Stadiums and Arenas of Canada part 2

[FFX-ME]

I would think that the term "world champion" should go to someone who wins the "world championship" of something...

There is no world championship in baseball but there is a world cup. There are world championships in Hockey, Basketball, though.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Acajack

There has been talk of 4500 or 5000 seats as well, but finally they settled on 4000. I guess they don't want to overbuild and would like to create a bit of a scarcity of tickets to stimulate demand.

Makes sense.

I have to say, Ottawa-Gatineau doesn't often get mentioned as a great sports town but in some ways it is... 3 significant hockey teams, CFL, pro soccer and a pretty impressive (by large Canadian city standards) university sports scene. You guys are doing well in that regard.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by esquire

Makes sense.

I have to say, Ottawa-Gatineau doesn't often get mentioned as a great sports town but in some ways it is... 3 significant hockey teams, CFL, pro soccer and a pretty impressive (by large Canadian city standards) university sports scene. You guys are doing well in that regard.

There are also the Ottawa Champions of the Can-Am baseball league. They're the defending champions, and draw about 2500 fans a game. Since they playe quite a few home games that's a decent number of tickets sold.

[Steveston]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

Our 9 Garth Brooks shows are about halfway through and have introduced many a new folk to our new Rogers Place. Amazing what it does for Downtown pedestrian traffic, bars/restaurants and hotels. I highly recommend it.

More confirmation of the notion that new major stadiums or arenas should be built downtown. Use the existing transit system and parking capacity to its fullest during off-peak hours, and provide a shot in the arm to downtown businesses, not to mention general eyes/feet on the street safety.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Acajack

With some exceptions, the Quebec league has generally lower attendance than Ontario and the West.

Gatineau traditionally has averaged about 2500 per game and their current rink holds 2800 with several hundred more standing room spots. They've also averaged the capacity (or over it) in some years, but this year they're around 2000 per game I'd say.

There has been talk of 4500 or 5000 seats as well, but finally they settled on 4000. I guess they don't want to overbuild and would like to create a bit of a scarcity of tickets to stimulate demand.

I just heard that with luxury boxes and VIP sections that capacity will be closer to 4800.

[wave46]

Originally Posted by Steveston

More confirmation of the notion that new major stadiums or arenas should be built downtown. Use the existing transit system and parking capacity to its fullest during off-peak hours, and provide a shot in the arm to downtown businesses, not to mention general eyes/feet on the street safety.

Depends on where it is. In the US, tailgating is huge at NFL games - practically an event unto itself. That's hard to do in a stadium in a downtown arena.

For NHL/NBA arenas and MLB stadiums I agree with you though.

[king10]

Article in the spectator detailing how Hamilton's Memorial Cup bid was rejected due to arena deficiencies. Most notably lack of HD scoreboard and dehumidification system.

http://m.thespec.com/sports-story/714881...-in-hamilton-bulldogs-failed-mem-cup-bid

[esquire]

Originally Posted by king10

Article in the spectator detailing how Hamilton's Memorial Cup bid was rejected due to arena deficiencies. Most notably lack of HD scoreboard and dehumidification system.

http://m.thespec.com/sports-story/714881...-in-hamilton-bulldogs-failed-mem-cup-bid

Andlauer's comments read like the typical sports team owner trying to make a case for public funding for either a new venue or major improvements. Regina's rink is older and smaller than Copps yet somehow they pulled off a succesful bid... and HD scoreboard? Puh-leeze... many NHL teams don't have that and the league doesn't seem to care.

[The Fisher Account]

Originally Posted by esquire

and HD scoreboard? Puh-leeze... many NHL teams don't have that and the league doesn't seem to care.

Citation please

[Coldrsx]

Originally Posted by wave46

Depends on where it is. In the US, tailgating is huge at NFL games - practically an event unto itself. That's hard to do in a stadium in a downtown arena.

For NHL/NBA arenas and MLB stadiums I agree with you though.

Seattle is a good model.

[Coldrsx]

Originally Posted by Steveston

More confirmation of the notion that new major stadiums or arenas should be built downtown. Use the existing transit system and parking capacity to its fullest during off-peak hours, and provide a shot in the arm to downtown businesses, not to mention general eyes/feet on the street safety.

Certain types of stadiums and if they are integrated well enough.

[king10]

Originally Posted by The Fisher Account

Citation please

Not a citation but detroit phoenix st louis arent hd.

But st louis is replacing theres next year and detroit is moving to a new arena. And well arizona is a mess.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by The Fisher Account

Citation please

Sure, anything else you'd like me to do for you?

[Rollerstud98]

Originally Posted by wave46

Depends on where it is. In the US, tailgating is huge at NFL games - practically an event unto itself. That's hard to do in a stadium in a downtown arena.

For NHL/NBA arenas and MLB stadiums I agree with you though.

One thing with football is that there are way less games and usually on the weekend, makes it easier for people to make more than just a quick trip downtown for it. I have not stats on it but I wonder if the weekday games in NFL have less tailgating going on?

[Nathan]

Originally Posted by esquire

Andlauer's comments read like the typical sports team owner trying to make a case for public funding for either a new venue or major improvements. Regina's rink is older and smaller than Copps yet somehow they pulled off a succesful bid... and HD scoreboard? Puh-leeze... many NHL teams don't have that and the league doesn't seem to care.

