Stadiums & Arenas of Canada, Part 3

[speedog]

Originally Posted by FutureSmith

I'm assuming that's legit - never been there myself. Any Calgarians out there who can confirm this photo?

Appears to be the central east side concourse and it really isn't all that nice in person. Behind the scenes is even worse, volunteered there for a amateur sports group for quite a few years and have first hand experiance. The big Stampeders banner thing is new but anything else is lipstick on a...

[FutureSmith]

Originally Posted by speedog

Behind the scenes is even worse, volunteered there for a amateur sports group for quite a few years and have first hand experience. The big Stampeders banner thing is new but anything else is lipstick on a...

Maybe so, although I understand now why there is talk of renovation over replacement. I'm sure it's crummy, but I'm honestly surprised at how substantial it's bones are. I expected the underside of McMahon's stands to look like Ivor Wynne:

[speedog]

Hah, that picture of McMahon does not convey the real experience. It is way less spacious than that Ivor Wynne shot and McMahon, it's just been all bandaids over the years. I guess the one good thing about McMahon is that the washrooms provide a warm respite on cold days as the concourse certainly does not unless you're volunteering/working in a concession and even in the concessions it's often cold enough to require coats or more.

Now I realize that comfort in a concession stand is most likely not a priority when it comes to building a stadium but the fans should deserve a bit more than they're currently getting at McMahon.

[J.OT13]

New York Islanders are moving just outside Queens. The move includes a new 18,000 seat arena and a 435,000 square foot mixed use development (luxury hotel, retail, restaurants). The project will be privately funded (shocking in the US!)

Since Barclays sucks as an NHL arena, it seems the Islanders will move back to Uniondale in the interim.



https://archpaper.com/2017/12/island...lery-0-slide-1

More renderings;

https://www.nhl.com/islanders/news/p...gs/c-294225596

[JHikka]

The most important thing about the Belmont facility is that it can be utilized as another music venue for acts playing in NYC. Groups can play three or four shows in the NYC area pretty easily splitting between MSG & Belmont (and perhaps Barclays, depending on how its set up). That's a lot of the appeal for the facility, along with the main reason why Barclays wants to kick the Isles out in the first place.

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Since Barclays sucks as an NHL arena, it seems the Islanders will move back to Uniondale in the interim. ]

This point is still up in the air and depends on how early Barclays wants to evict the Isles, right? AFAIK Nassau is not really up to snuff for an NHL team.

[Hackslack]

Originally Posted by FutureSmith

Maybe so, although I understand now why there is talk of renovation over replacement. I'm sure it's crummy, but I'm honestly surprised at how substantial it's bones are. I expected the underside of McMahon's stands to look like Ivor Wynne:

The underside of McMahon is almost identical to that of Ivor Wynne. The McMahon concourse is horrendously packed between quarters. I wish the stadium itself would get a reno to make the concourse bigger with more washrooms. It can stay barebones for all I care, just the access within the stadium is very annoying. The in game experience is great at McMahon, with great sightlines from every part of the stadium, but they should definitely reduce capacity to accommodate wider seats and replace the bench seating with wide seats. That way the upper corners will likely get filled too.

[esquire]

^ The Ivor Wynne Concourse reminds me a lot of the old CanadInns Stadium. About the only shortcoming that CanadInns didn't have was congestion/lack of space... the lower deck concourses were massive and could easily handle full house crowds (upper decks and the end zone less so).

[Franco401]

Originally Posted by JHikka

The most important thing about the Belmont facility is that it can be utilized as another music venue for acts playing in NYC. Groups can play three or four shows in the NYC area pretty easily splitting between MSG & Belmont (and perhaps Barclays, depending on how its set up). That's a lot of the appeal for the facility, along with the main reason why Barclays wants to kick the Isles out in the first place.



This point is still up in the air and depends on how early Barclays wants to evict the Isles, right? AFAIK Nassau is not really up to snuff for an NHL team.

Nassau has received the renovation that could have kept the Islanders in Uniondale to begin with. It's now only 13500 seats but more than suitable as a temporary venue. The Islanders want out of Barclays just as bad as Barclays want them out, and they won't be waiting for an eviction notice.

[esquire]

^ Just judging by the photos, it appears that Nassau Coliseum was basically turned into a very fresh looking but somewhat basic concert venue. Even though the seating capacity for the NHL is only marginally lower than Barclays Centre which holds 15,795 for hockey, it looks like Nassau doesn't have much in the way of new premium seating areas where the teams really rake it in these days... a full renovation that included all the standard major league sports trappings would have really bloated the project budget. But as a temporary venue I would think it could work for a couple seasons. Incidentally I think they did an impressive job on the exterior refurbishing... as much as I liked the early 70s aesthetic of the original venue, the new look is really nice.

