Stadium wet dreams

[SthMelbRed]

Now that we don't have to worry about the immediate future of the Whitecaps, I thought it'd be a nice diversion to look a little further off into the future. I'm sure we all agree that it'd be ideal for the 'Caps to move into a brand-new stadium in six years (when the initial BC Place lease expires) designed for soccer as the primary use. Whether or not it will be on shores of Burrard Inlet is a discussion for another day, but what about what the stadium should look like? Here are some of my ideas:

http://www.whitecapsfc.com/stadium/waterfront/renderings/

what the 'Caps have put forward, thus far. I'm not a big fan of U-shaped stadiums, but at that location, it's understandable that they want to make the amazing views as unobstructed as possible.

http://www.stadiumguide.com/reebok.htm

a modern football stadium which looks sleek, but has suffered from frequent accusations of being 'soulless'. I agree that it lacks character when viewed from afar.

http://www.stadiumguide.com/jjb.htm

a more basic modern stadium. it's basically four individual stands around a pitch with little connection between the structures. open corners might let a bit of the view in if looking at the Gastown site.

http://www.stadiumguide.com/walkersstadium.htm

another newish stadium. I think it has more character than the Reebok and is for substantial than the JJB. Not a bad looking ground.

http://www.stadiumguide.com/hawthorns.htm

a more traditional stadium which consists of four independently developed stands which have been integrated very well into a single structure without looking like a mish-mash.

http://www.stadiumguide.com/bayarena.htm

This one looks like a good, little stadium. Looks like one end has been largely sacrificed for corporate boxes.

http://www.stadiumguide.com/volkswagenarena.htm

a tribute to German efficiency?

http://www.stadiumguide.com/algarve.htm

covered seating for softies like me who don't want to watch in the rain, but lower, uncovered stands on the ends for the hardcores, also leaving the views open.

I've included a few existing stadiums in the 20,000-30,000-range. Feel free to add others. Thoughts?

[powerof11]

Either way...wow! The views will be amazing!

[MuirtonPark]

I was at The Hawthorns (West Brom) a couple of times in the mid-late 1990's while it was being rebuilt. Great fan experience, good restaurant for lunch inside the main (West) stand, good atmosphere.

The rebuilding took place one side or end at a time to avoid disruption, and to spread out the capital demands. I was told the south end (bottom left on the aerial photo) cost GBP 5 million at the time. The four-sided separate structure format is common in the UK, for example Stamford Bridge, Old Trafford, Easter Road and Ibrox. Celtic Park and Emirates are more of a N. American "bowl" format.

[Calgary Boomer]

Whatever the design is...the number 1 consideration needs to be: get the most amount of people as close as legally possible to the pitch. Second biggest issue...make sure those stands have a roof over them for the sound and the protection.

[CanadianSoccerFan]

If we're talking MLS sized stadiums you can do worse than Slavia Prague's new stadium. 21,000 seats with steep stands close to the pitch and an innovative wood ceiling on the roof to maximize sound.

[TheKottonmouthed1555362307]

^^^^^^Yeah I really like how on top of the pitch the seats are. That's how its supposed to be so that a player could grab a fans beer take a swig then take his corner kick

[Tuscan]

That Algarve stadium could perhaps be looked at for the expansion of Stade Saputo, basing this purely on the way the seats have a similar wave pattern. It'd hold its own beside the collapsing space ship.

[Peter Schaad]

Those pictures are sexy...and the seating is nice and steep as it should be.

[SthMelbRed]

I really like the look of the pictures of the Slavia Prague stadium. It's a proper football ground with the fans right on top of the game. I'd be disappointed if the 'Caps didn't look to build something with a bigger capacity right off the bat, though. I think they should look at an initial capacity of 24,000-26,000, which would be expandable to the low-30,000s in a few years when the club is the premier club in North America.

[SthMelbRed]

another interior shot of Slavia's Eden Stadium, full:

[SthMelbRed]

According to wikipedia, Eden Stadium cost 1 billion Czech Korunas to build ($56.5 million CAD, according to xe.com). Labour costs would be higher in Vancouver than in Prague, but I imagine Kerfoot could build a similar stadium with a bit higher capacity for not much more than the 70 million that he'd earmarked for WWS when the project was first mooted.

[Alex D]

You can't really compare the costs of stadiums in europe to here. The typical MLS cookie cutter costs between 100-120 million US

[Richard]

NanaWall Featured in Newly Renovated Olympic Stadium B.C. Place in Vancouver

NanaWall Systems, Inc. (www.nanawall.com) of Mill Valley, Calif. provided the single track sliding system for the press room and 55 sky boxes and luxury suites in the renovated B.C. Place Stadium, the site for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, and the home of the Canadian Football League’s BC Lions and Major League Soccer’s Vancouver White Caps. The NanaWall® SL25 movable windows have no vertical stile for a completely unobstructed view open or closed. The custom-made large opening glass window walls give spectators and the media wide open views of the Olympic ceremonies. The NanaWall is now used in 100 stadiums worldwide.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/01/prweb3434954.htm

Pretty cool, would have embedded a picture here if I could figure out how! :-(

[TheKottonmouthed1555362307]

Here the Nanawall pic embedded for yah

[Richard]

So what code do I use for future reference, a quick look in FAQ didn't help?

[Regs]

http://www.canadian-soccer.com/forum/pop_forum_code.asp

[Richard]

^ Thanks, didn't scroll down far enough the first time.

[earlimus]

I think that the original rendering is amazing. It's true that you lose some of the sound with the open U end but you gain a hell of a lot by having it. That's one hell of a view, and having it that way would make it more attractive as a concert venue as well ($$$$$). I agree that the stands being close to the pitch and covered help with the sound/ambiance, not to mention providing cover from the rain that hits the city.