British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell has confirmed that BC Place stadium will get a new retractable roof to replace the leaky Teflon cover which was blown open in a windstorm in January 2007.
But in a press conference in Vancouver on Friday, he did not disclose the cost.
Campbell said the retractable roof will mark the second in a two-phase plan to overhaul the roof of the 60,000-seat stadium, which will be the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 Olympic Games.
Phase one will be completed before the 2010 Olympics begin. It involves renovations to theTeflon roof and other stadium facilities, including suites, seats, washrooms and concession stands.
The second phase, invloving the installation of the retractable roof, will begin after the Games are over and is expected to be complete in early 2011.
Explaining the decision to delay construction of the retractable roof, Campbell said the province will get better competitive pricing by waiting until after the games are over.
However, he added that the go-ahead for the entire renovation project will only be given after the design and planning of the overhaul are approved in the next few months.
Campbell said the retractable roof will save more than $600,000 annually in energy costs and operational savings. This is because the stadium will no longer need air-lock doors. It may even get solar panels and geothermal heating.
The Vancouver Whitecaps soccer team welcomed the decision to install a retractable roof, saying it is in the process of signing a five-year lease that will make BC Place stadium a temporary home for the soccer club, starting in 2011.
The Whitecaps currently play in the 5,000-seat Swanguard stadium in Burnaby, which is too small to permit the club to achieve its stated goal of gaining entry into Major League Soccer in the U.S.
Meanwhile Campbell says the roof overhaul will expand the city's sport, culture and entertainment district.
The first covered stadium in Canada, BC Place, was built in 1983 to rejuvenate the False Creek area.
