Vancouver's BC Place To Get Pre- And Post-Olympics Renovations

BC Place To Receive Upgrades Before And After 2010 Vancouver Olympics

PavCo CEO David Podmore and B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell Friday said that the 60,000-seat BC Place will "get a major facelift, both inside and out, in time for" the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, according to Jeff Lee of the VANCOUVER SUN. Everything from "new seats and corporate boxes to washrooms and concession stands will be built or installed in time for the Games, and B.C. wood will figure prominently in some of the work." Podmore added that the stadium will "trade its signature fluffy marshmallow-looking dome for a spiky new hairdo mere months after the end" of the 2010 Games. The post-Olympics renovation, slated for completion by July 2010, will include 36 50-meter masts that will "hold up the new retractable fabric roof," with a central opening of 75 by 80 meters. PavCo also is "looking at installing photo-voltaic solar panels around the ring of the roof to help generate electricity." No costs were announced for the renovations (VANCOUVER SUN, 5/17).

HOUSE WORK: In Vancouver, John Bermingham reported the pre-Olympics plans will include "renovated corporate suites and improved seating [and] disabled access." Campbell said that there was "no sense in tearing down B.C. Place, because it would cost more than $1[B] to replace." Campbell: "You don't knock down a building that has a long life left in it." Bermingham noted a roof liner will be installed prior to 2010, and estimates for the roof replacement "range from [$150-200M]." The project will be funded by "selling the rights to build high-rise condos around the stadium" and through "sponsorships, which could include selling the naming rights to B.C. Place and the Vancouver Art Gallery" (Vancouver PROVINCE, 5/18).

WHITECAPS: In Vancouver, Jim Jamieson wrote an "appropriate venue is all that had been keeping the [USL Vancouver] Whitecaps from joining MLS." Jamieson: "Now the Whitecaps can be full suitors for one of two final franchises available." Whitecaps President Bob Lenarduzzi: "The initial benefit is that we can be back in the game on the MLS opportunity." Lenarduzzi said that discussions with MLS are "in the preliminary stage" (Vancouver PROVINCE, 5/18).