Stadiums and Arenas of Canada

[galaxtico]

Anyone got pictures of Canadian baseball/basketball/ice hockey/soccer/football stadiums?

http://www.stadiumzone.net

has got some good pictures, anyone got some more?
the Montreal Stadium is really amazing! :O

[mr.x]

BC PLACE STADIUM
Vancouver, B.C.

Seats: 60,000
Host: 2010 Olympic Winter Games Opening, Closing, and nightly-Victory Ceremonies and the 2010 Paralympic Opening Ceremony; CFL BC Lions

Built: 1983
Renovation: 2009-2010, $250-350-million



TODAY






AFTER

[vanman]

the Montreal Stadium is really amazing! :O

I agree. Best stadium in Canada. I completely tripped out on it for quite a while when I first saw it in person.These are my pics:

[francely57]

Originally Posted by vanman

I agree. Best stadium in Canada.

In the world!

...but the reality is: Montreal's monumental olympic stadium has become so useless and expensive to maintain that many Montrealers want to demolish it (which is also super expensive).

[Rico Rommheim]

I hate the thing. IT looks ugly outside, and its ugly inside too. Nobody likes to play in there (the expos publicly hated its cold atmosphere) and the Als always seem to lose when they're in there. And yes, Its very expensive (about 20-30 million a year just for maintenance, in exchange it provides with almost nothing except for one or two Monster shows and the CFL playoffs.) to maintain, its also got a sad history, UNFINISHED for the olympics (the stadium itself was BARELY finished in time for the opening ceremonies) but the tower wasn't finished until 1987!!!!

The construction also spiraled out of control, costing up to 10X the original cost (over 1 Billion...in 1976....not including the tower!!!) thanks in large part to government corruption and incompetence, labour strikes and yes, the mafia which was involved in contracts.

Its already falling apart anyways, spending more $$$ on this piece of shit would be a travesty, just let it rot there for all I care.


AND...let's not forget why it was built in the middle of nowhere, the destruction of neighbourhoods in order to build the olympic park was done in an effort to tear down what was then a very poor area, so mass eviction and destruction of triplexes was only natural.

[le calmar]

I don't agree with you, the Big O is certainly not that ugly.

[03SVTcobra]

Originally Posted by Rico Rommheim

I hate the thing. IT looks ugly outside, and its ugly inside too. Nobody likes to play in there (the expos publicly hated its cold atmosphere) and the Als always seem to lose when they're in there. And yes, Its very expensive (about 20-30 million a year just for maintenance, in exchange it provides with almost nothing except for one or two Monster shows and the CFL playoffs.) to maintain, its also got a sad history, UNFINISHED for the olympics (the stadium itself was BARELY finished in time for the opening ceremonies) but the tower wasn't finished until 1987!!!!

The construction also spiraled out of control, costing up to 10X the original cost (over 1 Billion...in 1976....not including the tower!!!) thanks in large part to government corruption and incompetence, labour strikes and yes, the mafia which was involved in contracts.

Its already falling apart anyways, spending more $$$ on this piece of shit would be a travesty, just let it rot there for all I care.


AND...let's not forget why it was built in the middle of nowhere, the destruction of neighbourhoods in order to build the olympic park was done in an effort to tear down what was then a very poor area, so mass eviction and destruction of triplexes was only natural.

LMAO

Damn you just shitted on that thing

[craner]

Originally Posted by mr.x2

BC PLACE STADIUM
Vancouver, B.C.

AFTER

Are they really doing this ?? Do they have time before the Olympics ? I think it's a huge improvement.

Thanks for sharing all the stadium pics - cool to see them all. I have to say Commonwealth is the nicest stadium in the CFL, love the lighting standards and the overall look, although I prefer to watch games in McMahon because you are right on top of the action (Boris our seats must be close to yours). It's too bad Commonwealth couldn't lose the track and I wish it could have stayed at about 45,000 capacity as it was when it opened '78

[Distill3d]

Originally Posted by craner

Are they really doing this ?? Do they have time before the Olympics ? I think it's a huge improvement.

its going to be done after the Olympics sadly.

I have to say Commonwealth is the nicest stadium in the CFL, love the lighting standards and the overall look, although I prefer to watch games in McMahon because you are right on top of the action (Boris our seats must be close to yours). It's too bad Commonwealth couldn't lose the track and I wish it could have stayed at about 45,000 capacity as it was when it opened '78

i agree, Commonwealth is the best outdoor stadium in Canada. Olympic Stadium in Montreal is the most visually stimulating, whether that is a positive or negative is a personal choice. and McMahon is the stadium most in need of being torn down and relocated. IMO, McMahon is nasty and uneventful.

[rapswin!]

I also think its ugly but not as ugly as the Rogers Center. The attractive part of the Rogers Center is the Dome itself.

[Berklon]

Some angles of Olympic Stadium look nice, while others give it that dated 70's futuristic look.

The biggest problem is the cold feeling. Whether you're there in person or watching the game on TV, it has no warmth at all and even with a full stadium it feels empty. You feel so far removed from the action on the field both in physical distance and in feeling.

It really should be torn down.

[IntotheWest]

Originally Posted by Berklon

...The biggest problem is the cold feeling. Whether you're there in person or watching the game on TV, it has no warmth at all and even with a full stadium it feels empty. You feel so far removed from the action on the field both in physical distance and in feeling.

I think the same with the Skydome personally. I've seen several games in there (Blue Jays), and never enjoyed it. I was just in San Diego, and watched a Padres game from the PETCO Park - which, is probably one of the best designed "ball" stadiums I've been in...granted, designed specifically for baseball.

