PavCo will wait until conditions improve to develop land around site to pay costs
Bruce Constantineau
Sun
The B.C. government has approved a $365-million plan to update BC Place with interior improvements, seismic upgrades and a retractable roof to open by the summer of 2011.
It cost $126 million ($243 in today’s dollars) to build BC Place when it opened in 1983.
The $365-million price tag announced Friday includes $65 million in interior improvements that have already begun, a $43-million seismic upgrade, maintenance system improvements, a contingency fund and the roof project, which is widely estimated at about $200 million.
“I’m very confident in the project and I think it’s a very prudent investment for the city because, otherwise, you’d be replacing this facility somewhere else at probably triple the cost,” PavCo chair David Podmore said.
BC Place will play host to the the 2010 Olympics opening and closing ceremonies and installation of a new roof will begin after the Olympics end.
The BC Place air-supported fabric roof collapsed on Jan. 5, 2007, after heavy snow caused a large tear in one panel. A report later said staff didn’t follow proper procedures to clear snow from the roof, but also said existing damage to the roof fabric and weather caused the tear.
Podmore said most of the project will be financed through the development of lands near BC Place, existing cash reserves of about $25 million, sponsorships, expanded event business and energy savings. The plan calls for more than $100 million to be recovered through the sale and lease of development sites near the stadium. Podmore said the release of the sites can be delayed until the market recovers from the recession.
“This is a business and we’ll pick the timing we think is optimum to realize the value we need,” he said.
Development plans for two major land parcels near the stadium call for up to 1.4 million square feet of residential and commercial space to be built.
Podmore declined to divulge an expected final price tag for the roof project, which many expect to be in the $200-million range.
“If I give all of the budget breakdowns, then we’re basically telling the contracting community exactly what we’ve allocated,” he said. “I want to make sure we have the best pricing come in on a competitive basis.”
A final roof design is expected by the end of January, with tendering to begin by mid-February. PavCo has hired PCL Constructors to work on the next phase of the upgrade project.
The roof project is crucial to the Vancouver Whitecaps’ bid to win a Major League Soccer franchise to begin play in 2011. Six North American cities are vying for two franchises and the MLS is expected to decide on the winning bids early this year.
The MLS season begins in March, but Podmore said the roof probably won’t be finished until the summer of 2011. He said the Whitecaps and BC Lions could play in BC Place while the new roof is being completed.
“We expect to have the roof operational before the summer,” Podmore said. “Then there’s all kinds of finishing work to be done, but that won’t stop them from using the facility.”
NDP tourism and sport critic Rob Fleming said the cost of the upgrade is an “eye-opening number” that has only gone up after three years of indecision about replacing the stadium’s roof.
“If this had happened three years ago, there would have been a much stronger [real estate market] so more risk and responsibility would have been transferred from taxpayers,” he said.
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