Protect our parks, say NO to proposed Whitecaps Stadium location
Protect our Parks, Say No to proposed Stadium waterfront location
Whitecaps is considering a location for their stadium/entertainment complex (which would probably mean another huge complex including gambling) on our waterfront. They are considering a location near the helipad site adjacent to Crab Park.
There are many reasons why this is not acceptable to the Central Waterfront Coalition (CWC), and should not be to the rest of us, including:
* This is public land, owned by the Port -- no public land should be traded for private development
* No development should proceed without a masterplan for the central waterfront
* Crab Park is a hard-fought-for gem in eastside downtown that would be overwhelmed by a 20-storey neighbour. It functions as the living room of the Downtown Eastside, and increasingly for the downtown in general as eco-density proceeds
* The ensuing traffic and congestion will overwhelm the neighbourhood and streets
* The marine habitat of the foreshore would be threatened
* Stadium-goers don't require a water view, yet this huge mass will blot out views for everything east, west and south of the site.
The CWC needs your involvement to keep the Stadium off the downtown waterfront. Spread the word, tell people about the CWC (www.centralwaterfrontcoalition.org), and send us your ideas.
Write letters to our Federal, Provincial, and Municipal representatives, the Port, and the press. Write to us for more information.
Comments
Dear John, Greg Kerfoot, the
Dear John,
Greg Kerfoot, the Whitecap's owner, has a history with Edgewater Casino - ie a major investor. Edgewater has stated on their website that they wish to move to the Central waterfront. In 2006 the Sun reported that Kerfoot tried to include the casino as part of the proposed stadium location when it was going to be placed behind the Main St. train station. It is very likely that the casino will become part of the 100,000 sq feet of commercial space in the stadium ... or in the hotel the Whitecaps wish to build ..... or in the 4-6 26+ story commercial/condo towers the Whitecaps are planning to build at the stadium site. This stadium is a lost leader for a massive development.
The issue of the park.. my god John.... think about what you said. The soccer lobby and a private developer want the public waterfront for their own use. This is the definition of a "special interest group". The Central Waterfront Coalition is all about saving public waterfront for everyone's use! It sounds very 1984 to say that by giving away public waterfront to a private developer, so he can build a stadium that we have to pay to use, is a way to "open up" more public waterfront.
The Whitecaps stadium is about power politics and development through the use of a public resource. It is a vanity project. If the Whitecaps did care about the public good they would support the use of BC Place. With a retractable roof the Whitecaps would have their ready made stadium that could hold 60,000. BC Place has 25+ years of proven access via public transit. Overnight the Whitecaps could apply to the MLS. BC Place is a greener option - why build another stadium a few blocks away. Image how much energy will be required to build and maintain another stadium?
Why are they insisting on a Waterfront location? Stadiums are about looking in, not out - a view is not required. The waterfront location is about massive development and the offer of stadium is a way to gain support for Kerfoot's ambition to become a major land developer.
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Interesting... so your OK
Interesting... so your OK with the provincial government potentially spending $120 - 200 million tax dollars for a retractable roof on a money losing building (one without grass...) but you begrudge the Whitecaps being able to build a privately funded stadium.
There is no plan for a casino to go with the stadium proposal. This is a repeated false allegation with no basis in reality.
As per your comment about "giving away public waterfront to a private developer" perhaps you choose to ignore that the Whitecaps have offered a 3 to 1 land swap with the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority?
It would seem that you prefer the chain link fence at the end of Cambie Street and Carrall as opposed to improved access to the waterfront for everyone. The stadium will not take 1 foot away from Crab Park and will actually allow people to have improved access to it.
As per your condo tower comments they are neither part of the Whitecaps stadium proposal nor would they be permitted as per the City's guidelines, etc. for the sighting of the stadium. The CWH study involves a separate area and is being led by the City of Vancouver, not the Vancouver Whitecaps. This area also has no condo towers as part of its plan.
Ref: http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/currentplanning/whitecaps/index...
