Roads, Highways & Infrastructure

[ByeByeBaby]

A multipurpose grandstand / stadium makes a ton of sense. The big problem is putting the field somewhere during Stampede, but moving a turf field out of the way could be designed into the process. The transition would take time; that being said, the Stampeders didn't play at home between June 25th and July 30th this year, so the CFL schedule can handle a gap of two weeks for both setup and takedown. It'd effectively double the use of the facility through the year, would open up corporate suite sales; it's a little farther from transit but not a ton (450 vs 300m).

 

[Roaring Flames]

The UofC Dinos could play in the planned fieldhouse that is proposed for the foothills athletic park too

 

[Roaring Flames]

A problem with the Grandstand Idea is that any new east grandstand cant be too tall because it cant block the view of the track. The upper stands will likely have to be a semi permanent structure

 

[niteryder]

Stony Trail Bridge pics. Getting closer to connecting:

 

[Joborule]

A problem with the Grandstand Idea is that any new east grandstand cant be too tall because it cant block the view of the track. The upper stands will likely have to be a semi permanent structure

I didn't take that into consideration, but I think it would be better for Stamps overall if it's located in the C+E district that the city wants to have pan out. For all parties involved, CSEC, Stampede, and the City, (as well the university) it would better serve Stamps playing there, rather than in the middle of a community by uni. So accommodations in the design could be made to make it work.

A multipurpose grandstand / stadium makes a ton of sense. The big problem is putting the field somewhere during Stampede, but moving a turf field out of the way could be designed into the process. The transition would take time; that being said, the Stampeders didn't play at home between June 25th and July 30th this year, so the CFL schedule can handle a gap of two weeks for both setup and takedown. It'd effectively double the use of the facility through the year, would open up corporate suite sales; it's a little farther from transit but not a ton (450 vs 300m).

They likely could just cover the turf during the Stampede season. For reference, NRG Stadium in Houston does that for the football stadium for the Houston Texans.

Covered

 

[lemongrab]

A problem with the Grandstand Idea is that any new east grandstand cant be too tall because it cant block the view of the track. The upper stands will likely have to be a semi permanent structure

I'm sure the dinosaurs are reluctant to let the chucks go, but it would be far more economical to run two sessions of the rodeo (afternoon and evening) while integrating other entertainment into both shows to bigger grandstands/suites.

 

[FCC1982]

So accommodations in the design could be made to make it work.

They likely could just cover the turf during the Stampede season. For reference, NRG Stadium in Houston does that for the football stadium for the Houston Texans.

Covered

This is what I had in mind as well.

 

[Roaring Flames]

The Grandstand is roughly 200 meters long and a CFL playing surface is roughly 100 meters long (140 meters including the end zones) so there will be some really bad site lines from some parts of the Grandstand even though its V shaped

 

[artvandelay]

Yeah it's nice idea in theory but I think we've learned from the experiences of mid-century multi-purpose stadiums in the US that shoe-horning different uses into a facility intended to do everything often results in a facility that does everything adequately but nothing well.

Ideally I'd like to see an urban replacement for McMahon sized at 30,000 or so on the Vic Park bus barns site.

 

[lemongrab]

The Grandstand is roughly 200 meters long and a CFL playing surface is roughly 100 meters long (140 meters including the end zones) so there will be some really bad site lines from some parts of the Grandstand even though its V shaped

The outer few sections don't really matter. The upper decks of grandstand might give a better view than the highest rows at McMahon

Yeah it's nice idea in theory but I think we've learned from the experiences of mid-century multi-purpose stadiums in the US that shoe-horning different uses into a facility intended to do everything often results in a facility that does everything adequately but nothing well.

Ideally I'd like to see an urban replacement for McMahon sized at 30,000 or so on the Vic Park bus barns site.

Does any Calgary use-case really warrant a purpose built facility?

 

[artvandelay]

The outer few sections don't really matter. The upper decks of grandstand might give a better view than the highest rows at McMahon

Does any Calgary use-case really warrant a purpose built facility?

I think so - we are the wealthiest major city in the country yet we (arguably) have the worst stadium.

A right-sized facility designed for football, soccer, and rugby would be an asset to the city and enable hosting events that currently bypass the city like national team soccer matches, rugby sevens...perhaps a future Winter Olympics.

 

[ByeByeBaby]

I think so - we are the wealthiest major city in the country yet we (arguably) have the worst stadium.

A right-sized facility designed for football, soccer, and rugby would be an asset to the city and enable hosting events that currently bypass the city like national team soccer matches, rugby sevens...perhaps a future Winter Olympics.

CFL, Soccer, and rugby? I thought we've learned from the experiences of mid-century multi-purpose stadiums in the US that shoe-horning different uses into a facility intended to do everything often results in a facility that does everything adequately but nothing well.

In seriousness, the mix of uses is what determines whether the space makes sense. All the rectangular pitches work well together since they're similar shape and size.

The rodeo could be handled inside a football stadium, either just have it full-arena as in the Houston pictures above or move in an 'infield' type facility as part of the transition to shrink the space and put more seats closer to the action. The chuckwagon races are the challenge, assuming they don't change in any way (although the chuckwagon rules change every few years). One option is to keep the track and during Stampede slide the end zone bleachers away to open up a space at both ends of the stadium for the chucks to run through onto/off the rest of the track, and spectators just have to watch the (most boring) middle part on the jumbotron. They could also do a modified entirely in-arena version like in Houston.

Or, get rid of the chucks; entirely; they could set up rodeo on one end of the stadium, the evening show on the other, and then have a more elaborate grandstand stage that doesn't have to move every night and better sightlines to both events with similar capacities; both events could also benefit from better concessions, jumbotron, etc. If it makes traditionalists feel better, they could still euthanize a horse or two every year to keep up traditions.

The benefit of a multi use facility is more return on the same investment; rather than two bad facilities that get used 10 times a year, it makes sense to have a better one that gets used 20+ times.

 

[darwink]

Let me present these where each drawing includes a CFL field on it for purposes left unnamed:

 

[JonnyCanuck]

It makes 'too much' sense to have the football stadium where the grandstand is. It is an ideal location and half the seats are built already. I know it requires some careful engineering but surely they can make it work. The current grandstand and field has to be the most underutilized facility in Western Canada. It makes absolutely no sense to build a new football-only facility and have it sit unused for over 300 days of the year.

 

[artvandelay]

I don't really see how this proposed grandstand hybrid is any better than McMahon - if this is the alternative we'd be better off renovating McMahon.

Ideally we build a 30,000 seat facility with a retractable roof (expandable to 40,000 or so for big events) on the bus barns site. This would integrate nicely into the new entertainment district. Bring in the Cavs with the goal of a future promotion to MLS, get into a rotation to host Canada Sevens, and bring in national team soccer matches.