The Canucks within a year hope to complete the "first of three residential/office towers" that would allow the team to "expand their concourse areas at the southwest end” of Rogers Arena, according to Brad Ziemer of the VANCOUVER SUN. The first five floors of what is tentatively called the West Tower "will connect” with the arena. The first and third floors will “open up to the main and upper bowl concourses at Rogers Arena.” It will provide the Canucks with “more concession opportunities and give their fans more room to move.” The tower also will allow the Canucks to “address another pressing problem with Rogers Arena: a lack of washrooms.” Current bathroom capacity “will be expanded by about 25 per cent.” Canuck Sports & Entertainment COO Victor de Bonis is “particularly excited about plans for the fourth floor of the arena and tower, which call for what he describes as a ‘cutting edge sports bar concept.’” Ziemer reports there are three parts to that concept. The first will be a “large sports bar, where fans without tickets will be able to hang out before, during and after games.” It also will “likely be open year-round on non game-days.” There will be “two other ‘pay’ components to that bar area, including Loge Boxes that seat four to six people and a larger area similar to the present Best Buy Club.” The fifth floor will “allow creation of a party suite that will accommodate large groups.” The goal is to have “all these changes made in just over a year” (VANCOUVER SUN, 7/26).
