Stadiums and Arenas of Canada part 2

[GernB]

Originally Posted by elly63

The Trillium Dome
What The SkyDome Could Have Looked Like

For some reason that model of the Trillium Dome complex made me think of "Logan's Run".

[elly63]

Originally Posted by esquire

Aaaaanyway, here's a cool vintage shot of Exhibition Stadium ca. 1972 from Howard Berger's spectacular Toronto sports blog. (I don't read it regularly but whenever I do, I disappear down a rabbit hole of amazing stories and photos). That old curved grandstand was a beautiful piece of architecture...

Exhibition (CNE) Stadium 1973 crowd of 36,653 (note the track, I didn't remember that)



And while we're at it...

Labour Day Sept. 6, 1971, Ivor Wynne Stadium record crowd of 34,553

[Oilkountry]

We have come a long way over the years

[Oilkountry]

Started from the bottom and now were (almost) here

<---possibly

[Horus]

Originally Posted by FrankieFlowerpot

Originally Posted by FrankieFlowerpot

Kind of weird that they started excavating just the base cutouts before moving on to do the rest of the infield arc.

[king10]

weren't the base cutouts already partially excavated because they were dirt, but they needed to go deeper

PS. I miss Ivor Wynne

[steve61]

Originally Posted by Oilkountry

Started from the bottom and now were (almost) here

<---possibly

You left out IGF. Best looking of the bunch

[elly63]

[le calmar]

Originally Posted by Oilkountry

We have come a long way over the years

]

Looks like this was taken in the 1980's, with the awful scoreboard and Jumbotron. At least they replaced the Jumbotron with a brand new HD screen, but still, this stadium looks awfully outdated. Do something with the terrible black curtains in the end zone too please.

[esquire]

^ That picture looks to me like it's late 2000s vintage. The Big O looks pretty forlorn these days... there really have been hardly any upgrades of consequence to the place since the 1992 baseball-friendly renovations, so naturally it's looking pretty dated. The blacked-out signs where Expo sponsors used to advertise also give it a quasi-abandoned feel.

[Coldrsx]

Two-level ice facility could be the future of Rexall Place

EDMONTON — With the future of Rexall Place still not official, Global News is getting a better picture of what Northlands hopes to do with the site.

Northlands has a plan that would turn the arena into a two-level facility with upwards of seven sheets of ice.

“It’d be a tournament centre for western Canada, obviously used by hockey teams and figure skating individuals in the city, and it’s just a really exciting plan that could then drive people to the site which would then create all sorts of opportunities for the entire Northlands site,” Ward 5 city councillor Michael Oshry said Friday. Oshry also sits on the Northlands board of directors.

Seating at Rexall would be reduced to between 2,800 and 3,000 to accommodate the additional ice surfaces. A conceptual design picture obtained by Global News shows the vision for the building. Global News has also learned Rexall Place could be renamed “Northlands Ice Coliseum.”

http://globalnews.ca/news/2515249/two-level-ice-facility-could-be-the-future-of-rexall-place/

[Oilkountry]

Originally Posted by steve61

You left out IGF. Best looking of the bunch

haha my bad...I'm a bombers fan too so this is embarrassing

[GernB]

Originally Posted by Oilkountry

haha my bad...I'm a bombers fan too so this is embarrassing

What's embarrassing, particularly so for a Stamps fan like me, is how Winnipeg and soon Regina - the two smallest markets in the CFL - are leading the way when it comes to new stadiums. With an exception or two, leaving the rest of the league in the dust.

[hexrae]

Originally Posted by GernB

What's embarrassing, particularly so for a Stamps fan like me, is how Winnipeg and soon Regina - the two smallest markets in the CFL - are leading the way when it comes to new stadiums. With an exception or two, leaving the rest of the league in the dust.

Don't worry, while we're enjoying our new (and soon to be new) stadiums now I'm sure the Stamps will get theirs eventually.

[tomthumb2]

Originally Posted by GernB

What's embarrassing, particularly so for a Stamps fan like me, is how Winnipeg and soon Regina - the two smallest markets in the CFL - are leading the way when it comes to new stadiums. With an exception or two, leaving the rest of the league in the dust.

