Halifax Stadium Discussion

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by Empire

I really like the 20,000 seat design at mid-field design....good work. A modest design with good seating capacity should be the goal. Some roof coverage is needed and to have expansion capability for media, club seats and regular seats rounds out a great design.

I wonder how the FIFA committee did with their site inspection today?

The story below was recently posted on CBC.ca. It sounds like the FIFA visit went as well as can be expected considering that Halifax doesn't have a stadium yet. The story mentioned that Ottawa and Edmonton don't have FIFA regulation stadiums yet (I am not sure what is wrong with the Edmonton Commonwealth Stadium since I believe it has hosted FIFA games in the past?).

(source: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/story/2011/10/02/ns-fifa-officials-in-halifax.html )

FIFA officials check out Halifax bid
CBC News Last Updated: Oct 2, 2011 6:45 PM ET
FIFA officials made their final Canadian stop in Halifax on Sunday to scout locations for matches for the 2015 Women's World Cup.

But while there is a desire to see soccer in Halifax, there is no spot yet in which to play.

The deadline is looming for a new stadium, as officials are also choosing locations for the 2014 Under-20 Women's World Cup.
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Council would need to approve construction before the end of December, which FIFA representatives said they were OK with.

"What we're going by is the deliberations we've had with the city officials — that the plan is to take it to the next step, and we're working with them to take it to the next step," said Montopoli.

"You're not the only one who doesn't have a stadium at the moment," added Haenni with a laugh.

Other cities without FIFA-regulated stadiums include Ottawa and Edmonton.
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[CorbeauNoir]

Not particularly related to Halifax, but since I'm in Vancouver for the time being I figured I'd send off some coast-to-coast motivational stadium material now that BC Place is open:






During Whitecaps games they extend tarps from the edge of the upper bowl to create a secondary roof. In this configuration capacity is pretty much the same as what Halifax is (ideally) aiming for, roughly 21000. Really nice intimate scaledown of the stadium. Shame the team sucks, lol.

[fenwick16]

Thanks for the pictures CorbeauNoir. It looks very impressive.

[roccerfeller]

Fenwick, great design...really impressed

However, I think there might be a case for adding at least 2-5 thousand more seats to build it up to "CFL requirements" in the endzones.

I know the new Hamilton Stadium will be reduced to 22,500 seats so this might be something the CFL may set as a new "minimum" requirement

Right now, according to the Commissioner, it is 25 000 seats.


Personally, I think its a bit stupid since 1/4 of the league can't sell out 25k. I think they just base the number off average tickets across the league. But just saying, for the sake of attracting a CFL team to Halifax.

[q12]

Stadium decision deadline looms

HRM council must decide by December
By DAN ARSENAULT Staff Reporter
Mon, Oct 3 - 11:30 AM

Halifax regional council has until December to decide whether to build a proposed stadium for the 2015 Women’s World Cup.

Delegates from FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association visited Halifax on Sunday as part of a seven-city Canadian tour of potential tournament sites. They were told that a decision on a new stadium will be reached this year.

More here:http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/9022266.html

50 comments on this story already.

FIFA crowd pays visit to Waffle City

By CHRIS COCHRANE Sports Columnist
Mon, Oct 3 - 6:56 AM

Welcome to Waffle City, the capital of Nova Scotia and the home of political leaders and bureaucrats who study each move they make from every possible angle before making a decision.

I am not saying there isn’t a time and place to be conservative, especially when taxpayers’ dollars are at risk. But too much checking, cross-checking, listening to critics and playing it safe doesn’t always cut it in the real world and opportunities are missed.

More herehttp://thechronicleherald.ca/Sports/1266413.html

And some whine to go with the waffles.

[q12]

Kudos to Kelly for finally backing stadium idea

thechronicleherald.ca
By MARILLA STEPHENSON
Tue, Oct 4 - 4:53 AM

This time around, the powers that be might actually get around to saying yes to a stadium for Halifax.

It’s pretty late in the game, frankly. The debate about a stadium in the city dates back to the 1980s and chatter about a potential CFL franchise. It never happened.

More here: http://thechronicleherald.ca/Opinion/1266614.html

[roccerfeller]

^better late than never

[Keith P.]

Let's put the stadium on Bayers Rd. Then maybe our esteemed mayor will support fixing that overburdened antique roadway.

[Empire]

Originally Posted by q12

More here: http://thechronicleherald.ca/Opinion/1266614.html

I hope Marilla stays on top of this because she has the story bang on. If anyone can call out the naysayers she can!

[ATL Stadium]

There will be four themed sessions.

October 12th: VISION: What could a HRM stadium be? - Halifax Forum, Maritime Hall - 6 - 9 p.m.
October 13th: Influence LOCATION and DESIGN - Farrell Hall, 276 Windmill Road - 6 - 9 p.m.
November 16th: HIGHLIGHTS and refine DIRECTION - Halifax Forum, Maritime Hall - 6 - 9 p.m.
December 7th: Draft DESIGN Presentation - Farrell Hall, 276 Windmill Road - 6 - 9 p.m.

We should attend all of these sessions with some pointed views....organize it.
The last sessions were too structure towards the end result of what the committee saw and wanted....we need to get better direction moving forward on this...