From what's been mentioned in the news, apparently Regina's bid was very high quality and included support from mutlitpile layers of government (something that article mentions wasn't the case with Hamilton's bid).

A lot of things lined up for the Pats though. The Memorial Cup being dedicated to fallen soldiers syncs up with the Pats getting their name from the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. The Pats celebrating their 100th year as the oldest junior team in the world in the same year the Memorial Cup celebrates its centenary is a pretty big draw too.

There are also the rumour that part of the pitch was to hold an outdoor game at the new stadium also located on the exhibition grounds, which would be pretty sweet.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Nathan

From what's been mentioned in the news, apparently Regina's bid was very high quality and included support from mutlitpile layers of government (something that article mentions wasn't the case with Hamilton's bid).

A lot of things lined up for the Pats though. The Memorial Cup being dedicated to fallen soldiers syncs up with the Pats getting their name from the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. The Pats celebrating their 100th year as the oldest junior team in the world in the same year the Memorial Cup celebrates its centenary is a pretty big draw too.

There are also the rumour that part of the pitch was to hold an outdoor game at the new stadium also located on the exhibition grounds, which would be pretty sweet.

I don't doubt it one bit, it has been proven on quite a few occasions that you don't need the biggest city or the newest, flashiest venue to make the Memorial Cup a success. I fully expect that Regina will knock it out of the park.

From the looks of things, Hamilton's owner is just doing what he can to make it sound like a lack of municipal funding for arena improvements was their bid's downfall.

[Horus]

Plans for spring facility, Rogers Centre renovations in progress
Sportsnet.ca
Shi Davidi @shidavidi February 21, 2017, 5:53 PM

DUNEDIN, Fla. – By the end of the 2017 season, Toronto Blue Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro expects to have plans in place for both a new spring training facility and a Rogers Centre renovation that will run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

The two projects remain in the planning stages, with a funding proposal for a revamped stadium and training site in Dunedin, Fla., currently under examination by officials at the Pinellas County level, and themes for what might be done at the dome emerging.

In that vein, the installation of natural grass at Rogers Centre remains a consideration although it may very well be an unlikely one with money instead being focused on a reworking of the seating bowl, expanded concourses and the creation of distinctive areas for different game-watching experiences.

“(Natural grass) is one of the decisions that has to be made in the context of the broader master plan that we’re still considering,” Shapiro says in an interview. “There is never a question of whether grass is preferred to artificial turf – grass is clearly preferred to artificial turf. It’s only going to be a question of what are going to be the one-time costs of retrofitting the entire stadium to do something it’s not equipped to do, which is irrigate, provide drainage, provide sunlight for times when the roof is not open to keep grass alive.

"Then there’s the annual commitment in costs that would create as well, and then weighing that versus how else you could spend that money on other things. By no means have we made that decision, but we’re going to look at that in the context of the other one-time decisions of renovation and on the annual basis of how else we can spend that money to help us win.”

Already the Blue Jays are spending money on the Rogers Centre, with a new $1-million weight room installed over the winter and waterproofing work taking place on the concrete exterior. The retractable roof must also be replaced in the coming years, along with other less exciting upkeep tasks for a stadium that first opened in 1989, which is why Shapiro insists the entire project must be viewed holistically.

The Blue Jays have hired a design firm and at this point, “what we do have is themes that through focus groups and through research and through industry trends and analysis provided clear ideas of what we would be looking to achieve in a re-envisioning – and I call it a re-envisioning rather than a renovation – of the stadium.”

“No. 1,” Shapiro continued, “would be to turn the stadium into a ballpark. Very simply that would be a top priority for us, which means (providing) a modern ballpark experience for our fans. What I would hope is that by mid-summer we have those concepts fully flushed out, a potential set of loose designs, not plans but loose designs along with some costs so I can begin to have those conversations with ownership.”

While coming up with a vision for the dome and obtaining the funding are the primary challenges, a more complicated matter may be how to get the construction done without leaving the Blue Jays homeless.

“How do we play, understanding that we only have 20 weeks a year to do construction, or do we do some construction while we play?” says Shapiro. “I don’t have answers, those are the range of questions that have to be considered, because there’s no place else for us to play.”

....

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/plans-spring-facility-rogers-centre-renovations-progress/

[Steveston]

Originally Posted by Rollerstud98

One thing with football is that there are way less games and usually on the weekend, makes it easier for people to make more than just a quick trip downtown for it. I have not stats on it but I wonder if the weekday games in NFL have less tailgating going on?

Weekday NFL games are typically evening games (except for Thanksgiving), so unless you're taking the day off (like Thanksgiving), I would guess there's less tailgating, but I've got no evidence either way.

But even most downtown stadiums have some surface parking in the vicinity, so tailgating can still take place -- as mentioned in a previous post, Seattle is a good example.

But my initial point was that a downtown location allows you to check off some larger policy goals with a new stadium construction, such as support for downtown businesses and utilization of transit infrastructure. Given the vast investments most NFL teams extort from their cities for new stadium construction, it makes sense for cities to get as much ROI as possible.

[king10]

any updates from Monction?

seems like its the only construction we have on the go now

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by king10

any updates from Monction?

seems like its the only construction we have on the go now

Ask and ye shall be rewarded.

There is a thread in the Atlantic Canada sub forum:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=203545&page=71
We're up to 1405 posts at present.

Here are some photos I took just the other day.