Empire Field

Coordinates: 49°16′57.5″N 123°1′59.6″W / 49.282639°N 123.033222°W / 49.282639; -123.033222
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Empire Field
Vancouver Whitecaps FC (MLS
) (2011)

Empire Field was a temporary

soccer stadium built at Hastings Park in the Canadian city of Vancouver, British Columbia. Located on the site of the former Empire Stadium, the 27,528 spectator venue was constructed to allow a new retractable roof to be installed at BC Place in 2010 and 2011. Empire Field was home to the Canadian Football League's (CFL) BC Lions for the 2010 and part of the 2011 seasons, and for Major League Soccer's (MLS) Vancouver Whitecaps FC for part of their debut 2011 season
.

The venue was constructed by

Los Angeles Galaxy
. Dismantling took place in November and December 2011 and the site is now used as a community playing field.

History

Empire Field was built on the same lot as Empire Stadium, which was originally built for the

baseball diamonds and a gravel running track.[4]

The field in soccer configuration on April 2, 2011

Following a 2007 roof deflation at BC Place, Premier

BC Pavilion Corporation (PavCo) announced on October 23, 2009 that they had signed a fix-cost agreement with PCL Constructors Canada to build a new roof, including the cost of a temporary stadium. The construction was financed through a loan from the provincial government to PavCo.[6] The decision to build the roof was, according to Whitecaps president Bob Lenarduzzi, "key" to bringing a MLS franchise to Vancouver.[6] In 2009, the Whitecaps signed a five-year agreement to play their home matches at BC Place, starting in 2011.[7]

To allow the Lions to continue playing as normal and support the new Whitecaps franchise, PavCo decided to build the temporary venue at the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) in Hastings Park in eastern Vancouver.[8] Because BC Place was to be used as the Olympic Stadium during the 2010 Winter Olympics, refurbishment could not start until after February 2010. The details for the stadium were released by PNE and PavCo on December 22, 2009. The venue cost $14.4 million in a fixed-price contract, and was included in the $458 million set aside to renovate BC Place. Representatives from both teams stated that they hoped to play on the nostalgia factor for the affected seasons.[3] The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation stated immediately after the press release that they had not been consulted or informed about the decision to build a professional sports venue on their grounds. Although the board was responsible for operating the facilities, the land was owned by PNE, which is again owned by the city. There were no public hearings or a city council vote to decide on the issue.[4]

Whitecaps vs. Columbus Crew on July 6, 2011

The contract to build the stadium was issued the Nussli Group of Switzerland, which specializes in the construction of temporary stadiums.[9] They used their NT grandstand system, which allowed for modular construction of stands. Construction implemented 2,500 tonnes of material.[10] Nussli's senior project manager, Florian Weber, stated that the most difficult part of the construction was the occupancy permit, caused by the short construction schedule.[9] Construction took 111 days,[11] and was completed in late June 2010.[10] Several commentators stated that use of temporary stadiums on a permanent basis could be used for other MLS and CFL stadia. For instance, the price of building an 18,500 seat permanent soccer-specific stadium was averaging $200 million.[11]

After the reopening of BC Place, the stands at Empire Field were disassembled in November and December 2011, with the turf, locker rooms and lighting masts being left behind.[4] Equipment and components leased from Nussli were returned.[12] Public consultations regarding use of the lot were conducted until June 2012, after which it was decided to create a community sports park. It features a mountain bike park to the north, a 3.9-meter (13 ft) wide running track around the field and a skateboarding and graffiti tunnel. The area around the turf was expanded, allowing for two east–west fields, rather than one north–south.[4] The legacy items were valued at $2.8 million in 2010.[9]

Specifications

Empire Field was located in Hastings Park, in the Vancouver neighbourhood of

Hastings-Sunrise, next to Playland, an amusement park. Other sports facilities at Hastings Park include Pacific Coliseum and Agrodome.[13] The venue was owned by the BC Pavilion Corporation, which in turn is owned by the provincial Government of British Columbia.[10] It lies on the grounds of and will be operated by the Pacific National Exhibition,[9] which is owned by the Vancouver City Council.[14]

The Lions playing the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the field's first regular season game, on July 10, 2010

The stadium featured a seating capacity of 27,528,

flood lighting and media facilities.[10] Empire Field uses the FieldTurf artificial turf which was used at BC Place prior to the renovations.[3] The venue was built so that it would not receive additional seating during playoffs.[2] Lockers were located in construction trailers, with players having to pass through pedestrian traffic in the concourse to reach the lockers.[15]

Compared to BC Place, Empire Field's seats were located closer to the field, giving a more intimate fan experience. The use of Empire Field deteriorated the Lions' strong

kickers. The dome amplified the crowd, making team communication difficult.[15] John Knox, president of the Vancouver Southsiders, described Empire as their ancestral home and that "it gave us a taste of the experience our parents and their parents had when going to matches in Vancouver."[16]