I agree that its embarrassing for Stamps fans like us but we I guess we have to accept some facts like:

a) the current economic situation causing very little appetite for a new stadium

b) the CFL is easily a bigger deal in Saskatchewan and is probably bigger in Winnipeg/Manitoba

c) the facilities there were actually shittier than here - although to me, Winnipeg Stadium looked better than McMahon in the pic Oilkountry posted

[esquire]

Originally Posted by tomthumb2

I agree that its embarrassing for Stamps fans like us but we I guess we have to accept some facts like:

a) the current economic situation causing very little appetite for a new stadium

Hard to argue with that one. This is probably the single biggest factor right now.

b) the CFL is easily a bigger deal in Saskatchewan and is probably bigger in Winnipeg/Manitoba

You keep saying this but I'm not sure how true it is... the Stamps look pretty well supported from an attendance/sponsorship standpoint. Calgary's sports market is essentially the same as Winnipeg's... NHL team, CFL team, tier two hockey team, then you guys have lacrosse while we have minor league baseball. It's not like the Stamps get lost in the shuffle the way they do in Toronto where the Jays have really owned the summer sports scene.

AFAIK the Stamps have no summer/early fall sports competition at all except for the couple of weeks that the Stampede is on.

c) the facilities there were actually shittier than here - although to me, Winnipeg Stadium looked better than McMahon in the pic Oilkountry posted

I think you're dead on here. CanadInns and Mosaic was/is in much worse shape than McMahon. McMahon is newer than both of those stadiums (really not that old, it dates back to the early 60s) and it was renovated pretty heavily for the 1988 Olympics so it's not in the same dire situation that Winnipeg's and Regina's venues were.

[GernB]

Originally Posted by esquire

McMahon is newer than both of those stadiums (really not that old, it dates back to the early 60s) and it was renovated pretty heavily for the 1988 Olympics so it's not in the same dire situation that Winnipeg's and Regina's venues were.

McMahon's 1980s reno had relatively little to do with updating the stadium; the bowl was extended in the 1960s layout and some bench seats were replaced with individual seats. No roofed upper deck. No additions or renos to concessions or bathrooms. No escalators. The major expansion and stadium-wide upgrade in the original concept was dropped for cost considerations, though the total cost of the McMahon project was less than the overruns at the Saddledome. The city/university/OCO cheaped out and got exactly what they paid for. As well, though McMahon overall is newer than Mosaic's north side, Mosaic's south side was opened in 1979, as the first stage in a planned reconstruction of the entire stadium which was to be completed by the mid 1980s, and CanadInns' upper decks date from the mid 1960s and mid 1970s. The permanent end zone seats were built for the 1967 Pan Am games and later expanded somewhat for baseball.

[HomerSPC]

Originally Posted by GernB

McMahon's 1980s reno had relatively little to do with updating the stadium; the bowl was extended in the 1960s layout and some bench seats were replaced with individual seats. No roofed upper deck. No additions or renos to concessions or bathrooms. No escalators. The major expansion and stadium-wide upgrade in the original concept was dropped for cost considerations, though the total cost of the McMahon project was less than the overruns at the Saddledome. The city/university/OCO cheaped out and got exactly what they paid for. As well, though McMahon overall is newer than Mosaic's north side, Mosaic's south side was opened in 1979, as the first stage in a planned reconstruction of the entire stadium which was to be completed by the mid 1980s, and CanadInns' upper decks date from the mid 1960s and mid 1970s. The permanent end zone seats were built for the 1967 Pan Am games and later expanded somewhat for baseball.

Mosaic's North and South sides were built for the 2013 Grey Cup. I'm sure you mean East and West respectively.

[GernB]

Originally Posted by HomerSPC

Mosaic's North and South sides were built for the 2013 Grey Cup. I'm sure you mean East and West respectively.

Yeah I see from Google Earth it's more NE/SW. But that's the way the LP article worded it so I took their word for it.

[EdFromOttawa]

Originally Posted by Oilkountry

Started from the bottom and now were (almost) here

Great posts thanks!

Comparatively speaking we've come a long way. Still got a ways to go though!