Roaring Flames
Senior Member
Rogers Place has a loge section on the lower half of seating in the upper bowl creating two levels of premium seating between the upper and lower bowls. Calgary's arena has what appears to be regular seating in the lower half of the upper bowl meaning there should be only one level separating the upper and lower bowls. Speaking of suites, Rogers Place has 57 suites, 24 theatre boxes, and a ring of loge seating. Calgary's arena will have 48 suites, 28 theatre boxes (12 on the East club mezzanine and 16 on the south side of the suite level,) loge seating on the north and south sides of the suite level, and club seating on the east side of the lower bowl. There is enough room to expand the number of suites or theatre boxes on the north side of the suite level and there appears to be standing room around the upper bowl.I'm not sure I dig it, but I don't hate it. The biggest problem for me is the mishmash of materials, and the large wall on the 12th ave side. Like many, I wish the design was more cohesive, but in the end for me what matters most is how functional it'll be inside, and how it interacts at the street level.
My thoughts summed up:
-The Olympic Way portion is what I would hope for.... straight wall that's not too high running parallel with the street, and generous sidewalk space to allow for retail with patios etc.. Lots of glass window area that runs two levels up, giving it an open feeling to the street. The Olympic Way frontage design allows for the other side of the street to develop something that compliments it, and possible create a decent retail canyon.
-We haven't seen much of the inside, but for the average person if they have plenty of washrooms, it will have already beaten out Rogers Place. Most people don't pay attention to the interior details of an arena and are happy as long as they can see the A) concert stage, see the ice, B) can easily grab some food or easily go to the bathroom. C) exit and enter the building easily. One thing I don't like about Roger Place is the huge vertical gap between the lower bowl and the upper bowl. If they don't don't that here, that will be another thing that makes the interior better and keep people happy.
-The 12th ave side is a fail for me. If they could have done a nice job on 2 of the 4 sides, I would be 95% happy. In the renderings it looks like they have a lot of space on the south side of the arena, and if they shifted the arena south by 50' maybe they could have have more to work with on the 12th ave side?
-The overall design would be better if it was more uniform or cohesive, but it's a huge concern for me.
-One last minor thing. Does anyone else hate those little corner bends they've put on some of the materials?
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