1 June 2006
Waterfront Soccer Stadium Gets a Boost, But Hurdles Remain
Vancouver - The Vancouver Whitecaps' plan to build a $70-million soccer stadium
in the Gastown district is backed by overwhelming public support, according to an initial review of the project released yesterday.
But the Vancouver City Council review also warns that the proposed 15,000-seat stadium faces substantial hurdles before it
could move to any future rezoning and planning process.
Most of the hurdles relate to the fact that the Whitecaps organization is planning to build the stadium over an existing railway, near
Gastown heritage buildings, and close to the city's waterfront area.
"These issues are not insurmountable, but they are complex and will be fairly costly to address," said Trish French, an
assistant director of current planning with the City of Vancouver.
The Whitecaps play their United Soccer League home games at the 5,700-seat Swangard stadium in Burnaby.
But club president John Rocha said that the club wants to attract more spectators by building the facility on a
10.5-hectare railway lands site near the city's SeaBus terminal, within walking distance of the SkyTrain station and
floatplane and HeliJet terminals.
Senior club officials say the proposed stadium could be not only for soccer, rugby and CFL football, but also a gathering point for
delegates during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler. The officials indicated that the stadium could be expanded to hold
30,000 spectators.
But the technical review indicates that the existing proposal faces very significant challenges, including the lack of an adequate road
network for crowd dispersal and emergency access.
Since the stadium is being built above rail yards, any proposal will have to include a plan to mitigate the risks associated with its
proximity to dangerous goods that are handled in the railway yards.
In addition, the project has some design challenges due to the relatively small site for the stadium structure and the fact that it will
sit on a platform structure above the railway lands.
The Whitecaps issued a statement yesterday saying the club is pleased that the stadium is attracting public support, mainly from
Vancouver residents who don't live in the Gastown area.
Mr. Rocha said the club is not unduly concerned about the issues raised in the review. "The requirements identified in the city
staff report are consistent with those discussed over the past several months, so there were no surprises," he said. "We
strongly believe that council should move the stadium project forward."
However, Ms. French said any decision rests on the outcome of a city council meeting on 27 Jun 2006, when members of the
public will have a chance to express their views.
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