Halifax Stadium Discussion - Page 233

MonctonRad · #**4641** Posted **Jun 25, 2012, 2:57 AM**

I was down at Saint Mary's Stadium today.

My son is on the New Brunswick provincial under 18 football team and they played an exhibition game against Team NS today, prior to attending the Football Canada Cup in London Ontario next month.

In any event, while there, I found out some information from a source who should be knowledgeable on such matters that the Board of Governors of Saint Mary's has given the green light to renovating the stadium.

According to my source, the renovations would be a three stage process. Stage one would be the removal of the current dilapidated bleachers, with the construction of a new set of stands in their place with a capacity of 6,000 seats. Phase two would be the construction of new stands on the "tower" side of the field, partly overhanging the current track with a capacity of 4,000 seats. Phase three would be the addition of new stands in the end zone. The net result would be a new stadium with a capacity slightly greater than the current Moncton Stadium.

Construction would begin next year and be phased in over several years. The resulting stadium would still be too small for the CFL, but would allow for repatriation of the Uteck Bowl from Moncton.

I'm fine with this. To my mind, the Uteck Bowl does not belong in Moncton. It has too much of a history in Halifax.

If this is all true, I have no idea how the university is securing funding for this project.

someone123 · #**4642** Posted **Jun 25, 2012, 5:26 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

If this is all true, I have no idea how the university is securing funding for this project.

It doesn't sound like a very expensive project if all they're doing is putting in 10,000-15,000 new seats. St. Mary's could probably fund that by itself, particularly if they got a donation. Perhaps they intend to ask the city or province for a few million as well.

fenwick16 · #**4643** Posted **Jun 25, 2012, 11:50 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

According to my source, the renovations would be a three stage process. Stage one would be the removal of the current dilapidated bleachers, with the construction of a new set of stands in their place with a capacity of 6,000 seats. Phase two would be the construction of new stands on the "tower" side of the field, partly overhanging the current track with a capacity of 4,000 seats. Phase three would be the addition of new stands in the end zone. The net result would be a new stadium with a capacity slightly greater than the current Moncton Stadium.

Construction would begin next year and be phased in over several years. The resulting stadium would still be too small for the CFL, but would allow for repatriation of the Uteck Bowl from Moncton.

This sounds reasonable. There are renderings on the SMU campus masterplan that show about 6,000 seats on the current stadium side. Here is the link - http://www.smu.ca/masterplan/core.html.

It would be great if they made allowances to add another tier on the 6,000 seat size to have 9000 on the one side (in the future). A Percival Molson (Montreal) type stadium could conceivably be built at SMU.

I think that the best hope that Halifax has of getting a CFL team will be at the SMU campus (if the stadium is designed to allow for expansion to 25,000). It could be built so that additional seats could be added to the track area when needed. However, the Tower athletic building would have to be renovated to allow many more seats on that side. It could be done by having a combination athletic building + stadium stands such as Akron's InfoCision Stadium. The SMU Tower Athletic side would actually have the most room for seating stands through a major renovation.

The image below of the Akron Stadium shows a combination seating area/classroom building (my image from this post - http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=174940&page=195)

I would contribute some money to such a stadium. The advantage of a fund raising drive through SMU is that they are probably set up as a charitable organization and can issue tax receipts that can be used as an income tax deduction.

MonctonRad · #**4644** Posted **Jun 25, 2012, 4:38 PM**

Quote:

The Stadium Building (C-6 & OS5)

The mound and bleachers should be replaced with a new Stadium Building that contains a mix of uses, including bleachers, food outlets, retail uses - such as the bookstore - and classrooms. A connection to the Loyola Building can be considered but should maintain pedestrian access between the Residence Terrace and the McNally Courtyard.

This sounds exactly like what my source was talking about Fenwick.

If all three phases go ahead, it sounds like the plan would be for a stadium with a capacity of about 12-15,000 seats. I don't think it would be expandible however.....

someone123 · #**4645** Posted **Jun 25, 2012, 5:37 PM**

I don't know what the Tower building is like inside, but it is not very tall. It's not difficult to imagine renovating the building so seating can go on the roof.

Wasn't there also talk of Dal and SMU sharing a new arena? That could free up some land on the SMU campus.

c-way-dude · #**4646** Posted **Jul 1, 2012, 8:44 PM**

If any public money goes into a major renovation of Huskie's Stadium, it probably means that there will never be a CFL-calibre stadium in Halifax.

BrantfordPete · #**4647** Posted **Jul 3, 2012, 1:31 AM**

If any public money does go into this project I hope one of the conditions is that the stadium is expandable to 25 000 seats. It would certainly make it a worthwhile investment for the province that way if a CFL team were able to call Halifax home.

c-way-dude · #**4648** Posted **Jul 7, 2012, 1:16 PM**

The Canadian Soccer Association is going to bid to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/opinion/2012/07/canadian-soccer-association-to-bid-for-2026-world-cup.html

Copes · #**4649** Posted **Jul 7, 2012, 1:31 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by c-way-dude

The Canadian Soccer Association is going to bid to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/opinion/2012/07/canadian-soccer-association-to-bid-for-2026-world-cup.html

I was about to post this. Halifax would, in my opinion, be the obvious choice to host games in Atlantic Canada. Likely, if this were to happen, Soccer stadiums would be converted to CFL stadiums after use.

fenwick16 · #**4650** Posted **Jul 7, 2012, 1:51 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by c-way-dude

The Canadian Soccer Association is going to bid to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/opinion/2012/07/canadian-soccer-association-to-bid-for-2026-world-cup.html

That's exciting for Canada. However, it is kind of sad for Halifax considering its recent FIFA Women's Cup effort. I am beginning to think the option to buy land at Shannon Park was just political talk to pacify the people who supported a stadium. Thanks to the Councillor (Reg somebody?) who made sure that it was just an option and not a commitment.

c-way-dude · #**4651** Posted **Jul 7, 2012, 8:00 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by fenwick16

That's exciting for Canada. However, it is kind of sad for Halifax considering its recent FIFA Women's Cup effort. I am beginning to think the option to buy land at Shannon Park was just political talk to pacify the people who supported a stadium. Thanks to the Councillor (Reg somebody?) who made sure that it was just an option and not a commitment.