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Dear Robert, An even Greener
Dear Robert,
An even Greener solution would have been to play Basketball and Hockey at BC Place Stadium as well as Football and Soccer. Heck, even all the Olympic Events should be held at BC Place too! Downhill Skiing and Speed Skating and even Ski Jumping. It would work, no bull, I have seen them dump tonnes of earth into BC Place for Motocross! And those guys jump way higher than Ski jumpers! Why are we wasting all this money on special Olympic Venues for almost every event. Did you see the that way cool Extreme Downhill Skating held on the streets of downtown Quebec City, well we could easily have built a Bobsled run inside or through BC Place too.
You are brilliant Robert and a true Green visionary! Why don't we hold the entire Winter Olympics inside BC Place Stadium! I am serious Robert! WHY NOT! Heck after 2010 all those special speed skating ovals we built will be converted to Conservatories full of plants and birds just like all the Velodromes we built for all those (silly) cyclists! What a waste that was! Just think Robert, if we were just as smart as you we could get to our seats in BC Place Stadium for an Olympic Event, open the roof if it is not raining, and we could just sit there eating between events while they piled up the snow for the moguls then smoothed it all out for speed skating - it would be as good a watching the Winter Olympics on TV in our own homes and not even need to get up except to use the bathroom during commercials. Why Robert, did we waste all that money for these specialized Olympic Venue buildings. Why did we not learn after we built those Velodromes! We never learn, we just waste money.
Seriously, the NASL lasted only a few years so why should we expect the MLS to be around any longer. Then this soccer fad will be over and we will be stuck with some ugly Waterfront Stadium blocking all the good views which we all know is the TRUTH. When soccer is gone, AGAIN, that Kerfoot fellow will just convert the Waterfront Stadium into one big Casino or Prime Condos! Even the Toronto FC soccer stadium must be heated and covered 9 months every year. Nobody even wants to sit in the Vancouver rain to watch the BC Lions! A retractable roof for Lions and Whitecaps would be such a bonus!
I know Kerfoot helps develop Canadian Soccer talent too, but who in their right mind would dump any REAL money into helping atheletes like Canadian soccer players.
Giving money to help develop Olympic Hockey players makes sense, but really, we will never ever have a Canadian Soccer Team reach the Olympics! Our Hockey Team reaches the Olympics and World Cup every time. When was the last time a Canadian Soccer team reached the World Cup! We had to host the U-20 Soccer World Cup just to get a spot in that event! Kerfoot must be nuts spending money to help a few soccer players try in vain to find any success!
Sorry Erin McLeod, you should have gotten yourself a way cool goalie mask for hockey instead of wasting your time playing Goalkeeper for soccer!
Come on Kerfoot and Lenarduzzi, if BC Place Stadium was good enough for Beckham and the LA Galaxy last year, why is no longer good enough this year! Come on Kerfoot just give us the money you were going to use to build the Waterfront Stadium so we can fix the roof on BC Place Stadium. We will let you use the Stadium for your MLS games!
Right Robert? Think Green and recycle BC Place for us. Don't think of this as Blackmail money, you are doing the right thing and being an environmentalist! It's not like we are holding a gun to your head. (Yet)
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Dear Robert, An even
Dear Robert,
An even Greener solution would have been to play Basketball and Hockey at BC Place Stadium as well as Football and Soccer. Heck, even all the Olympic Events should be held at BC Place too! Downhill Skiing and Speed Skating and even Ski Jumping. It would work, no bull, I have seen them dump tonnes of earth into BC Place for Motocross! And those guys jump way higher than Ski jumpers! Why are we wasting all this money on special Olympic Venues for almost every event. Did you see that way cool Extreme Downhill Skating held on the streets of downtown Quebec City, well we could easily have built a Bobsled run inside or through BC Place too.
