Yes... because TFC has been such an abysmal failure, and Seattle is really struggling to sell season tickets. This rendering is actually surprisingly crappy, IMHO, but the layout is very interesting. The photo reflects 22,000 capacity. The "wall" at the back is a curtain to be removed to increase size when needed. Looks like we have terraces / standing platforms on the corners, plus a terrace / bar at the back end. Also uses a sub-roof extending out over Level 1 to retain crowd noise and mask off Level 2. Very interesting....
Yes the rendering is crappy. Those corners with people standing on boxes looks godawful, as does the bar at the back end. It's fine to have a VIP section at one end for USL soccer at Swangard, but it looks minor league.
Very interesting design. And very versitile too. Vancouver would actually have a reasonably good SSS sized stadium when the roof is lowered and for big games/CFL games they could just pull it up and the stadium has 59,000 seats. This is actually better than Qwest in many ways. And best of all either way it gets rid of the marshmellow roof BC Place has now. All in all not a bad backup plan now that the waterfront stadium seems doubtful. Vancouver just got stronger in it's bid IMO. Congrats guys.
Yes, and it looks ugly and minor league. Patios should be attached to houses and bars/restaurants. Not inside pro sports stadiums.
I'm guessing in the foreground of the picture with that hospitality/modular set-up, is to take up some of the space of the CFL "end-zones". Same with the staging at the other end with the draping/curtain and to cover up the opening that goes through that part of the stadium for vehicles/convention materials. See pic below. The hospitality crap down that one side has to go. But this is just a render so lots could change. The main thing is that the Government of British Columbia(Pavco) and the Caps are dead serious about bringing a franchise here. They're not going to all this trouble and investment and millions($200m) if they aren't serious. Yes, CFL is using this as well but Pavco certainly are going the whole nine yards. I think Vancouver has just moved up the bid list now.
I have absolutely no idea of the engineering or mechanics of how it will work, or if there's other stadiums in the world like it, but my understanding is that they'll be able to lower the roof down, so that just the lower bowl is covered and you wont even be able to tell that there is an upper bowl, and then for Lions games or big matches they can raise it up so it's above the upper bowl, covering the whole stadium.
That's my understanding as well. It's actually ingenious. It makes the stadium small and intimate when wanted and allows it to remain large that is needed. Unlike Qwest for instance or the other NFL stadiums where the empty seats just sit there empty and mocking.
No, this is not an inflatable roof like the one BC Place has now. The new setup is basically going to be like this... 1. There will be a permanent teflon fabric O-ring around the top of BC Place. It is fixed in place and does not change size. 2. The perimeter around the top of BC Place will be fitted with spiky looking support beams. These beams are part of a sophisticated cable system which forms a spider web of wires stretching across the open part of the O-ring. 3. A jumbotron scoreboard is suspended under the O-ring by the wires. Inside the it you will find the fabric that is used to close the roof. Press the "CLOSE" button, and the fabric scatters out from the scoreboard along the wires until it fills up the gap inside the rooftop O-ring. Press the "OPEN" button, and the fabric retracts back inside the scoreboard. 4. Now this is the new part that is relevant to the Whitecaps. It appears they are now going to add a second O-ring between Level 1 and Level 2. This effectively means that fans in the lower bowl have a roof immediately over their heads. This allows for increased fan noise, and also eliminates views of the empty seating areas above them. Presumably this O-ring is removable or retractable, as it would not be desirable for large events requiring the upper deck. 5. The rendering also suggests the scoreboard will drop down a level for soccer... now, whether it's bringing the upper O-ring with it to assist with masking the upper deck remains to be seen.
Good analysis Johnnie Monster! The secondary roof is puzzling that's for sure. It's essentially the opposite of the the main roof. The portion other than a centre needs to be transferred to somewhere and it does not have a scoreboard to collapse into. Either it's going to collapse into the second O ring itself somehow or into an apparatus that is connected to the actual stadium ring beam between level 1 and 2. It looks complex at any rate. With the scoreboard lowering funtion. I found of a pic of Commerzbank with the scoreboard at pitch level. Thought it would be interesting to show it's capability. I also did a very crude render of what the secondary roof may look like if you were on the second level.
Yeah it is. And BC Place's central location in Vancouver right on the train line isn't hurting your bid either. Congrats guys, you seem to have the strongest bid now of the 7 IMO.
