BC Place Stadium

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BC Place Stadium
BC Place
Location	777 Pacific Blvd, Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 4Y8
Broke ground	1982
Opened	June 19, 1983
Owner	Province of British Columbia
Operator	PavCo [B.C. Pavilion Corporation]
Surface	AstroTurf (1983-2004) FieldTurf (2005-)
Construction cost	$126 million CAD
Architect	Studio Phillips Barrett
Tenants
British Columbia Lions (CFL) (1983-present) Vancouver Whitecaps (NASL) (1983-1984) Vancouver Nighthawks (WBL) (1988)
Capacity
59,841 (Football)247,000 square feet of exhibition space

BC Place Stadium is Canada's first domed stadium and is the largest air-supported stadium in the world^[1]. It is located on the north side of False Creek in Vancouver, British Columbia, and home to the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League and the region's largest consumer shows, trade shows and special events. It is owned and operated by PavCo (BC Pavilion Corporation), a Crown Corporation of the government in the Province of British Columbia. BC Place is to be the host of the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Olympic games.

Contents 1 History 1.1 2007 dome deflation 2 Features 3 Additional information 4 Transportation 5 References 6 See also 7 External links

[edit] History

The stadium, completed in 1983, was built as part of the preparation for Expo 86. It is the world's largest air-supported domed stadium and can seat 60,000 in its mixture of permanent and portable light-blue plastic seats.

Currently, its main sports tenant is the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League; formerly, it was the home of the Vancouver Whitecaps of the North American Soccer League, who occupied it in the early 80s. The Whitecaps played the first sporting event in the stadium in 1983, against the Seattle Sounders. The last NASL Soccer Bowl was also held at BC Place.

The stadium hosted Grey Cup games in 1983, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1994, 1999, and 2005^[2], perhaps the most thrilling account being the one in 1994 in which the hometown Lions defeated the U.S. expansion team Baltimore Football Club on a last-second field goal, preventing the Grey Cup trophy from leaving Canada (although Baltimore would win the Grey Cup the following year).

In 1987, an exhibition match of Australian rules football was played at the stadium and drew a crowd of 32,789 - a record for the largest AFL/VFL crowd outside of Australia.

The stadium is to be the first Air-supported structure and the first indoor venue used for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] 2007 dome deflation

On January 5, 2007 at approximately 12:40 PST, a tear occurred in the Teflon roof close to Gate G at the south side where the roof meets the top of the concrete bowl.^[3][4] Over the preceding several hours, a significant amount of wet snow settled on the dome. BC Place has a system in place to turn on a hot air system that sends hot air between the two layers of the dome to melt snow and ice. An independent preliminary report indicated that rapid pressurization of the building combined with the wind and sleet and pre-existing damage caused the tear.^[5] The internal air pressure was three times normal at the time of the tear due to the fact that two people were operating the fans that keep the roof inflated at the same time, unaware of the other operator's actions. ^[6][7] The tear quickly turned into a rip as the air from inside the dome quickly escaped through the widening hole. BC Place maintenance staff proceeded with an intentional, controlled deflation of the roof in order to protect the integrity of the roof's other panels.^[8] Video of the deflation was recorded by multiple sources, and can be seen online. ^{[9] [10] [11]} Nobody was injured in the incident. However, damage was suffered by the stadium and water from rain and melted snow flooded the bowl and had to be pumped out. According to its design, the deflated roof was hanging by steel cables 6 metres (20 feet) above the seating and the ground. Normally, the roof has a rise of 27 metres (90 feet)above the top of the bowl when inflated.^[12] Vancouver had been experiencing high winds and heavy sleet, and most initial reports attributed the tear and subsequent deflation to the weather conditions.
Following the acquisition of a temporary panel, on January 19, crews re-inflated the roof after repairing the it-- the inflation taking a little under three hours. ^{[13] [14]}

The BC Contractors Association held an exhibition in the stadium during the week of January 23. ^[15]The roof was leaking rain in at least half a dozen places during the show. ^[16]

[edit] Features

The stadium has a FieldTurf surface that was purchased from Montreal's Olympic Stadium for $1 million CAD. BC Place has been the home to the CFL's B.C. Lions since 1983, and will serve as the site for both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. A monument commemorating Terry Fox is located outside the stadium, as well as a smaller monument commemorating Percy Williams. Lastly, the BC Sports Hall of Fame is located inside the stadium at Gate "A"-Level 300.

[edit] Additional information

BC Place is busy with over 200 event days per year and contributes over 40 million dollars per year in economic benefits to the Province of British Columbia, but it operates at a loss of more than 4 million a year (10 million in earning and more than 14 in expenses), not including 2.3 for amortization. It hosts the Province's largest trade and consumer shows, community events and motorsports. In 2005, BC Place played host to Vans' Slam City Jam Skateboarding Championships. It has also hosted several MLB preseason games involving the Toronto Blue Jays, the Montreal Expos, the Seattle Mariners and the Detroit Tigers. It was the site for a motorcycle stunt scene in the Fantastic Four movie.

PavCo is governed primarily by the British Columbia Enterprise Corporation Act, which names it an Agent of the government, binds it by the same laws as the government, and gives it the same immunities as the government.

[edit] Transportation

The stadium is served by the Skytrain's Stadium-Chinatown Station.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• List of Canadian Football League stadiums
• 74th Grey Cup
• 75th Grey Cup
• 78th Grey Cup
• 82nd Grey Cup
• 87th Grey Cup
• 93rd Grey Cup

Other domed stadiums in Canada include:

• Rogers Centre in Toronto
• Stade Olympique in Montreal

[edit] External links

• Official site of BC Place Stadium
• Canadian Football League (CFL) Website

Current stadiums in the Canadian Football League
Western Division		Eastern Division
BC Place Stadium | Commonwealth Stadium | McMahon Stadium | Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field		Canad Inns Stadium | Ivor Wynne Stadium | Percival Molson Stadium | Rogers Centre | (Olympic Stadium)

v • d • e Winter Olympic stadia
Chamonix, 1924 • St. Moritz, 1928 • Lake Placid, 1932 • Garmisch-Partenkirchen, 1936 • St. Moritz, 1948 • Oslo, 1952 • Cortina d'Ampezzo, 1956 • Squaw Valley, 1960 • Innsbruck, 1964 • Sapporo, 1972 • Innsbruck, 1976 • Lake Placid, 1980 • Sarajevo, 1984 • Calgary, 1988 • Albertville, 1992 • Lillehammer, 1994 • Nagano, 1998 • Salt Lake City, 2002 • Turin, 2006 • Vancouver, 2010

Coordinates: 49°16′35.86″N, 123°6′43.02″W