You almost feel sorry for the B.C. Lions and Vancouver Whitecaps.
As both teams gun for glory during their opening matches at BC Place —Sept. 30 and Oct. 2, respectively — the players will have a hard time being the focus of thousands of fans.
The real spectacle will be the stadium itself as Vancouverites are given the first opportunities to see what a $ 563-million renovation looks like.
If yesterday’s media tour was anything to go by, jaws may hit the floor.
“It should be really evident that this is not the old BC Place,” said PavCo chairman David Podmore.
“This is a complete refurbishment using the really solid bones of the original BC Place — but we’ve basically created an entirely new, very modern and much more functional venue than the original building.”
The retractable roof is now fully installed, as are the majority of the new, bigger seats.
The state-of-the-art artificial turf is currently being installed, as is the centre-hung video scoreboard, which is the second largest in North America after Dallas’ Cowboys Stadium.
Seeing the nearly finished product certainly left an impression on Whitecaps president Bob Lenarduzzi, who played in the original BC Place.
“I’m blown away and I (was) here just last month,” said Lenarduzzi. “There is no doubt in my mind it will be a wonderful home for us.”
The public was invited to an open house at BC Place last month to see the progress for themselves, but Podmore said there won’t be any more viewings until the Lions game on the 30th.
Local news from metronews.ca/vancouver
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