This is wild !
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/c...0-a5ff0f237156Alarm bells ring on BC Place retractable roof
Probably biggest gamble of 2010 Games racing against clock
Miro Cernetig, Vancouver Sun
Published: Monday, April 28, 2008
Premier Gordon Campbell wants the retractable roof. So does David Podmore, the construction exec in charge of revamping BC Place Stadium for the Olympics. Hard to blame either of them; our stadium's current top looks like an old bedsheet left in the rain too long.
A new roof that can be opened to let that Olympic flame burn bright for 2010 and the sunshine in during a B.C. Lions game when it's not raining, is no doubt a desirable goal. It will add a whole new life, architectural profile and use (baseball or soccer, anyone?) to Vancouver's aging, domed stadium.
But. But. But.
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BC Place Stadium, seen here before damage was repaired, should have a new retractable roof in time for 2010 Games.
Steve Bosch, Vancouver Sun
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Font:****Putting up that retractable roof over BC Place has got to ring some alarms bells, too.
It is probably the biggest gamble of the 2010 Olympic Games: Get it done right, on time and Podmore gets the gold. Blow it, either through delays or the myriad of engineering complications that come with a $150-million to $200-million re-engineering job, and he's got an Olympic disaster on his hands.
In the international press, we'd go from being depicted as a city preparing a near flawless Games to shades of Athens, where plans for a new structure over an old stadium also created grave concerns within the International Olympic Committee when organizers began running behind schedule.
It could be even worse than that, of course, as Canada has shown. A truly botched job -- always something to consider when deadlines get tight and retrofits that involve old buildings are in play -- and we could be a mini-Montreal, rushing through an Olympic roof that had skyrocketing costs and was a disaster. If you don't think things can go wrong on these big projects, just remember that the cost of the convention centre expansion has now almost doubled, closing in on $1 billion.
So, prudence ought to be the order of the day on this key decision. Any day now, Podmore is expected to deliver his recommendations on BC Place's new roof to the provincial cabinet. At the moment, he's under his own dome of silence. But I'm told the government is expecting he'll come up with a way of doing the retractable roof, putting BC Place into the world's top 10 largest indoor-outdoor stadiums.
But Podmore is a careful guy. First, he knows he's got to make sure BC Place has the structural integrity for the load of a new fixed roof, retractable or not. (Most think it has, given how much concrete is in it). And he's also got to ensure if things do go sideways, there's a face-saving contingency plan.
It turns out he's got a few tricks to ensure that ambitious project wouldn't turn from a dream into a nightmare.
When he first floated the idea of the retractable roof a few months ago to the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee, Podmore suggested to the insiders that a new roof could be built over the existing one. That would ensure BC Place would be operational during the 18 months or more of construction, allowing B.C. Lions games and trade shows to continue. Then, once the new roof was completed, the old air-suspended dome would come down.
Alarm bells ring on BC Place retractable roof
Probably biggest gamble of 2010 Games racing against clock
Miro Cernetig, Vancouver Sun
Published: Monday, April 28, 2008
The benefit of this approach wasn't lost on Olympic organizers. Aside from a revamped stadium that could offer open-air ceremonies for 2010, the Olympic planners also would have a guarantee that any logistical snafus wouldn't turn into an international embarrassment. If construction bogs down, the old roof would still be covering BC Place.
Now a half-complete roof over an ugly old dome isn't quite the image Vancouver or Canada wants to present to billions of TV viewers during the Games. But this, too, could be massaged.
Providing those engineering studies show a new roof is possible -- I'd bet on a yes since, as sport business analyst Tom Mayenknecht told me, German stadium engineers are already in town sussing out how to do the job -- there is nothing stopping Podmore from taking a graduated approach to this. Get the retractable roof plan on track, do the designs, arrange the funding and line up the major contractors. Then, if time proves too short or serious engineering problems are encountered, he could easily order that project be delayed until after the Games. Alternatively, it could be partially completed, leaving a sort of doughnut hole over the field until the Olympics are over.
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Font:****Falling short would be disappointing, but hardly a fiasco. It could even be argued the local economy could use a major infrastructure project after the Olympics, when the economy is likely to cool down.
So if you're making a bet on the newest addition to the Vancouver skyline, I'm told the smart money is on a retractable roof. If David Podmore goes to the provincial cabinet in the next few days with such a plan, odds are he's going to get an immediate message from Premier Campbell: let the Olympic Games re-roofing begin.
Podmore will have about 600 days to get the job done. He will find himself in the first real race of the 2010 Olympics.
Read Miro Cernetig's blog at
http://www.vancouversun.com/blogs© The Vancouver Sun 2008
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