Stadiums and Arenas of Canada part 2

[itom 987]

Here is a link to the previous thread:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=152997

The discussion continues here...

[Chadillaccc]

Why not a more cohesive name like Stadiums and Arenas... it doesn't really need a number on it at this point in the game. Great to see another thread break 10 000 though!

[Migs]

New Regina stadium update. One thing that unfortunately the pictures dont portray is the shear size of this project. Remember that about 60% of all seats are below grade & unfortunately the vantage point from my pics doesn't show the magnitude of the hole. If any of you are passing through Regina I highly recommend a visit to the construction site, it is massive.

[Welkin]

Originally Posted by Migs

New Regina stadium update. One thing that unfortunately the pictures dont portray is the shear size of this project. Remember that about 60% of all seats are below grade & unfortunately the vantage point from my pics doesn't show the magnitude of the hole. If any of you are passing through Regina I highly recommend a visit to the construction site, it is massive.

Wow!!! It looks wonderful. I can't wait for it to be completed. It is amazing how it all comes together.

[cjones2451]

Sorry for not giving you credit earlier on the photo Migs. Great updates here, in the Sask & Manitoba thread and on Twitter. keep it up

[Le-TanK-]

It sure is coming along nicely.

[thefourthtower]

Originally Posted by cjones2451

Sorry for not giving you credit earlier on the photo Migs. Great updates here, in the Sask & Manitoba thread and on Twitter. keep it up

Now there is talk of a new hockey areana downtown , the city is on a roll

[Nathan]

Originally Posted by thefourthtower

Now there is talk of a new hockey areana downtown , the city is on a roll

Likely just bluster to get a better rent deal on the Brandt Centre though... If it does proceed though, it'll have to be completely private funding (which they are actually talking about); there is zero public desire for funding a new arena after funding a stadium.

[khabibulin]

Originally Posted by Nathan

Likely just bluster to get a better rent deal on the Brandt Centre though... If it does proceed though, it'll have to be completely private funding (which they are actually talking about); there is zero public desire for funding a new arena after funding a stadium.

Maybe home to a new AHL farm team for the Jets?

[Nathan]

Originally Posted by khabibulin

Maybe home to a new AHL farm team for the Jets?

No. It's for the Pats (the 98 year old Junior Hockey team) plus other events that the current arena is too small for. The AHL is really a non-entity here, I've never heard anyone ever talk about it.

[Welkin]

Originally Posted by thefourthtower

Now there is talk of a new hockey areana downtown , the city is on a roll

I've always thought that Regina should have had a good downtown arena instead of the Brandt. They don't need anything too big or fancy, but something along the lines of the 9,000 seat Labatts Center (sorry Budweiser Gardens) in London, or the 8,000 seat Huntington Center in Toledo. It would be nice to see them get something new.

[Nathan]

Originally Posted by Welkin

I've always thought that Regina should have had a good downtown arena instead of the Brandt. They don't need anything too big or fancy, but something along the lines of the 9,000 seat Labatts Center (sorry Budweiser Gardens) in London, or the 8,000 seat Huntington Center in Toledo. It would be nice to see them get something new.

8 to 9 thousand would hardly be worth it. I think if they want something that will last and have long-term benefits, they need to think in the 10-12k + range. Perhaps with an open end or 2 that can expand, à la Sask Place. Other than it being at the edge of the city, Sask Place was built/expanded in a very smart way.

If its less than 10-12k, they may as well just dump some money into improving the Brandt Centre a bit more.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by Nathan

8 to 9 thousand would hardly be worth it. I think if they want something that will last and have long-term benefits, they need to think in the 10-12k + range. Perhaps with an open end or 2 that can expand, à la Sask Place. Other than it being at the edge of the city, Sask Place was built/expanded in a very smart way.

If its less than 10-12k, they may as well just dump some money into improving the Brandt Centre a bit more.

Similar discussion to what is going on in Moncton right now. What's the point of building a 7,500 seat arena when your old one is only 1K smaller when you have the opportunity to build one with 10K? It would be more attractive and smarter in the long run.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Similar discussion to what is going on in Moncton right now. What's the point of building a 7,500 seat arena when your old one is only 1K smaller when you have the opportunity to build one with 10K? It would be more attractive and smarter in the long run.