To JHikka's point about the NYC area concert schedule, it is interesting to flip through the NY Times and see ads for touring shows that make multiple stops in the area. It's not uncommon to see things like an act stopping in 3 of the big NYC area arenas which include Prudential Center, MSG, Nassau Coliseum and Barclays Center.

[elly63]

Stadiums & Arenas of Canada?

[J.OT13]

The exterior of Nassau reminds me of Chrysler and Volvo grills from the 80s and 90s.

Originally Posted by elly63

Stadiums & Arenas of Canada?

We frequently have debates surrounding NHL relocations (Islanders being a team that has been struggling for many years), arena funding formulas, surrounding development, so on and so forth. Even though this is a thread for Canadian venues, it's good for us to keep track of what's happening elsewhere to stay informed with current trends.

[Oilkountry]

plus elly it's a little slow on the Canadian arena/stadium side right now.

Interesting thing about the islanders news is it's just another punch to the gut on Quebec's chances of landing a team.

Sounds like the Hurricanes are being sold to remain in Raleigh which leaves the panthers.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Oilkountry

plus elly it's a little slow on the Canadian arena/stadium side right now.

Interesting thing about the islanders news is it's just another punch to the gut on Quebec's chances of landing a team.

Sounds like the Hurricanes are being sold to remain in Raleigh which leaves the panthers.

Or some other situation we're not yet aware of...

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by Franco401

Nassau has received the renovation that could have kept the Islanders in Uniondale to begin with. It's now only 13500 seats but more than suitable as a temporary venue.

13,500 is probably not enough for a permanent arena. Temporary, yes, but not permanent. Winnipeg's arena is about as small as one can get.

Originally Posted by Acajack

Or some other situation we're not yet aware of...

Seems doubtful at this stage. Quebec is only really eligible for Eastern relocations, and with the Canes and Isles seemingly wrapped up that leaves the Panthers who are perpetually kept afloat by concerts in their arena. Outside of those three there aren't really any problem children to speak of in the East. The window on Quebec has likely closed for the next decade or so pending some sort of implosion with one of the currently existing franchises.

[Oilkountry]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Or some other situation we're not yet aware of...

as in?

An expansion to 34 teams seems highly unlikely

Hurricanes new potential owner has stated repeatedly he has no interest in moving the team and the current owner wants to sell it locally

Islanders are off the table.

Coyotes situation will be hashed out and if not my gut tells me they will end up in Houston to keep the conferences in tact.

Seattle will and has always had the 32nd expansion spot.

that leaves Florida and I don't think Florida is going anywhere

[MonctonRad]

Which leaves the Centre Videotron as the poshest major junior hockey venue in the country.

I agree with you. I don't think the NHL will expand beyond 32 teams.

[Acajack]

I don't think the NHL is likely to expand either.

What I was saying is that team relocations in North American pro sports aren't always something that people see coming ahead of time.

Just recently there were rumblings that the Senators might not stay in Ottawa indefinitely.

Are the Sens likely to move? Probably not. But there have been teams that have moved with even less forewarning than what's been heard out of Ottawa recently.

I don't think anyone here is privy to the discussions in NHL backrooms.

[HomeInMyShoes]

The Jets return was serendipitous really. I expect Quebec getting a team back to be equally so. Without crazy luck I don't expect any amount of hard work on Quebec's part to end in getting a franchise again. They had all the pieces together and the board of governors said no. Until Bettman isn't involved I don't anticipate the mood with the governors to change. It will take some serious steering of the ship to make that happen.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Just recently there were rumblings that the Senators might not stay in Ottawa indefinitely.

No. There was an owner musing about moving the franchise under no actual pretense other than his own displeasure with how things going locally, and is not the same as there being rumblings. Unless the BoG is voicing actual displeasure with a market then it's unlikely the franchise will actually move.

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

The Jets return was serendipitous really. I expect Quebec getting a team back to be equally so. Without crazy luck I don't expect any amount of hard work on Quebec's part to end in getting a franchise again.

Agreed. Winnipeg benefited from Atlanta going up in flames overnight.

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

They had all the pieces together and the board of governors said no. Until Bettman isn't involved I don't anticipate the mood with the governors to change. It will take some serious steering of the ship to make that happen.

They didn't have currency exchange on their side. Or TV/growth numbers. Potential issues with player acquisition that would make Winnipeg look like a tax-free sunbelt state by comparison also hang in the air.

[DLLB]

Originally Posted by FutureSmith

Maybe so, although I understand now why there is talk of renovation over replacement. I'm sure it's crummy, but I'm honestly surprised at how substantial it's bones are. I expected the underside of McMahon's stands to look like Ivor Wynne:

I haven't been to McMahon for a while but last I remember it was like a slum. A complete disgrace to the city