Information on the waterfront stadium proposal
From the City of Vancouver Central Hub Waterfront Hub site
“Stadium Background:
In June 2005, the Whitecaps Football Club purchased the CP rail yard from approximately Granville Square to Main Street from Fairmont Properties. They proposed to locate a new 15,000 seat (expandable to 30,000 seats) open-air soccer stadium on a 30 ft. high podium over the rail yards just east of the Waterfront Station and north of Gastown.
Because of the unusual and challenging nature of the location, in October 2005 City Council approved undertaking an initial high-level review of the proposal to determine whether it had a reasonable chance of being successful in addressing the technical challenges, meeting City planning objectives, and having sufficient public support.
The report back on the Initial Review [pdf] was released in June 2006, and considered by City Council at four special evening meetings in June and July. Approximately 80 delegations spoke as individuals or on behalf of groups and organizations, and opinion was mixed. See the list of delegations
On July 11, 2006 City Council resolved that a mid-sized stadium is a highly desired amenity for the City, with potential to provide a venue for major sporting, cultural and community events; and that Council supports the efforts of the Whitecaps to build such a stadium in the City. See the video of the City Council meeting: Read the minutes [pdf]
However, Council also resolved that any future rezoning for the stadium in the Central Waterfront area should only be considered when Council is satisfied that five fundamental issues identified by the Initial Review are resolvable, and that these should be addressed in conjunction with the approved Central Waterfront Hub Study. The five issues are as follows:
provision of an adequate street network;
resolution of the risks and liability associated with dangerous goods in the rail lands;
reconfiguration of the stadium structure and site to ensure a better “fit” with Gastown;
resolution of impacts on the liveability of residential uses in areas south of the rail lands; and
resolution of impacts on future Port Lands development
In addition to the five fundamental issues, a number of potential social and economic planning items resulting from the stadium were identified in the Initial Review and emphasized by some individuals and community groups. These included:
the potential impact on vulnerable populations of the nearby areas from crowds attending events and after-event bars or clubs;
the potential impact on the viability of existing entertainment or restaurant venues due to the substantial amount of similar uses proposed within the stadium; and
the viability of new retail in Gastown that is oriented at local residents (rather than tourists) could be affected by the stadium tipping the balance of commercial activity too far in the entertainment direction, and their customers could be discouraged by the crowds and street closures associated with stadium events.
Following Council’s direction in July 2006, staff developed a planning process to undertake the work needed to address the stadium issues in parallel with work on the Hub study.
At the same time the Whitecaps organisation began discussions with Port Metro Vancouver regarding the potential to reconfigure the stadium site involving Port land. In December 2006, the Port Metro Vancouver Board reached an agreement in principle with the Whitecaps which would enable the Whitecaps to pursue the use of the SeaBus terminal site for the stadium (see Figure at top).
In early 2007, staff began work in parallel on both the Hub Study and the review of the new stadium proposal. By summer of 2007, detailed technical investigations had not resulted in a stadium proposal that would work with PMV’s cruise ship operational requirements, SeaBus safety and service needs, and the City’s urban design objectives for the Central Waterfront Hub.
Current Status of Stadium Proposal:
As a result of the issues with the SeaBus terminal site, in July 2007 the Whitecaps began discussions with the Port on a possible new site east of the Seabus Terminal and west of Crab Park. This area is anticipated for mixed use development by the Central Waterfront Port Lands Policy Statement (1994) [pdf] and any proposal would need to be considered in the context of that existing city policy.
As of June 2009, the Whitecaps and PMV are still investigating whether this site could meet their needs and aspirations. If the Whitecaps and PMV decide to pursue the development of the stadium in this location, they will need to develop a proposal and submit it to City staff for evaluation and consultation with the public and interested parties.
The City of Vancouver does not currently have any Whitecaps stadium proposals under review.”
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More information
Official web site of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Whitecaps Waterfront Stadium section on the Vancouver Whitecaps FC web site
