Stadiums & Arenas of Canada, Part 3

[MalcolmTucker]

Originally Posted by thurmas

With Alberta Edmonton-Calgary joint bid for the 2030 Commonwealth Games i think it can work. City of Edmonton was requesting $185 million on upgrades to Commonwealth Stadium. McMahon would likely need around 350 or 400 million in upgrades but I think overall for sports facilities can be done for around $1 billion in Alberta altogether.

McMahon had a sub-$100 million plan (2017 $) to life cycle and improve for the Winter games. to add a temporary grass pitch, I still think you're under $150 million.

[thurmas]

Originally Posted by MalcolmTucker

McMahon had a sub-$100 million plan (2017 $) to life cycle and improve for the Winter games. to add a temporary grass pitch, I still think you're under $150 million.

I haven't spent much time at mcmahon to some other stadiums so I am not sure how much of the concourse needs to be gutted and rebuilt as that is the main issue

[Hackslack]

Originally Posted by thurmas

I haven't spent much time at mcmahon to some other stadiums so I am not sure how much of the concourse needs to be gutted and rebuilt as that is the main issue

It needs it big time. Extending the concourse by double beyond the current boundary of the stadium. Then even installing exterior stairs to reach the upper sections would help alleviate the massive congestion. Somehow putting bathrooms on the upper levels would massively help the congestion as well. Or even portable wash trailers at the expanded portion of the concourse would be great…. All very temporary solutions but without a commitment to a new stadium something has to be done.

[thurmas]

Originally Posted by Hackslack

It needs it big time. Extending the concourse by double beyond the current boundary of the stadium. Then even installing exterior stairs to reach the upper sections would help alleviate the massive congestion. Somehow putting bathrooms on the upper levels would massively help the congestion as well. Or even portable wash trailers at the expanded portion of the concourse would be great…. All very temporary solutions but without a commitment to a new stadium something has to be done.

Ahh I see then it seems the 2018 renderings for the failed 2026 winter olympic bid still make the most sense as to how to make McMahon work based off a reno:

https://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthread.php?p=6797235

[craner]

^ Man that looks like a great reno for McMahon - probably just a dream at this point (sigh).
The only thing I don’t get is the section of blue seats, was the intent to re-use existing ?

[thurmas]

Originally Posted by craner

^ Man that looks like a great reno for McMahon - probably just a dream at this point (sigh).
The only thing I don’t get is the section of blue seats, was the intent to re-use existing ?

they just stole some blue chairs from O-Tacs house while he was out

[esquire]

Those blue seats popped up sometime in the early 2000s when they converted 4 sections of bench seats to theatre-style seats. They must have gotten a great discount on the blue seats because they clash horribly with the red colour scheme of the rest of the stadium.

[blueandgoldguy]

Originally Posted by thurmas

With Alberta Edmonton-Calgary joint bid for the 2030 Commonwealth Games i think it can work. City of Edmonton was requesting $185 million on upgrades to Commonwealth Stadium. McMahon would likely need around 350 or 400 million in upgrades but I think overall for sports facilities can be done for around $1 billion in Alberta altogether.

Tim Hortons was completed in 2014 for $140 million and that included the huge concrete plaza outside the actual stadium. I know construction costs have skyrocketed in the intervening years but you could probably build a slightly larger and better version of Tim Hortons Field at McMahon for $350 - $400 million never mind upgrading it.

[Djeffery]

Originally Posted by blueandgoldguy

Tim Hortons was completed in 2014 for $140 million and that included the huge concrete plaza outside the actual stadium. I know construction costs have skyrocketed in the intervening years but you could probably build a slightly larger and better version of Tim Hortons Field at McMahon for $350 - $400 million never mind upgrading it.

Which is basically what that image looks like anyway.

[esquire]

Oil company Cenovus bought the naming rights to the new arena in Lloydminster AB/SK for $5 million.

Interestingly, the arena is being built with 2,400 seats which is a junior A size as compared to WHL. Despite the town's population of 30,000+ and growing, it looks like they are not aiming to attract a WHL team.

[Dalreg]

The WHL is mandating all new arena must be in the minimum of 5,000 seats capacity. There are a few smaller arena that will be grandfathered in but other than Swift Current and Prince Albert there wouldn't be anyone else less than 5,000 or there about.

Don't think Lloyd is ready for that yet, maybe in the future?

[Denscity]

I should know this but what about Nanaimo at over 100000 population ?

[EpicPonyTime]

If Lloyd was 30K thirty years ago it'd absolutely have a team, but I really don't see the WHL relocating a team to a city that size today. Aside from the Ice in Cranbrook and now Wenatchee (which has a metro area of 100K), last time they put a team in a city of 30K was the 80s if I'm not mistaken.