You are brilliant Robert and a true Green visionary! Why don't we hold the entire Winter Olympics inside BC Place Stadium! I am serious Robert! WHY NOT! Heck after 2010 all those special speed skating ovals we built will be converted to Conservatories full of plants and birds just like all the Velodromes we built for those (silly) cyclists! What a waste that was! Just think Robert, if we were just as smart as you we could get to our seats in BC Place Stadium for an Olympic Event, open the roof if it is not raining, and we could just sit there eating between events while they piled up the snow for the moguls then smoothed it all out for speed skating - it would be as good as watching the Winter Olympics on TV in our own homes and not even need to get up except to use the bathroom during commercials. Why Robert, did we waste all that money for these specialized Olympic Venue buildings. Why did we not learn after we built those Velodromes! We never learn, we just waste money.
Seriously, the NASL lasted only a few years so why should we expect the MLS to be around any longer. Then this soccer fad will be over and we will be stuck with some ugly Waterfront Stadium blocking all the good views which we all know is the TRUTH. When soccer is gone, AGAIN, that Kerfoot fellow will just convert the Waterfront Stadium into one big Casino or Prime Condos! Even the Toronto FC soccer stadium must be heated and covered 9 months every year. Nobody even wants to sit in the Vancouver rain to watch the BC Lions! A retractable roof for Lions and Whitecaps would be such a bonus!
I know Kerfoot helps develop Canadian Soccer talent too, but who in their right mind would dump any REAL money into helping atheletes like Canadian soccer players.
Giving money to help develop Olympic Hockey players makes sense, but really, we will never ever have a Canadian Soccer Team reach the Olympics! Our Hockey Team reaches the Olympics and World Cup every time. When was the last time a Canadian Soccer team reached the World Cup! We had to host the U-20 Soccer World Cup just to get a spot in that event! Kerfoot must be nuts spending money to help a few soccer players try in vain to find any success!
Sorry Erin McLeod, you should have gotten yourself a way cool goalie mask for hockey instead of wasting your time playing Goalkeeper for soccer!
Come on Kerfoot and Lenarduzzi, if BC Place Stadium was good enough for Beckham and the LA Galaxy last year, why is no longer good enough this year! Come on Kerfoot just give us the money you were going to use to build the Waterfront Stadium so we can fix the roof on BC Place Stadium. We will let you use the Stadium for your MLS games!
Right Robert? Think Green and recycle BC Place for us. Don't think of this as Blackmail money, you are doing the right thing and being an environmentalist! It's not like we are holding a gun to your head. (Yet)
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Gerry, I must say that your
Gerry,
I must say that your argument was very colourful; however very flawed! Hold the whole 2010 in BC Place? How could that even have begun to be a coherent thought in your head in the first place? I hope you're one to watch the Olympics this year in Beijing to really see how many venues it really takes to be able to hold something as vast as the olympics.
Yes, B.C. place was good enough for one game between the MLS Galaxy and A-league 'caps. But let's be serious, it's turf. Look at how many other legitimate professional sports teams (not your crappy CFL) play on turf? Numbers aren't in your favour.
You may have had a point 25 some odd years ago with the whole NASL not working, but seriously, lets think about it: Economics are a lot different now than they were back then, and look at the success of the MLS expansion! Way more successful than the the expasions of the NASL ever was.....even with guys like Pele and Beckenbauer!
Once again, another major flaw in your argument: Youth soccer is the most popular sport in Canada with both male and female participants....Why? Because it's cheap! If your so worried about the environment...look at hockey? Gas bills to run hockey rinks are absolutely astronomical! Do you know what the major cost for a soccer pitch is? A FRIGGIN LAWN MOWER! However I will agree with you on one thing: Olympic hockey players could use the money judging from our country's crap preformance in Turin. we were one medal short of our goal in Turin....I wonder where that once medal could have come from.....couldn't have been mens hockey....could it?
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There is currently an
There is currently an ongoing Central Waterfront Hub Study / Whitecaps Stadium Review currently going on along with a representative working group.
City parks are for all people to enjoy and should not be considered as some form of private use area by certain groups with various agendas. The stadium would actually open up more of the waterfront for public use and enjoyment.
As per you allegation that the stadium would involve some form of gambling that has never been proposed by the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, never brought up in discussion, and thus is a cheap shot on your part with no backup, much like allot of the other statements coming from the CWC and related parties.