BC Place not only has a metro stop but it will eventually have a tram stop with the planned streetcar system. Also there is a Canada Line subway stop about 4 blocks away in Yaletown. If the waterfront stadium gets built it would probably be one of the most transport friendly stadiums in world. It would be adjacent to the Waterfront transportation hub which includes commuter rail, 3 metro lines, tram, bus, ferry, and a heliport(if it remains). There is also seaplanes on the other side of Canada Place.
And before anyone says "Who is going to use that?" ... let me say "Me" and many others from Downtown Vic and Nanaimo. In fact doorstep from doorstep I can get to downtown Vancouver quicker than my parents in Surrey ... yes we tested this once.
This is true. My dad takes a float plane to visit Vancouver from downtown Victoria sometimes. You could be at a waterfront stadium buying a ticket in probably 45 mins total time from leaving Victoria.
Thats less time than it takes on public transit from North Vancouver to Swangard......and no Skytrain scum to deal with.
How much does that cost to take a seaplane from Vic to downtown Vancouver? Are there seaplane shuttles or limousine services? That sounds like a great way to get to a game! Also, these renderings are awesome.
$130, but $117 if you buy a book of ten tickets. There are two companies that fly every 30 minutes, takes 40 minutes dock to dock, downtown to downtown. In Vancouver they have a shuttle that will drop you off or pick you up for where you want in the downtown core. If you have a valid student id (or you have old student id, and a brother that can get you a sticker to make it look valid ) you can fly for half price. I have been told they have an industry rate as well, but I haven't tested my Victoria Aerocentre access pass yet to see if that can get me that discount. You can also get a private charter whenever, but i'm not that posh so I don't know the details
Not trying to be a troll... just have a few honest questions. Does anyone know how the financing of the stadium shakes out with the Whitecaps? I.e. what percentage of concessions, parking, signage does the Whitecaps receive? Luxury boxes? Second is, I am assuming that the scoreboard can be raised so as not to interfere with the the play? Anyone know how low the roof is, it looks really low?
The fine details of the BC Place lease agreement aren't known at this time. What we do know is this: Rental rates for single events at BC Place using the lower level are $13,000 minimum per event day, or 15% of the gate, whichever is larger. Given the appetite for the sport here, plus the prime downtown location, the Whitecaps will obviously end up paying the 15%. It might be less than that considering the fact they're booking for a full season of 18 - 22 matches (USL/MLS pre/reg/post season, CL qualifiers and friendlies) as opposed to a one-time event. Tickets are expected to fall in the $25 - $50 range. As for the roof... if you're not familiar with BC Place, the renderings can be a little deceiving. It's a 2-level 60,000 seater. There's approx 30,000 seats on each level. The new retractable roof (same style as Kommerzbank in Germany) will essentially be the same height as the existing inflated dome. Trust me, it's waaaaay up there. The new renderings released this past week show the addition of a ringed "sub roof" for use during soccer. The sub roof forms a ring shape above the lower seating level. It covers the crowd and masks the empty upper level, but it does not cover the pitch. As for the scoreboard, the one at Kommerzbank is capable of dropping from the roof all the way down to the grass. No doubt the one at BC Place will be positioned appropriately so as not to interfere with play. With respect to your other questions re: revenues from concessions & parking... Some supporters of other MLS bids - you know who you are - have made a lot of noise about how the league will never accept Vancouver if they don't collect those spinoff revenues. Well, for one thing, nobody can say for sure that they are not getting a piece of those revenues. That remains to be seen. Secondly, it's time these posters on BS take a long hard look at the season ticket numbers for some of the teams already playing in the league. Toronto is #1 at 16,000 or so. LA is #2, at less than half that... about 7,000. The bottom three teams range from 850 (Chivas, WTF man!) to about 2,000. Now look at Vancouver. When they announced plans to pursue their own stadium on the Waterfront, they collected deposits for 14,000 season tickets and 60 corporate boxes. Note that this was intended for the existing USL club, the so-called inferior league. At that time MLS was not officially on the radar. I'd also encourage you to read my thread on Vancouver & Seattle attendance numbers, with more than 30 years of data relating to the NASL and USL eras of both clubs. Support here in Vancouver has essentially been identical to that in Seattle in the 70s and 80s, and has exceeded them in the 90s and 2000s. Seattle's MLS club has 17,000 season tickets sold, which appears to beat out Toronto. 30+ years of history (right up to last season) dictates that if Seattle sells 17,000 season tickets for MLS, so will Vancouver. Which brings me to my question: What's really best for MLS.... An untested market like St. Louis or Ottawa? An average-performing existing league franchise with a season ticket base of 4,000, plus parking and nacho sales? Or a decades old *proven* market like Vancouver with 17,000 season tickets easily pre-sold... but no concessions?