stadium that should even be mentioned in the light of the CFL or even the CPL without some major renovations. Its a great venue for Moncton I'm not trashing it by any means but I would be horrified to see a CFL team playing out of it in it's current state even for a few lame duck seasons.

Anything goes for temporary stadiums... look at some of the places that have been used recently on a temporary basis in the CFL (Alumni Stadium, Empire Field) or the NFL (StubHub Centre, Oracle Park).

[MonctonRad]

The Moncton Stadium is quintessentially bare bones, but will do in a pinch. If the Schooners play here for a couple of years they will most definitely have to add more permanent washrooms and make some allowances for at least semi permanent concessions.



Any upgrades undertaken will not be a bad investment as I think a CPL franchise for the city in the future is not unreasonable.

[Acajack]

They'll also likely average about 20,000 per game in attendance, which isn't bad at all in today's CFL.

[osmo]

You won't get anything nice for $140 million, with that budget you'll get BMO Field or THF type facilities. Once again, Canada keeps it thrifty with stadium expenditures. There isn't a need to build a palace but basic budget should be $225-250 million, minimum, for a football facility in 2019.

We rank high Mosaic Stadium in Regina but this facility is the ONLY outdoor facility in Canada has was built to a modern standard. The quality of Mosaic should be standard nationwide.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by osmo

We rank high Mosaic Stadium in Regina but this facility is the ONLY outdoor facility in Canada has was built to a modern standard. The quality of Mosaic should be standard nationwide.

IGF is built to a similar standard as Mosaic. Commonwealth is much older than those two but was exceptionally well designed from the start and has been very well maintained as well. BMO has also grown into a nice, modern outdoor venue.

Mosaic is a nice stadium, but it's far from being the only good modern outdoor venue in Canada.

[JHikka]

I don't get this hate-on for BMO and THF. They're both perfectly fine stadiums. I think people need to travel around a bit more and visit some truly awful venues and report back with their findings.

Originally Posted by esquire

IGF is built to a similar standard as Mosaic. Commonwealth is much older than those two but was exceptionally well designed from the start and has been very well maintained as well. BMO has also grown into a nice, modern outdoor venue.

Mosaic is a nice stadium, but it's far from being the only good modern outdoor venue in Canada.

IGF and Mosaic were also built for typically-profitable tenants with decades of history in the local community. Halifax doesn't have this support or history so expecting a similar standard would be foolish, IMO.

What LeBlanc is apparently learning on the fly is that one starts small and then builds from there. You can't arrive and expect a big, grandiose operation upon arrival.

[Chadillaccc]

He might be talking about the design/aesthetic quality of Mosaic, in which case I would agree. However, IGF isn't too far behind Mosaic aesthetically, and I agree that Commonwealth has been exceptionally well maintained.

[NotToScale]

Originally Posted by esquire

IGF is built to a similar standard as Mosaic. Commonwealth is much older than those two but was exceptionally well designed from the start and has been very well maintained as well. BMO has also grown into a nice, modern outdoor venue.

Mosaic is a nice stadium, but it's far from being the only good modern outdoor venue in Canada.

I agree, Mosaic is a beautiful stadium in Canada, I recommend anyone to go and watch an event there. But Commonwealth and IGF are also up there. Don't forget BC Place, a very nice indoor stadium.

[JakeLRS]

Regina consistently sells out games and they easily have the best fan base in the CFL. A stadium like Mosaic works for Regina.

The budget does seem rather tight for Halifax, but hopefully, they could get some condos to be built near the stadium like TD Place which really does make the stadium more vibrant.

Design wise, I hope they go for something that looks like TD Place's South Stands (But have it on both sides) and just connect one endzone with standing space (similar to Mosaic).

[dtown]

Originally Posted by JakeLRS

Regina consistently sells out games and they easily have the best fan base in the CFL. A stadium like Mosaic works for Regina.

Good point. It would be awesome to get another Mosaic or IGF, but the reality is that the city is (more than likely) is going to be responsible for a large portion of the capital cost of a stadium and I just don't see the council going for a stadium in the $180 Million+ range. A more "bare bones" version in the $130 Million range is much more likely to move ahead. The model in Regina is proven, but it's not like that in Halifax, theres still a large crowd of anti stadium at any cost.

Originally Posted by JakeLRS

The budget does seem rather tight for Halifax, but hopefully, they could get some condos to be built near the stadium like TD Place which really does make the stadium more vibrant.

When news first broke about this a year and a half ago now, you kept hearing that they were trying to adopt the "Ottawa model" with condos, restaurant/retail etc, but I havent heard any further details in the past few months.