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Pacific Coliseum Renovations!


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In an attempt to tone down the angst, and up the relevance, here are some pictures I had stored in my camera that I was only able to extract til now. They're not much, but show the progress of some of the work that's been done at the Pacific Coliseum. Note these were taken in April, so chances are they've done more since.

Most of the technical work seems to be done, now it's just a question of aesthetics. Note that VANOC's website now lists the completion date for the Coliseum as Summer 2008, where before it was December 2007.

Appears they're going for a navy blue colour scheme for the ceiling. Note that some parts have been painted while others haven't.

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Work apparently being done behind the curtain. I snuck peek but couldn't see much.

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The new concession stands in operation. Very slick, a step up on GM Place even.

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New elevator. At the time the exterior housing had yet to be completely covered, but most of it was the same stainless steel seen here.

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Annnd the concessions closed. Weird juxtaposition between the old paint job and the new.

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The washrooms were also quite nice, though for obvious reasons I didn't take photos. All in all, I'd say some easy concourse renos and some exterior work and it'll be good to go for 2010.

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The $23-million being spent on the Coliseum is sure going a long way:

- cosmetic renovations

- new washrooms

- new seats

- ice plant improvements

- new rink slab

- new concession space

- building heating ventilation air conditioning (HVAC) and dehumidification systems

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Dominion Fairmile was the General Contractor for these Coliseum renos, the construction of the Richmond Oval, and is named as the G.C. for whatever crapp they'll do with BC Place.

Dominion was the G.C. for the building of GM Place in 1993.

Dominion has been named General Contractor of the new Blue Bomber Stadium in Winnipeg if that ever gets off the ground

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Dominion Fairmile was the General Contractor for these Coliseum renos, the construction of the Richmond Oval, and is named as the G.C. for whatever crapp they'll do with BC Place.

Dominion was the G.C. for the building of GM Place in 1993.

Dominion has been named General Contractor of the new Blue Bomber Stadium in Winnipeg if that ever gets off the ground

Hmmm...strange that you should know all the G.C.s doing work for the Vancouver stadia...

I guess Kendegra was right...

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You'll note in my initial post, I said this was an attempt to tone down the angst.

Let's not make this another doomsday thread re: BC Place.

One thing that does concern me is VANOC's use of Rollerland as a media facility. I hope they at least throw a building wrap or something around it to tone down the fug.

It'd be nice if they (either VANOC or the PNE) redid the outer plaza as well.

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You'll note in my initial post, I said this was an attempt to tone down the angst.

Let's not make this another doomsday thread re: BC Place.

One thing that does concern me is VANOC's use of Rollerland as a media facility. I hope they at least throw a building wrap or something around it to tone down the fug.

It'd be nice if they (either VANOC or the PNE) redid the outer plaza as well.

Rollerland isn't that bad....and I'm sure they'll spruce it up a bit. Put in some carpet, new paint, banners, etc.

As for the outer plaza, during the bid there were plans to build some sort of overhead cover like the Plaza of Nations between the Coliseum and the Agrodome....and of course, the Agrodome is no longer a practice facility with VANOC moving the practice venue elsewhere.

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^^^

It's functional, and is exactly what's needed: empty space.

I just mean the exterior isn't too attractive, although it's certainly better now that it's been painted.

But yeah... some repaving/new planters, etc would be nice for the plaza, though I suspect that's in the cards anyway.

It'd be nice if we could get a look at the dressing rooms which are evidently finished now as well.

I wonder if they plan on keeping that yellow insulation material on the ceiling up? I think the hardwood roof with the navy steelwork would look really nice. I think the inclusion of wood in all of the new venues has been one of their strengths... very attractive to look at, and adds a common thread through all the different designs.

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It's not international size. The IOC allowed us to use NHL size ice for the games a few years ago, which is good because those would have been costly renovations. It's perfectly fair too because North American players used to have to adjust to the international size and now the others will have to ;)

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It's not international size. The IOC allowed us to use NHL size ice for the games a few years ago, which is good because those would have been costly renovations. It's perfectly fair too because North American players used to have to adjust to the international size and now the others will have to ;)

That's for Hockey, which is at GM Place. Figure skating and short track are still held on international size ice, and the Coliseum has been renovated to reflect that.

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  • 2 weeks later...

More Coliseum photo fun:

I believe this crane is for the roof replacement, which is being funded by the City. It looks like this will be the start to the exterior renovations, although what renovations are forthcoming is unclear. Note that there are spots along the rim of the roof that are painted a lighter grey colour; that's due to some jokers climbing up the scaffolding and doing a little graffiti. Those kids with the spray paint, gotta love em. Hopefully they'll paint it a consistent colour once the roof repairs are done with.

According to VANOC's latest financial statements, they have just under 3 million left to spend at the Coliseum of the 20.7-someodd million dollar budget. It was originally scheduled for 23 million, so I don't know where the other three million went.

Anywho, enjoy.

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  • 6 months later...
If the Pacific Coliseum gets a renovation, then should the CH Place get a renovation for the Olympics as well?

I'm assuming CH Place means Canada Hockey Place, or GM Place.

GM Place already had its renovations. It got some new exterior and interior paint, new state-of-the-art scoreboards, etc. It doesn't need vast renovations like the Coliseum considering it was built in 1996 and is generally well kept by the Canucks.....while the Coliseum was built in the 1970's.

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 4 months later...
GM Place already had its renovations. It got some new exterior and interior paint, new state-of-the-art scoreboards, etc. It doesn't need vast renovations like the Coliseum considering it was built in 1996 and is generally well kept by the Canucks.....while the Coliseum was built in the 1970's.

The Pacific Coliseum was built in the 60s (1967), not the 70s. Also, are the renovations finished yet? And the first few rows of seating were removed to accommodate the international-size ice sheet.

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Interesting. I always thought when General Motors Place was opened up in the mid 90s that the Pacific Coliseum would be demolished much like the Spectrum in Philadelphia and Reunion Arena in Dallas were recently.

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Interesting. I always thought when General Motors Place was opened up in the mid 90s that the Pacific Coliseum would be demolished much like the Spectrum in Philadelphia and Reunion Arena in Dallas were recently.

There's no reason to. The Coliseum is still quite well used, there's a market for it and evenmoreso with these upgrades.

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they demolished Reunion Arena recently? It was standing when I was last in Dallas

Actually it's in the midst of a step-by-step demolition. The interior has already been gutted. If you drive by it, you can actually see straight through the arena from oneside to the other.

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