B.C. Place stadium costs shot upward while remaining "on budget"
As I was reading the first article in the weekend Vancouver Sun's "special information feature" on the $563-million facelift for B.C. Place, I came across a serious whopper.
"The total cost—$563 million dollars [sic]—is about half the more than one billion dollars it would have cost to build a new stadium. And as of this weekend BC Place is open again—on time, and on budget."
In 2009, the B.C. government approved a $365-billion budget, according to an article in the same paper that suggested $563 million was "on time, and on budget".
Even one of the major tenants, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, has posted an article from the Globe and Mail on its site mentioning the $365-million figure.
Back then, NDP MLA Rob Fleming was telling the Globe that the budget had soared.
"They were told three years ago that the lifespan of the current roof was nearing an end and needed to be replaced, but they avoided the decision for far too long," Fleming told the Globe in 2009. "This was originally supposed to be a $60-million project."
Based on Fleming's words, don't be surprised if some voters conclude that a $60-million roof has turned into a $563-million trip to the public trough.
The media's collective amnesia about the rising costs of this megaproject prompted a retired veteran journalist, Harvey Oberfeld, to suggest on his blog that truth has become a "casualty of inexperienced reporters".
In this province, circuses always come before bread.
Follow Charlie Smith on Twitter at twitter.com/csmithstraight.
Comments
21 Comments
suck it
Oct 2, 2011 at 5:39pm
bc place will never be what they want it to be. The building dispite all of the renovations is an old and shitty building .What a waste of money
DsHK
Oct 2, 2011 at 6:17pm
I was in attendance on Fri night. I was all in awe for the first quarter but by halfway through the 2nd it just felt like being in BC Place as before(I was concentrating on the football you see).
Hint to BC Place
- turn down the in-game announcer(does he have to be on the big screen for every soundbite?)
- change any graphics with an all white background(I still have screen-burn on my forehead, damn it was bright)
- maybe stock the concessions properly(I was there to watch the game so I had no lineup problems, others not so lucky I hear)
All in all a giant waste of public funds, but hey, I'm just a Lions fan. It was a great win
Robert Sharp
Oct 2, 2011 at 7:42pm
Just another kick in the face to the rest of BC. We can't get roads fixed , Hospitals cleaned properly. Viva the Independant Islands.
monty/that's me
Oct 2, 2011 at 7:57pm
When one hands out contracts on what is called a "cost plus" basis, it allows the builder to add on and on and on, so costs escalate and are out of control. Who had the contract for BC Place? Concord Properties? Podmore's company? Who had the contract for the new Convention Centre? Hmmm. Let's see. Could it be more of Gordo (the ex-developer) friends.
The 2 Quebec policemen I met at the Olympics told me that the real cost of the Convention Centre was far above what the public was told.
They also said corruption in the construction industry had spread right across Canada. This past week we have seen legal action in Montreal over this issue. Would that ever happen here? Can pigs fly?
Lawson1945
Oct 2, 2011 at 8:59pm
I love the stadium only thing missing is the Casino relocated and expanded, needed to pay for this, thanks to the wing nuts at Vision Vancouver!
Sheep
Oct 2, 2011 at 9:59pm
The only wing nuts are the right wing neo-cons taking care of their big business friends not the citizens of BC.
:)
Vancouver voters...
Oct 2, 2011 at 10:33pm
Make up the majority of the population (re votes for the provincial leg). Yes the stadium was expensive but a third the cost of a new cutting edge stadium (the Dallas Cowboys stadium cost $1.5 Billion). All you hinterland country folk in the boonies can suck it. We're the population base, not Bumf*ck Northern BC, population 142. No one cares about the road into your town. How many seat in the legislature do you represent? One? Vancouver is the economic engine of this province and has the most ridings. If the prov government wants to take care of Vancouver first, that just the reality of democracy. Not our fault you decided to live in Jerkwater BC.
monty/that's me
Oct 3, 2011 at 7:11am
@ Lawson 1945 Research indicates in Vegas the pimps make $500,000 per year on under-age girls loitering on the street outside every casino. Is that what you want for Vancouver? Where will someone house these young girls when rescue missions are attempted. Your comments have become trite with your over use of the phrase "wing nuts". Are you perhaps projecting your own problem?
@Vancouver voters...Obviously you haven't travelled. Spend your time in the psychologically unsound 500 sq. ft. projects in Yaletown? The entire province should not have to absorb the costs of unscrupulous ventures manipulated by an unethical, corrupt group of politicians and developers.
You both need to do some reading and research and try an escape from the bubble in which you are living. Have a nice day.
Hans Goldberg
Oct 3, 2011 at 8:00am
Yes and PCI did the work, anybody guess who are the principals behind that construction company?
Gary Dee, Penticton BC
Oct 3, 2011 at 8:50am
Wow what a dick. To Vancouver Voters - I guess concentrating on your own crappy sef-interest narrows your focus and negates the reality that the rest of BC is paying for the excess of Vancouverites. Did you even realize that most of Vancouver's citizen's are Far Eastern imports who haven't even received citizenship? You think we out here who feed your greed and excess actually care about the corruption, greed and sickness people like you propagate? You are an example of what is seriously wrong with Canada. The fact that you can even type amazes me.