Investors Group Field | Winnipeg

[Riverman]

Poor design, stupid location, shoddy construction - the list goes on.

[esquire]

^ Location is not an issue... after the bumps of the first few games I find getting to IGF about the same as going to the old stadium. And design... sure there are problems that are a headache for the football club, but what is there that is annoying to fans? The canopy over the stands is good design in my books. It's great to remain dry even if it's pouring.

There's just a lot of typical Winnipeg sky-is-falling claptrap here that overlooks the fact that the stadium works fine and delivers a great fan experience. Do the people who complain about IGF actually go to the games or just repeat stuff they read in the Sun? I go to most of the games, and I can't see what the gripes are about.

[Simplicity]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ Location is not an issue... after the bumps of the first few games I find getting to IGF about the same as going to the old stadium. And design... sure there are problems that are a headache for the football club, but what is there that is annoying to fans? The canopy over the stands is good design in my books. It's great to remain dry even if it's pouring.

There's just a lot of typical Winnipeg sky-is-falling claptrap here that overlooks the fact that the stadium works fine and delivers a great fan experience. Do the people who complain about IGF actually go to the games or just repeat stuff they read in the Sun? I go to most of the games, and I can't see what the gripes are about.

I go to enough that I've got a good sense of the place and the transportation to and from I find pretty efficient given that I bus. I've actually yet to drive so maybe that's coloring my opinion, but I also have the luxury of living relatively close and on a fairly direct bus route, so my experience likely doesn't relate to most. In any case, I find the concourses unduly tight. But, since my days of hanging primarily in the rum hut are long gone, it's become less of an issue over time given that I mostly stay close to my seats.

If I were 25 and trying to laid at a Bomber game, I'd be pissed though. It actually takes over twenty minutes to get from one side of the stadium to the other between quarters...

[Nathan]

Originally Posted by Cyro

Your answer is cleverly and stealthily hidden in the post you quoted.I bolded it.

I think he might have been questioning that there is a bit of an underlying tone that maybe the new Mosaic will have a bunch of failures that will shift the attention from some of IGF's shortcomings.



But in any case, I'm really hoping that the last articles I was reading (about going after all the problems and sorting everything out) really gets it all done done and everything can be put to rest. In general, it really is a very attractive stadium, but it's the details that were missed/improperly done that are sort of dragging the reputation down. Would be great just to have really nice, top notch stadiums across the league.

[thefourthtower]

Originally Posted by Nathan

I think he might have been questioning that there is a bit of an underlying tone that maybe the new Mosaic will have a bunch of failures that will shift the attention from some of IGF's shortcomings.

But in any case, I'm really hoping that the last articles I was reading (about going after all the problems and sorting everything out) really gets it all done done and everything can be put to rest. In general, it really is a very attractive stadium, but it's the details that were missed/improperly done that are sort of dragging the reputation down. Would be great just to have really nice, top notch stadiums across the league.

That is what I got from the reading shifting failures to Mosaic , all in all that stadium is beautiful

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Simplicity

I go to enough that I've got a good sense of the place and the transportation to and from I find pretty efficient given that I bus. I've actually yet to drive so maybe that's coloring my opinion, but I also have the luxury of living relatively close and on a fairly direct bus route, so my experience likely doesn't relate to most. In any case, I find the concourses unduly tight. But, since my days of hanging primarily in the rum hut are long gone, it's become less of an issue over time given that I mostly stay close to my seats.

If I were 25 and trying to laid at a Bomber game, I'd be pissed though. It actually takes over twenty minutes to get from one side of the stadium to the other between quarters...

Sounds like roughly the same experience as mine. I too live close to a direct bus route so it's quite easy to just do that. I have gotten a ride on a few occasions with friends who have reserved parking spots near the stadium, and they can literally breeze in and out. I was actually surprised by how quickly traffic moves in that regard. Accessibility will only improve when the SW BRT route (which should have been completed to coincide with IGF's opening) is finished.

Concourses are tight, although for some reason the effect is mainly felt on the lower level. I usually sit in the upper deck and it is no trouble getting around up there. Halftime can be a bit tight in the upper deck too, but show me a stadium that isn't at least slightly congested during halftime.

