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Greg Kerfoot is an evil genius!


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After reading the Vancouver Sun article about the stadium site a few times, I had a sudden epiphany.

Here we are, scratching our heads trying to figure out how Greg Kerfoot was going to squeeze a stadium into the little space between the railway yard and the waterfront.

Read the article closely:

The land Kerfoot bought is</u> the railway yard.

The land was owned by Fairmont Developments Inc., a subsidiary of the swanky Fairmont hotel chain.

Fairmont, presumably, was leasing the land to CP Rail... and probably making a killing at it.

So what's Kerfoot going to do?

He's going to build an elevated stadium at street level supported by concrete pillars in the rail yard below.

Meanwhile, the trains will continue going about their business... and they're going to be signing their rent cheques to a Mr. Greg Kerfoot.

This has to be the most brilliant business move I've ever seen!

Soccer might not pay the bills... but the railways will!

It's a stadium that pays for itself!

Greg Kerfoot, you're my hero.

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Hmmm. Tricky. But maybe not such a bad idea if the casho-la is there.

And expensive I'd imagine.

Yeah. Real tricky.

Thinking I'm going to wait on this one bit of wild speculation and maybe see how this all sounds again after some SOBER second thoughts.

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My view of looking at the site is the railway tracks are level with the buildings of Gastown. What will have to be done is dig down and have the railway tracks below and a walkway built over the tracks. I am not sure the stadium will be built over the tracks itself. Then the land drops down so maybe stadium will have to be built up to the level with the walk way or maybe it doesn't have to be but is more esthetic or pedestrian friendly if it is. My only concern would be drainage issues if the stad is built on a concrete platform.

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The Leafs, before purchasing the Raptors and the ACC, were going to build an arena at Union Station in downtown Toronto over the railyards.

Do any stadiums in the world like this exist? And are there any photos available? Cause I just can not at all visualize what something like this would look like?

And in this day and age, with security concerns, is it really wise to build something like this?

Financially, this is still a donation to Canadian soccer from Kerfoot. Now we just need to find a few more like him.

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Like I said, I can't picture what something like this would look like. It just seems to me that it would be a very easy target. I'm not saying it will be or anything like that. But it will be built right before the Olympics and measures will have to be taken to alleviate any security concerns. I think this reads a little more serious than I am intending it to be.

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Here is info on the Melbourne's Telstra Stadium and how access from one end is over railway lines. Of course in Vancouver's proposed case it would seem the only access would be from over the Railway lines or by seabus. I don't know how they would handle a underground parking lot at this location.

3:18:10 PM Wed 29 October, 2003

Telstra Dome, located in the Docklands just west of Melbourne’s central business district, is well served by public transport.

The ground is next to Spencer Street railway station – the main hub for country trains and part of the City Loop network. Two pedestrian walkways have been built across the rail yards, giving fans direct access from Spencer Street.

The Docklands precinct is undergoing significant development and access to the ground has been geared towards public transport and extensive car parking facilities under the stadium.

Trains:

Spencer Street railway station is part of the City Loop network and the departure point for country and interstate trains. You can catch trains to anywhere in metropolitan Melbourne or throughout Victoria and the ground is only five minutes walk away. From Spencer Street you only need to travel one stop to Melbourne’s famous Flinders Street railway station.

Trams:

The number 86 tram from Bundoora to the city stops outside the ground on the extended section of La Trobe Street. The tram runs via Bourke Street, Spencer Street and La Trobe Street. The free City Circle tourist tram service was extended in January 2003 to run along Harbour Esplanade, linking La Trobe and Flinders Streets. Trams run every 12 minutes during business hours on weekdays. Various trams also operate on Spencer Street so commuters can disembark and walk across the pedestrian walkways.

Buses:

Many interstate and Victorian regional bus services terminate at Spencer Street station. There is also a major interstate depot at Franklin Street, a short tram trip down La Trobe Street to the ground.

By Car

Telstra Dome is accessible from the south via the George Grimes bridge and Wurundjeri Way, from the west via Footscray Road, and from the city via La Trobe and Collins Streets. The Collins street overpass was opened in late 2002 providing direct access to the carparks within Telstra Dome and the Docklands precinct.

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