29th Avenue Station.[17] Hastings Park is located on the Trans-Canada Highway. There are 1,300 parking spaces within a ten-minute walk from the stadium site. Several of these lots are offered with season parking tickets, which for 2010 cost $300. The stadium provided a free bicycle valet service.[18] Compared to BC Place, which is located Downtown, Empire Field offered poor public transport service.[19]

Events

The Whitecaps during their debut game against Toronto FC on March 19, 2011

The Lions opened the venue on June 20, 2010, with a pre-season 36–32 loss against the

Edmonton Eskimos, in front of a crowd of 24,763. In 2010, the team played one pre-season and nine regular-season games at the field. The team's highest attendance was the 29,517 spectators who watched the Saskatchewan Roughriders win 37–18 on July 10, in the first regular-season game to be played at Empire Field.[20] The team drew an average attendance of 24,327 during the regular season, down 2,805 from 2009.[21] During the 2011 season, the Lions played one pre-season and five regular-season games at Empire Field. For the regular season, the Lions drew an average 24,297 spectators, with a high of 25,263 seeing the Toronto Argonauts game on September 10,[20] the last game played at Empire Field.[citation needed] This compared to an average attendance of 36,509 for the regular-season games at BC Place.[22] The Lions' overall record at Empire Field was 5–10.[20][22]

The Whitecaps, who would play their

Los Angeles Galaxy drawing a record high crowd of 27,500 and the San Jose Earthquakes drawing a record low crowd of 15,608. In comparison, the team's four games at BC Place drew an average 19,850 spectators. The Whitecaps' overall record for all games at Empire Field was 4–5–7.[24] Braley stated that the temporary stadium cost the Whitecaps an estimated 1,600 season ticket sales and three major sponsors.[8]

The stadium hosted a concert with Bryan Adams and The Beach Boys on August 21, 2010, to celebrate the centennial anniversary of PNE.[25]

References

  1. ^ a b MacMahon, Martin (September 22, 2011). "Vancouver will remember Empire Field fondly as finale nears". Major League Soccer. Archived from the original on November 3, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
  2. ^ a b Writes, Tobi (January 6, 2010). "Empire Stadium Reborn: Why The CFL BOG Will Insist It Sucks". Bleacher Report.
  3. ^ a b c d Little, Lyndon (December 22, 2009). "With temporary stadium, Lions, Whitecaps bank on nostalgia". Canwest. Archived from the original on June 26, 2010.
  4. ^
    The Vancouver Courier. Archived from the original
    on August 30, 2012.
  5. ^ "B.C. Place stadium to get retractable roof". The Sports Network. May 16, 2008. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  6. ^ a b "BC Place to get $458 million upgrade". Vancouver Sun. May 16, 2008. Archived from the original on December 26, 2009. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  7. ^ "BC Place retractable-roof project delayed". CBC News. August 25, 2009. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  8. ^ a b Morris, Jim (August 25, 2009). "B.C. Place to be gussied up in time for 2011 Grey Cup". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  9. ^
    Journal of Commerce. Archived from the original
    on May 7, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
  10. ^ a b c d e "Temporary Stadium, Empire Field Vancouver". Nussli Group. June 2010.
  11. ^ a b Savino, Christopher (May 28, 2011). "Is there a lower cost option for MLS clubs?". Goal.com.
  12. ^ Kuhland, Karin (November 2010). "A Real Novelty in North America" (PDF). Update. Nussli Group. pp. 3–4. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2011.
  13. ^ "Hastings Park / PNE Master Plan". Pacific National Exhibition.
  14. ^ "Governance". Pacific National Exhibition.
  15. ^ a b c Sekeres, Matthew (September 11, 2011). "B.C. Lions say good riddance to Empire Field". The Globe and Mail.
  16. ^ Kieltyka, Matt (September 23, 2011). "A fond farewell to Empire Field". Metro Vancouver. Archived from the original on October 16, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
  17. ^ Pabillano, Jhenifer (July 6, 2010). "The Football Special helps get you to Lions games this year". The Buzzer. TransLink. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  18. ^ "Transit and parking information". BC Lions. Archived from the original on August 15, 2011.
  19. ^ "BC Place turns into state-of-the-art facility". Sportsnet. September 29, 2011.
  20. ^ a b c "2010 BC Lions Schedule". BC Lions. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
  21. ^ "2010 CFL Attendance". CFLDB.
  22. ^ a b "2011 BC Lions Schedule". BC Lions. Archived from the original on December 8, 2011. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
  23. ^ "Lions, Whitecaps to play temporarily at Empire Stadium". Vancouver Sun. December 21, 2009. Archived from the original on July 16, 2010.
  24. ^ "Schedule". Major League Soccer.
  25. ^ Lederman, Marsha (June 22, 2010). "Bryan Adams, Beach Boys set to play PNE". The Globe and Mail.