I don't think Moncton could regularly sell 10k. I'm not even sure why they are building a new arena. The Coliseum is in a good location with plenty of parking but it is a 40 year old building. I think it's still in good shape but I haven't paid much attention to the story.

The new arena is in a good location downtown but the traffic in the area will be insane.

I haven't been following this, so someone please correct me, but one of the problems with the Coliseum is the sloping roof, which mirrors some of the problems the Saddledome has in attracting major concerts. Also concert promoters and arena builders are telling the city to have around 7500 seats and that it is unlikely they will regularly sell out 9 or 10k.

More seats isn't necessarily better.

[esquire]

I think it would be awesome if Regina had a 12,000 seat downtown arena... I'm sure it would draw a lot of concerts and events that now tend to favour Saskatoon. But the reality is Brandt Centre is more than adequate for the Pats, so there is no real argument that justifies the costs of a new rink...

Nathan's right, probably makes more sense to spiff up the existing building. They've already done that to some extent in recent years... I haven't been in there myself since the 90s but seeing it on TV, it looks much better these days.

[Welkin]

Originally Posted by Nathan

8 to 9 thousand would hardly be worth it. I think if they want something that will last and have long-term benefits, they need to think in the 10-12k + range. Perhaps with an open end or 2 that can expand, à la Sask Place. Other than it being at the edge of the city, Sask Place was built/expanded in a very smart way.

If its less than 10-12k, they may as well just dump some money into improving the Brandt Centre a bit more.

Well you obviously don't need 10-12K for the Pats, so for who are you adding an additional 3,000 seats? There is a dramatic difference in the cost between building a 9,000 seat arena and a 12,000 seat arena. If your main tenant can't even use the 9,000 seats, why would you pay so much more money to get 12,000 seats. Certainly you don't advocate spending all that extra money for a few concerts or monster truck shows. 9,000 seats in a brand new arena with all the amenities for concerts and shows is all Regina needs and would be cost affordable. Either that or just don't do anything at all and stick with the Brandt.

[HomerSPC]

Originally Posted by Welkin

Well you obviously don't need 10-12K for the Pats, so for who are you adding an additional 3,000 seats? There is a dramatic difference in the cost between building a 9,000 seat arena and a 12,000 seat arena. If your main tenant can't even use the 9,000 seats, why would you pay so much more money to get 12,000 seats. Certainly you don't advocate spending all that extra money for a few concerts or monster truck shows. 9,000 seats in a brand new arena with all the amenities for concerts and shows is all Regina needs and would be cost affordable. Either that or just don't do anything at all and stick with the Brandt.

If Queen City Sports & Entertainment wants to pay for a 12k stadium, I'm all in. I'm tired of driving to Saskatoon for concerts.

[Migs]

New Mosaic Stadium from above!



Photo via @YQRstadium

[Nathan]

Originally Posted by Welkin

Well you obviously don't need 10-12K for the Pats, so for who are you adding an additional 3,000 seats? There is a dramatic difference in the cost between building a 9,000 seat arena and a 12,000 seat arena. If your main tenant can't even use the 9,000 seats, why would you pay so much more money to get 12,000 seats. Certainly you don't advocate spending all that extra money for a few concerts or monster truck shows. 9,000 seats in a brand new arena with all the amenities for concerts and shows is all Regina needs and would be cost affordable. Either that or just don't do anything at all and stick with the Brandt.

That's the point I was trying to make though... There won't be any taxpayer support for this, no matter the size, so I am not advocating anything there. In the end, it's all going to be the Pats ownership group on their own (and they do have fairly large pockets). There would be little to no extra benefit in building an arena that is 1-2k larger than the current; you aren't going to attract anything new with that. If they can't afford the extra money to really bump the arena up into the next tier (i.e. 10-12k+), then they are better off just improving the Brandt Centre as it is, since it is perfectly capable of serving the Pats needs.

[youngregina]

Originally Posted by Migs

New Mosaic Stadium from above!



Photo via @YQRstadium

That thing is HUUUUGE.