[Coldrsx]

Awesome!

---
Over 6700 in attendance to watch the @EdmRiverhawks coat to a 11 - 2 romp!! Hawks are undefeated when we go!

[bridgeoftea]

Originally Posted by Denscity

I should know this but what about Nanaimo at over 100000 population ?

Nanaimo is indeed above 100k with the surrounding areas.
Sadly their main arena is the Frank Crane arena which seats 2400 which doesn't have the space inside for upgrading.

The city turned down a 5100 seat proposal back in 2017 which would have been down on the waterfront.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...rena-1.4021464

[bridgeoftea]

Originally Posted by esquire

I was reading an article about that clown in England who was dealing with punishment for his idiotic jersey referencing the Hillsborough Disaster.

Of course I jumped down the rabbit hole and read the Wikipedia entry on the Hillsborough Disaster in which 97 people died and hundreds were injured as a result of being crushed in overcrowded terraces.

That got me thinking... when I go to Bomber games at IG Field, there is often a sea of humanity standing on the north end zone at the Rum Hut. And unlike "safe standing" areas such as the Pil Country endzone at Mosaic Stadium, it's really a huge swarm with nothing to break up the large number of people in the area. Obviously fan culture at a Bomber game is different from English soccer in the 80s... it is way less aggro, people at the Bomber game are generally having fun and in a celebratory mood. The people standing in the endzones tend to be less focused on watching the game and more focused on socializing. Given the distances involved there are relatively few away fans, and even when there are (Banjo Bowl) they still tend to be on the friendly side of things, e.g. Bomber fans and Rider fans are more likely to be drinking beer together and having a good time than fistfighting.

But what if??? What if something happened and for whatever reason there was a crowd surge. That terrace could become a really nasty place if the mood turned and people started stampeding. I wonder what, if any thought the Bombers have put into this? As it is now the Rum Hut deck is totally uncontrolled in terms of access... anyone in the stadium can stand there. There are no fixed capacity limits.

With the increased popularity of party decks, terraces, standing areas, etc. in all kinds of outdoor stadiums in North America, I wonder what controls are in place to prevent incidents from happening in the future?

It should come down to good crowd control, staffing and policing.
That photo you shared does look very dangerous if a sudden surge were to occur.

I think the party decks will start counting how many people are on the terrace before letting people in.

[The S'toon Goon]

I think Nanaimo makes a ton of sense for whl expansion. Natural rivalry with Victoria. The BC division could use a 6th team as well. If memory serves me right the hockey rink there was built back in the 80s(?) So perhaps an upgrade could be on the horizon!

I assume that Swift current moves back to the east division with Winnipeg gone. To have balanced divisions another Alberta team could be added. I think Grande Prairie would be a decent candidate. Like Nanaimo the rink would need an upgrade, but population is there. As an added bonus it stretches the league north a fair bit.

Would love to see the league somehow include Yellowknife and Whitehorse one day, but obviously that would take some deep pockets to offset the the transportation nightmare.

[bridgeoftea]

Originally Posted by The S'toon Goon

I think Nanaimo makes a ton of sense for whl expansion. Natural rivalry with Victoria. The BC division could use a 6th team as well. If memory serves me right the hockey rink there was built back in the 80s(?) So perhaps an upgrade could be on the horizon!

I assume that Swift current moves back to the east division with Winnipeg gone. To have balanced divisions another Alberta team could be added. I think Grande Prairie would be a decent candidate. Like Nanaimo the rink would need an upgrade, but population is there. As an added bonus it stretches the league north a fair bit.

Would love to see the league somehow include Yellowknife and Whitehorse one day, but obviously that would take some deep pockets to offset the the transportation nightmare.

I don't think there's space for upgrades to make it a WHL arena.
It's a 2 side seated arena.
One end wall is about 6 feet from the wall. The other end is the entrance foyer.
The only spot for "luxury boxes" could be where the upper concourse (seen above the Frank Carne arena sign in the image below) where they sell beer. But a lot of people like to stand there and drink looking down on the game.
The roof is also a bit too low to get any luxury boxes on the side.

They would need a new arena and it would be a hard sell to publicly fund after they added a twin ice sheet complex in the mid 2000s with about 500-750 seat capacity.

It would need to be a new purpose built arena, they could take over the North Town center area maybe if the mall finally collapses (more than it already has).

[Acajack]

I am a huge geography buff and map nerd, but TIL the existence of Wenatchee.

[bridgeoftea]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I am a huge geography buff and map nerd, but TIL the existence of Wenatchee.

Love that their horse riding club is called Appleatchee Riders. Good combo of the apple exports / city name.