ATLANTIC STADIUM ~ Atlantic Storm ~ Ride the Wave!

[roccerfeller]

Good luck guys! Hopefully Oct 12 brings some good visions...

[ATL Stadium]

Go to the public sessions.....in here you can say what you want but its in theses public sessions that you can influence the outcome. I know that we feel the opinions expressed here are noticed and listened to but we need to show some level of support for the ideas bantered about here and share them with the public attending these sessions.

The session on Dec 7th is supposedly to display a "draft" design. That makes me feel it has already been completed! Which also would presume to a certain extent a site has been selected and just about everything else.!!!

Maybe not....but how would you design without a site to design for?

What are your thoughts?

[bedfordite_93]

shannon park is the perfect place for it. Easy access to the bridge, the circ, and highway 7 to bedford/sackville. It is definitely more central than somewhere in downtown halifax

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by bedfordite_93

shannon park is the perfect place for it. Easy access to the bridge, the circ, and highway 7 to bedford/sackville. It is definitely more central than somewhere in downtown halifax

Even more central would be the middle of Bedford Basin, but that doesn't mean it's the perfect location. Shannon has a lot of negatives and there are better choices.

[Waye Mason]

Hah, Keith and I agree again. Shannon is next to a highway, which is not the same as easily accessible from the highway. Anyone who has used that tiny ramp off the bridge to go buy a macpass knows what I am talking about. To really link that site into the highway you would need to create a proper interchange there, which is not going to be cheap.

I think that if it has to go off the peninsula that Dartmouth Crossing makes more sense....

[RyeJay]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Even more central would be the middle of Bedford Basin, but that doesn't mean it's the perfect location.

.... Keith.

[Dmajackson]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Even more central would be the middle of Bedford Basin, but that doesn't mean it's the perfect location. Shannon has a lot of negatives and there are better choices.

Well we could use that ever-expanding 2nd moon thats being built on the waterfront ... but the traffic would have to use the Bedford Highway or Route 80 to get there and well we know what those are like everyday. It would be a good incentive to get the fast ferry or LRT built though!

I still vote for Windmill @ Victoria in Burnside. If that can't be done the north-end of the peninsula or Shannon Park would be acceptable.

[fenwick16]

I went to Ivor Wynne Stadium last night to see the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Winnipeg Blue Bombers. I really enjoyed the experience, partly because I really like the city of Hamilton (I lived there for about 5 years). Ivor Wynne is an urban stadium that is surrounded by a residential neighbourhood and is close to the built up downtown area. Here is the Google Map link - http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=Ivor+Wynne+...Balsam+Ave+N,+Hamilton,+Ontario&t=h&z=17. The completely new Ivor Wynne stadium will be built at the same location (but I think that it will be rotated 90° and the adjacent field will be incorporated into it).

I thought that getting a parking spot would be difficult but in fact there were lots of spots close to the stadium. Most of the surrounding streets allow street parking so I was able to get a parking spot 3 blocks from the stadium, for free. Driving out of my parking spot after the game took about 10 seconds (a couple of weeks ago, it took me about 2 hours to get out of one of the large Ralph Wilson Stadium parking lots in Orchard Park, NY).

I took several pictures. The picture below is outside the south stand. There is nothing extraordinary about this stadium but it is now one of my favourites. BMO Field and Ralph Wilson Stadium near Buffalo share the simplicity of the Ivor Wynne Stadium and these are the ones that I enjoyed the most.


The following two images were taken inside the stadium under the south stands. Being at a Hamilton game feels like going to a county fair - it is very enjoyable on a pleasant day, much more than it would be in an enclosed stadium (I had the same impression of Ralph Wilson Stadium and BMO Field).




At Ivor Wynne Stadium, you can go right up to the field during warm-up prior to the game; in this image a few Blue Bomber players are getting some pre-game warm-up. Once inside the stadium, I started wondering why Halifax didn't just set up some stands about 30 years ago for a CFL team (it wouldn't have been that much different than Ivor Wynne Stadium).


This is taken from my seat (or bench spot) in the North Stand. Spectators seem to prefer the North Stand, maybe because it is newer and better equipped with washrooms and concessions. (I think that it was built about 40 years ago but I might be wrong). There was a fairly good turnout at 23,268 attendance which sounds right. (my picture was taken well before the game began since I got there early)


As was the case at BMO Field and Ralph Wilson Stadium there are many open areas within the stadium confines where people can go out in the fresh air. This is a big plus on a pleasant day.



All in all it was a great experience. Honestly speaking, the CFL isn't at the same talent level as the NFL, however, it is Canada's league with a long history so it is still a league that is worth supporting. I just hope that if Halifax does build a stadium that it will be built simply and inexpensively so that it won't be a tax burden for residents but that it will be suitable to attract a CFL team.

[worldlyhaligonian]

Thanks for the pics.

This Halifax stadium discussion boasts alot of content, keep it up guys... I hope we can see something that takes the best of what we've seen.

[Pip Squeak]

Shannon Park is a great location. It could be an amazing place for a Stadium and sports in general.

Also a good place for the Trade Centre.

I wonder if these two projects could be combined?