Quote:
Originally Posted by monkeyman
The building is just a small part of the overall picture. Having the new BMO convention centre and redeveloping the stampede grounds will have an impact on future conventions, future concerts, future Stampeds, improve the entire area and make it more useable year round. The saddledome is not a part of that plan, it's the antipodes of the plan. The city doesn't want it, CMLC doesn't want it and yes, the Flames don't want it. So the Saddledome's time is limited, it's just a matter of when, not if it gets demolished and replaced by something.
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This is why the design of the actual arena is so critical. Opponents of the arena will argue moving it two blocks north will not revitalize the area because the Saddledome failed to revitalize Victoria Park when it was built in the early &0’s. The key difference is the Saddledome is extremely hostile to the pedestrian realm, no matter how nice it looks in the skyline.
If the new arena is designed with the same mindset and design principals of arenas of the past, it will no doubt fail to revitalize Victoria Park as the Saddledome did. If the new arena is nothing more than a box with blank walls and no street level interaction like the current building, it will fail miserably and repeat mistakes of the past. This is why it is critical the new building contain ground level retail, restaurants, and patios that are open year round to actually attract people outside of game days. The arena needs to be designed to be open and inviting from the outside and actually enhance and blend into the community, not be an imposing fortress. This is why the addition of the parkade gets me so fired up because they are literally killing two sides of the pedestrian realm with it.
Rogers Place in Edmonton, while visually interesting, is actually a disaster when it comes to the pedestrian realm. It is incredibly sterile and imposing. No street level retail or interaction. Everything is opaque and you can’t even look inside the building. The only pedestrian element is across the street in their enclosed plaza that actually has little connection to the actual arena.
I think the design Calgary unveiled is close and has some great elements (Olympic Ave. retail corridor) but falls short with the parkade and an overall sub standard aesthetic design with too many elements and facade styles.