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<center><img src="http://www.bearspage.info/h/tra/ca/bc/va/i/se/s446.jpg"></center><p><i>Inflated dome roof of BC Place stadium collapses, weather likely to blame
January 05, 2007 - 2:20 pm
By: Maria Weisgarber and Shane Bigham








VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - The giant inflatable roof at BC Place, a fixture of Vancouver's world famous skyline, is gone. The exact cause of the collapse is still not known but weather is likely to blame. One thing is for sure, this has come as a huge shock to passersby. Witnesses say the roof was there one moment and then gone the next. People walking by the dome have been stopping and staring at the empty space above the grey walls of BC Place ever since.



Not only is the dome home to the BC Lions but it's also slated to be venue hosting the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 Olympics. It's also where some of the province's largest trade and consumer shows set up shop.
</i><ul><li><a href="http://www.news1130.com/news/topstory/article.jsp?content=20070105_172040_5704">http://www.news1130.com/news/topstory/article.jsp?content=20070105_172040_5704</a</li></ul>

Meegis

Any updated pics?

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<center><img src="http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/media.canada.com/canwest/111/global_bc_stadium_roof_210.jpg?size=l"></center><p><i>Roof at B.C. Place stadium torn during storm
A Tower Cam image from downtown Vancouver shows the dome of B.C. Place collapsing under the weight of snow.
Photograph by : Global TV
The Province
Published: Friday, January 05, 2007 Article tools
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Font: * * * * The roof at B.C. Place stadium - home of the B.C. Lions of the Canadian Football League - was torn shortly after noon during a storm that brought wind and heavy, wet snow to the area.

There were no report on injuries after the inflated fabric roof fell into the empty stadium.

The stadium was completed in 1983 in preparation for Expo '86.


About three weeks ago, Graham Ramsay, BC place's business development director said that contrary to some reports in The Province, the Teflon roof did not need to be replaced, as a review conducted by its builder shows it is structurally sound

The provincially owned stadium's future has been the subject of considerable speculation in recent years because of its prime location alongside False Creek in downtown Vancouver. It's in an area that is undergoing extensive real estate redevelopment, with such projects as a new Costco store and four attached condo towers.

The year 2010 has long been viewed as a deadline on the stadium's future because the facility is committed to staging the Winter Olympics opening and closing ceremonies and nightly medal presentations.

But Ramsay, a long-time BC Place executive who was recently promoted, denies that the advance bookings are part of a fight to keep the 23-year-old stadium alive.

Ramsay says BC Place is just continuing its practice of booking events on a five-year cycle.

"I see the building has a very strong future," says Ramsay. "Those (questions surrounding the property's future) are the political decisions that are made outside of this."

BC Place is operated by the BC Pavilion Corp. (PAVCO), a Crown corporation that also operates the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre and its expansion project now under construction, along with Burnaby-based Bridge Studios. Each facility has its own management group.

Most BC Place events are repeat bookings held around the same time every year. The Grey Cup-champion B.C. Lions of the Canadian Football League are the venue's lone major tenant.

In addition to sporting events such as Lions games and the B.C. high school football championships, minor soccer tournaments and motorcycle races, the stadium stages trade and consumer shows and special events such as November's Rolling Stones concert.

BC Place is booked an average of 220 days per year. In 2005-06, it generated $12.71 million in rental revenue. But Ramsay says its economic impact on the community is much larger.

The Rolling Stones concert, for example, generated $7 million, including $2 million in taxes.

</i><ul><li><a href="http://www.canada.com/topics/sports/story.html?id=93784681-8491-404f-8967-15ff27bdfa80&amp;k=36858">http://www.canada.com/topics/sports/story.html?id=93784681-8491-404f-8967-15ff27bdfa80&amp;k=36858</a</li></ul>

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<center><img src="http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/media.canada.com/cp/national/20070105/n010582a.jpg?size=l"></center><p>

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<center><img src="http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/news/photos/2007/01/05/bcplace-damage-070105.jpg"></center><p>

1.8TQ99.5

Is Toronto the only major Canadian city that knows how to build a big-league stadium?

&lt;ducks&gt;