The scale of the Men's FIFA World Cup is what would makes it worth considering building a quality stadium. The same really can't be said for the Women's tournament.
If Canada put in a serious bid, we could have a shot.
New stadiums in Winnipeg, Regina, Hamilton, and Ottawa could be expanded similar to how the Olympic stadium was for the '96 Atlanta games. Capacities in the 40-50k range should work for the opening round.
By 2026, McMahon Stadium in Calgary will be 66 years old, so it might be time to consider a replacement.
Olympic Stadium in Montreal has accomodated crowds above 68k for Grey Cup with temporary seating added behind the open end zone. I wonder if the Big Owe could be expanded to 75k if the upper and lower decks were extended to encircle the field, and the playing field was lowered to add seats along the sidelines. There certainly is room along the sidelines when the Big Owe hosts CFL football.
If not, then a large stadium would probably have to be built in Toronto, which could be used to as part of a bid for the Summer Olympics and/or trying to lure an NFL franchise.

c-way-dude · #**4652** Posted **Jul 7, 2012, 8:13 PM**

According to wikipedia, Qatar is going to use 12 stadiums to host the World Cup. Ten of the twelve stadiums range in capacity from 43-47k.

Acajack · #**4653** Posted **Jul 9, 2012, 4:09 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by c-way-dude

Olympic Stadium in Montreal has accomodated crowds above 68k for Grey Cup with temporary seating added behind the open end zone. I wonder if the Big Owe could be expanded to 75k if the upper and lower decks were extended to encircle the field, and the playing field was lowered to add seats along the sidelines. There certainly is room along the sidelines when the Big Owe hosts CFL football.
.

There is a lot of open space for additional seating in that stadium. Probably enough to easily fit in 75K. Capacity for the Olympics was in that range.

worldlyhaligonian · #**4654** Posted **Jul 9, 2012, 2:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by c-way-dude

According to wikipedia, Qatar is going to use 12 stadiums to host the World Cup. Ten of the twelve stadiums range in capacity from 43-47k.

I'm sure we'd be able to do this if we had state-oil companies for the tar sands.

c-way-dude · #**4655** Posted **Jul 11, 2012, 9:37 PM**

According to wikipedia, Russia is going to use 14 stadiums to host the World Cup. Eleven of the stadiums will have capacities in the 44-47k range. One stadium will seat a little over 50k.

CorbeauNoir · #**4656** Posted **Jul 11, 2012, 11:59 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by c-way-dude

According to wikipedia, Qatar is going to use 12 stadiums to host the World Cup. Ten of the twelve stadiums range in capacity from 43-47k.

I also mentioned this in the Canada thread on this topic, but Qatar's stadium capacity will be temporarily enlarged with upper bowls of seating that will later be disassembled and used as small stadiums in developing countries. If Canada were to really put forth a serious bid for a WC I would imagine they would propose a similar strategy.

c-way-dude · #**4657** Posted **Jul 14, 2012, 9:12 PM**

It looks like the new stadium in Regina is officially going to be built.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/story/2012/07/14/sk-football-stadium-plan-120714.html

fenwick16 · #**4658** Posted **Jul 28, 2012, 2:03 PM**

This was posted in the "New Blue Bomber Stadium" thread - http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=123544&page=130. One can see why this 33,000 seat stadium will cost $190 million dollars (although I am not sure if that is just the stadium cost or if it includes $45 million for University of Manitoba recreation centre upgrades).

This is a very impressive looking stadium, although a bit too costly for Halifax.

Sadly, I think that even an economical stadium in the HRM is now dead for several more years.

Quote:

Originally Posted by trebor204

Picture taken tonite:

c-way-dude · #**4659** Posted **Jul 30, 2012, 9:19 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by fenwick16

Sadly, I think that even an economical stadium in the HRM is now dead for several more years.

For starters, people wanting a stadium need to make it an election issue in the upcoming municipal election, and especially in the next provincial election.
Hopefully the potential investors that were interested in Jaunuary of 2010 are still interested, but I doubt anything will ever happen without the involvement of the municipal and provincial governments.

halifaxboyns · #**4660** Posted **Aug 5, 2012, 1:42 AM**

Not sure if anyone noticed the Regional Council agenda for Tuesday. One of the items is a Citizen satisfaction survey and I'm just reading the consultant's report. Apparently a New Stadium was one of the top three priorities which respondents noted in the Community Infrastructure priorities section (Page 17 and 18 of the consultant's report).

From the consultant's report:
"A new stadium is more likely to be considered a top priority by those who consider an increased emphasis on major events (64%), more emphasis on recreation facilities (41%), and increased marketing of HRM (28%) as priority economic investments."