The lower level is a bit more of a dilemma, but to be frank, stadium management has not really made the most efficient use of the space. Concourses are cluttered with various vendors and tables, people are encouraged to linger by the Rum Hut, there weren't any mechanisms to control queueing and prevent it from spilling out into the pedestrian flow. Some of that has been corrected and there has been improvement. As I've said before, Canwest/Shaw Park used to have the same problems but they improved it after a few seasons. For what it's worth, these issues don't bother me since my halftime activities are generally limited to visiting the washroom (which is exponentially better in the new place with clean, proper facilities and fast-moving lines) and buying beer, both of which are things I can do with ease near my regular seats.

[steveosnyder]

Originally Posted by Simplicity

I go to enough that I've got a good sense of the place and the transportation to and from I find pretty efficient given that I bus. I've actually yet to drive so maybe that's coloring my opinion, but I also have the luxury of living relatively close and on a fairly direct bus route, so my experience likely doesn't relate to most. In any case, I find the concourses unduly tight. But, since my days of hanging primarily in the rum hut are long gone, it's become less of an issue over time given that I mostly stay close to my seats.

If I were 25 and trying to laid at a Bomber game, I'd be pissed though. It actually takes over twenty minutes to get from one side of the stadium to the other between quarters...

What are you doing wasting your money on silly things like sporting events, especially when we subsidize them! I thought I knew you.

[Simplicity]

Originally Posted by steveosnyder

What are you doing wasting your money on silly things like sporting events, especially when we subsidize them! I thought I knew you.

The truth is I've never paid for a sporting event in my life except for a Blue Jay game. And even that was only $2. I've always had family that has kept 8 corporate tickets so it wasn't uncommon for them to go unused, especially given the last twenty years of mostly ineptitude. And that's the same thing with IGF. There hasn't been much worth seeing and a lot of the clientele of my family members tend to be rural folk so the driving and walking seems to have turned them off. That often leaves seats available.

I still much prefer to watch on TV. As I said earlier, back in the day it was free entrance to the city's largest bar; I remember games where I didn't sit in my seat once. But if I'm interested in the actual game, even with good seats there's nothing to see live but bodies flying around.

[NK59]

It really is an attractive stadium! Too bad everything good about it is completely negated by the truly AWFUL location.

I'm happy I have the Jets to support even though I actually like football more than hockey.

[UPP]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ Location is not an issue... after the bumps of the first few games I find getting to IGF about the same as going to the old stadium. And design... sure there are problems that are a headache for the football club, but what is there that is annoying to fans? The canopy over the stands is good design in my books. It's great to remain dry even if it's pouring.

There's just a lot of typical Winnipeg sky-is-falling claptrap here that overlooks the fact that the stadium works fine and delivers a great fan experience. Do the people who complain about IGF actually go to the games or just repeat stuff they read in the Sun? I go to most of the games, and I can't see what the gripes are about.

^^^ This.
Being from Regina, and listening to comments about IGF, they seem to mostly come from Winnipeggers. From what I've heard from Reginans who've gone to Winnipeg to watch a game, they speak very positively about the new stadium. Yes, there are headscratchers, but that happens with any new build, from houses to hospitals and everything in between.

And I can also guarantee that there will be hiccups with the new Mosaic in Regina. It's inevitable.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by UPP

^^^ This.
Being from Regina, and listening to comments about IGF, they seem to mostly come from Winnipeggers. From what I've heard from Reginans who've gone to Winnipeg to watch a game, they speak very positively about the new stadium. Yes, there are headscratchers, but that happens with any new build, from houses to hospitals and everything in between.

And I can also guarantee that there will be hiccups with the new Mosaic in Regina. It's inevitable.

Any $300 million project will have a few hiccups, it's inevitable. Every time a new MLB or NFL stadium opens you get pics on social media of obstructed view seats or other shortcomings.