[GreatTallNorth2]

I think if we were to be honest, Canada does not really have any "great" stadiums. I guess this is the case because we do not have any type of premier teams that have the need for great stadiums. In the U.S., they have NFL and College football. In the UK, France, Italy, and Germany they have national soccer leagues. In Canada we do not have a similar situation and therefore our stadiums are not the best.

I have included the proposal for Portsmouth's (UK) new soccer stadium that will seat 36,000 and cost about $1.2 billion Canadian dollars. In all of Canada, could we say we have a stadium as nice as this looks. By the way, it is in a city of about 200,000.

[Berklon]

Originally Posted by IntotheWest

I think the same with the Skydome personally. I've seen several games in there (Blue Jays), and never enjoyed it. I was just in San Diego, and watched a Padres game from the PETCO Park - which, is probably one of the best designed "ball" stadiums I've been in...granted, designed specifically for baseball.

Yeah, the Skydome isn't great - but I found the lower section decent... it's the upper sections that places you to far away from the play and gives it a more cold feeling.

I always liked Commonwealth Stadium. It would've been that much better had they not put tracks around the field which pushes fans further away from the field of play. The downside of holding the Commonwealth Games I guess.
Hamilton's trying to get a similar type of stadium (but probably smaller) and it would be a welcome addition.

I think the best stadiums are ones that are designed specifically for one sport, instead of the jack-of-all-trades ones. I always liked Camden Yards and the PNC in Pittsburgh is pretty sweet. What makes them great is the more intimate feel while keeping the classic look of a baseball stadium.

I think the key thing they're realizing now in building stadiums and arenas is that size is intamacy and warmth is the most important thing. While the ACC would be filled if it had 25,000 seats, they kept it smaller at 18,800 for hockey. NJ Devils' new arena only holds 17,600 for hockey and is supposed to be great for watching games - unfortunately it's about 2,000 seats more than they need since they can't even sell out.

[BlackRedGold]

Originally Posted by Berklon

I think the key thing they're realizing now in building stadiums and arenas is that size is intamacy and warmth is the most important thing. While the ACC would be filled if it had 25,000 seats, they kept it smaller at 18,800 for hockey.

The ACC is that size because it was designed for the Raptors, not to keep it intimate.

[ReginaGuy]

What are those tension cables for on the Big-O? The ones leading from the top of the tower to the roof of the stadium. They look like they support the roof, but if I'm not mistaken, the tower wasn't even completed until AFTER the olympics, so they must not be all that important?

[francely57]

Originally Posted by ReginaGuy

What are those tension cables for on the Big-O? The ones leading from the top of the tower to the roof of the stadium. They look like they support the roof, but if I'm not mistaken, the tower wasn't even completed until AFTER the olympics, so they must not be all that important?

The dream was to have a cool retractable roof supported by the tower... after it was all completed, the stadium was used for Expos' games, exhibitions (the auto show, etc.), and other events.

However, the whole roof device broke like 4 times, which made it dangerous for most events, and the Expos moved to Washington, so now it's barely used except for:

Originally Posted by Rico Rommheim

one or two Monster shows and the CFL playoffs

[IntotheWest]

I love the Star Trek look of the Big O when walking up to it. Yep, still like it. I first saw it when I went to an Expos game when I was about 12, and fell in love with it.

And isn't the leaning tower the tallest freestanding leaning tower, or something?? Just remember pretty good views from the top.

[Nicko999]

Originally Posted by IntotheWest

I love the Star Trek look of the Big O when walking up to it. Yep, still like it. I first saw it when I went to an Expos game when I was about 12, and fell in love with it.

And isn't the leaning tower the tallest freestanding leaning tower, or something?? Just remember pretty good views from the top.

from wikipedia

La tour de Montreal, the tower incorporated into the base of the stadium, is the tallest inclined tower in the world at 175 metres, and is a member of the World Federation of Great Towers.

Olympic Stadium holds the record for a soccer game attendance in Canada. At the 1976 Summer Olympics soccer final, 72,000 people witnessed East Germany's 3-1 win over Poland.

In August 1977, prog rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer played at the stadium. It was their last show with an orchestra on their ill-fated 'Works' tour. The concert was attended by some 88,000 people, which is considered a record attendance figure at the stadium.

[Nicko999]

another stadium known as the biggest in the NHL, the Bell Centre

The Bell Centre (French: Le Centre Bell), formerly known as the Molson Centre, has been the home of the Montreal Canadiens since March 16, 1996 when they hosted the New York Rangers (a game which they won 4–2). The team departed from the historic Montreal Forum after their last game on March 11 of the same year. Construction began on the site on June 22, 1993, 13 days after the Canadiens defeated the Los Angeles Kings at the Forum for their 24th and most recent Stanley Cup. The name of the arena initially reflected Molson, Inc., a brewing company which was owner of the Canadiens at the time. As a result, it quickly gained the nickname "The Keg." Molson elected not to keep the naming rights when they sold the team, and the name officially changed on September 1, 2002 after Bell Canada acquired the naming rights.

In 2007, the arena was the busiest in Canada, 2nd in North America and 5th in the world, through paid attendance. In 2006, it was first in Canada, third in North America and fourth in the world. Since it opened in 1996, it has consistently been listed as one of the world's busiest arenas.

http://www.arenadigest.com/visits/im...ell_centre.jpg


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...entre_06_2.jpg


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._Centre_06.jpg


http://www.pinkfloydz.com/roger2006/...l/CIMG0565.jpg