Sports fans and taxpayers should not be expecting an immediate decision from the British Columbia government about the future of the inflatable roof atop Vancouver's iconic BC Place stadium.
Reports have been circulating for more than a week that the provincial cabinet will be considering options for the aging fabric roof from the B.C. Pavilion Corp. soon.
"You know that I can't talk about what's on the cabinet agenda,'' said Stan Hagen, minister for tourism, sports and the arts, on his way into a cabinet meeting Wednesday.
But he said he understands the corporation's report is extremely complex.
"I doubt, if it were to come to cabinet that cabinet would be making a decision today,'' he said.
"We need to step back, make sure we're checking everything out and look at the timing,'' Hagen said, adding that cabinet will be making a decision "at some point in the future.''
But NDP critic Norm Macdonald said the public has been left wondering just what the B.C. government has been doing since the dramatic collapse of the stadium roof nearly 16 months ago, on Jan. 5, 2007.
"This is something the government should have been dealing with back as early as 2006,'' he said.
That's when a report on the stadium roof, which was nearing the end of its projected quarter-century lifespan, was originally submitted to the government.
"After those 25 years are up, you'd think (the government) would have looked at the need for replacing it, but they ignored it,'' he said.
"It's unbelievable and it's going to cost British Columbians for no good reason.''
Macdonald called it ministerial incompetence, pointing out that the NDP were given specific assurances from the minister in the fall of 2006 that the roof was fine and would not collapse.
Options for the roof include replacing the aging inflatable roof with a high-tech fabric at a cost of around $20 million. Another route would be to give up on the inflatable roof entirely and build a retractable roof at up to 10 times the cost.
The 25-year-old stadium is to be the spotlight during the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics, where it will host the Game's opening and closing ceremonies.
Hagen conceded time is growing short and the government is taking that into consideration. But he denied the Games are having much effect on the government's next move.
"Nope, we just want to make sure we make the right decision with regard to the building,'' he said.
But Macdonald said the matter is urgent.
"There are going to be billions of people watching and judging British Columbia and Canada,'' he warned. "We can not afford a disaster.''