While in most other cities people just have a laugh, it gets fixed and everyone moves on, for some reason in Winnipeg the media just absolutely fixates on this kind of stuff, repeating it ad infinitum until nearly everyone is convinced that you can't access IGF without walking 5 miles, that the place is about to fall down, that you can't get food at halftime or whatever other overblown horror stories we keep hearing.

[HomeInMyShoes]

^I think the process and perhaps semi-translucent-transparency and a general lack of trust in that whole process is probably the largest reason that things get blown a little larger than they proportionately are.

I expect no less and perhaps even more discord for anything off with Mosaic Stadium given how much money people are going to see personally going to it through city tax rate increases. While it is great that we know what those increases are, it is not going to make deficiencies of any sort any easier to swallow. There will be a lot of resentment on behalf of the general public for anything. There will be a lot of resentment even if it is perfect.

I don't think Mosaic's deficiencies will change the climate in Winnipeg any. There might be slightly less national exposure, but the ill is not national, it is local.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

^I think the process and perhaps semi-translucent-transparency and a general lack of trust in that whole process is probably the largest reason that things get blown a little larger than they proportionately are.

Yeah, you're probably right. Entirely privately-run and financed organizations do it all behind closed doors and the public is none the wiser. Here, the reality is that the Bombers are barely arms-length from government so all of the dirty laundry comes out in the press.

I don't think Mosaic's deficiencies will change the climate in Winnipeg any. There might be slightly less national exposure, but the ill is not national, it is local.

I don't think the discussion in Winnipeg will be affected at all by what happens with Mosaic. Whether Mosaic is perfect or problem-riddled, a subset of people here will still be bellyaching about IGF for years to come.

[Cyro]

Originally Posted by Nathan

I think he might have been questioning that there is a bit of an underlying tone that maybe the new Mosaic will have a bunch of failures that will shift the attention from some of IGF's shortcomings.

I can understand that,sometimes posts are misinterpreted and need clarification. Happens on a daily basis.

[Cyro]

Originally Posted by esquire

For all the dumping on IGF I'd say it's still a success and represents excellent bang for the buck even with the cost overruns. Unlike THF which was basically a 1 for 1 replacement of an old venue with a nearly identical new one (but with skyboxes and club seats), IGF is leaps and bounds better than CanadInns Stadium. A lot of the early clucking about accessbility and transportation has been put to rest already, so all that's left is relatively small potatoes stuff that are definitely head-scratchers (the concourse's inability to support forklifts, the inadequate drainage, etc.) but nothing that impacts the fan experience whatsoever. The team has had far more of a negative effect on that than anything to do with the stadium's design or architecture.

I actually have no issue real issue with the asthetics of the facility, or the functionallity as others have discussed. I've attended multiple events and been quite pleased.

Started this thread just to see how most posters Felt ages ago ?

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=206097


I liken the situation more to that of the purchase of a vehicle. Looks great, drives pretty well too. Then you pop the hood, do some diagnostics on it and realize there are some problems that were overlooked and exist after the excitement of the initial drive is over.

Now, it seemed like a bargain at first, but with the problems and repairs that are most likely going to be required over the long term, maybe I should reconsider and pursue other options, look elsewhere or spend a little more money on the right purchase?

Anyway, seeing that none of this is possible now, the major problems are/will/or have been addressed, lets enjoy what most feel is a very nice, adequate facility.

[Riverman]

Yikes.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/spo...ce=d-top-story

[North_Regina_Boy]

Originally Posted by Riverman

Yikes.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/spo...ce=d-top-story

This is the chain lift on the rollercoaster of really fun times it seems.

I think for a stadium at a price of $175M something was up. When Regina's New stadium came in at $278M I was like humm, was IGF really that much cheaper? It seems there was some merit to that.

[The Jabroni]

Originally Posted by Riverman

Yikes.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/spo...ce=d-top-story

There's not enough popcorn in the world for the amount of drama that has ensued with this plot twist, with the huge mess we are about to encounter...

[esquire]

^ Today's story is not really some earth shattering revelation, it just amounts to Stuart Olson saying that any problems weren't their fault.

[cllew]

Here is a link to Stewart Olson's response to the statement of Claim

https://www.documentcloud.org/docume...rossclaim.html