New Edmonton Arena Construction will begin in March 2014

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

BTW where is the parking going to be?

There will be a five-level parkade directly under the arena and another one below the plaza across the street.

Plus, well, it's downtown so there's parking.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by Locke

Absolutely. When has a construction project ever finished on or under budget?

Did the City agree to pick up the tab on overruns? Because there will be overruns.

Whoever bids on the project (PCL, etc.) has to assume overrun costs.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Edmonton or not, you gotta admit it looks fantastic. Nice and modern without a hint of nostalgia. Calgary is going to have a its work cut out....which is great.

It's creative looking I guess. Not sure if I am a fan of the organic shape but in person I'm sure it's going to be a pretty first class facility. When it comes to these building I'm more concerned about what's inside. The sightlines, concessions, concourse, etc. A special request for the new Flames facility would be to ensure that they don't go with green seats again. Red would be a better idea so empty seats blend in with fans wearing red jerseys.

[Robbob]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

Whoever bids on the project (PCL, etc.) has to assume overrun costs.

As long as they are smart enough to write that into the contract. Wasn't the south Calgary hospital originally 500 million...I think they ended up well over a billion.

[Muta]

Originally Posted by Robbob

As long as they are smart enough to write that into the contract. Wasn't the south Calgary hospital originally 500 million...I think they ended up well over a billion.

That was mainly due to the expansion of project scope, which was necessary given the technology and planning that went into the facility; not cost overruns.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by Robbob

As long as they are smart enough to write that into the contract. Wasn't the south Calgary hospital originally 500 million...I think they ended up well over a billion.

The mayor keeps saying they will so I think it would be foolish if they didn't.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

A special request for the new Flames facility would be to ensure that they don't go with green seats again. Red would be a better idea so empty seats blend in with fans wearing red jerseys.

Yeah, regardless of empty seats I think it's a good idea to go with team colors. You see it in soccer stadiums as well quite a bit....I think its a great cheap solution to build in a little more team vibe. Boston does it with the yellow, and it looks great too.

Spoiler!

An all-red stadium inside would be great. Or perhaps even a gradient, where it starts of red on the bottom and have the seats transform into a orange/yellow as it goes up.

[Joborule]

Originally Posted by Table 5

An all-red stadium inside would be great. Or perhaps even a gradient, where it starts of red on the bottom and have the seats transform into a orange/yellow as it goes up.

That actually would be pretty interesting. Could look nice if done right.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Yeah, regardless of empty seats I think it's a good idea to go with team colors. You see it in soccer stadiums as well quite a bit....I think its a great cheap solution to build in a little more team vibe. Boston does it with the yellow, and it looks great too.

Spoiler!

An all-red stadium inside would be great. Or perhaps even a gradient, where it starts of red on the bottom and have the seats transform into a orange/yellow as it goes up.

TD Garden also hosts the Celtics, who certainly don't wear yellow. I'm not sure what the origin of the yellow seats is, but the use in TD Garden is likely more of a carry over of the tradition from the original Garden than anything else.

Obviously a non-issue for the Flames as they'd be the sole primary tenant.

[Ruttiger]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Or perhaps even a gradient, where it starts of red on the bottom and have the seats transform into a orange/yellow as it goes up.

See what they're doing in Commonwealth Stadium with green seats fading to yellow as they go up - will look sharp when complete.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/2013/05/0...s-season-start

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by Ruttiger

See what they're doing in Commonwealth Stadium with green seats fading to yellow as they go up - will look sharp when complete.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/2013/05/0...s-season-start

I have a feeling it will end up looking forced and unflowing like the red to yellow "fade" that was done on the Max Bell Arena.

[Ruttiger]

Originally Posted by Reaper

I have a feeling it will end up looking forced and unflowing like the red to yellow "fade" that was done on the Max Bell Arena.

Because it's in Edmonton I'd assume.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by Ruttiger

Because it's in Edmonton I'd assume.

Right, like the example he used, which is in ... Edmonton? Wait.

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by Locke

Absolutely. When has a construction project ever finished on or under budget?

Did the City agree to pick up the tab on overruns? Because there will be overruns.

It happens. The largest construction project in my community's history was brought in under budget. I'm not saying this will be, but don't assume it won't either.

As for parking, the original plan was to have 3,000 parking stalls at the arena itself (underground, I believe) and there are an estimated 30,000 stalls downtown. Many people will come in by LRT and for most games all of those downtown stalls will be available. Parking should not be an issue probably 95% of the time. Traffic is more concerning as several thousand cars arrive and leave at much the same time, but folks will have to adapt and be patient with the little inconvenience.

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

Whoever bids on the project (PCL, etc.) has to assume overrun costs.

There are doing a guaranteed maximum price contract, which means that the contractor will assume overrun costs above $480 million (i think it is).

However, such a contract still does not prevent against scope creep/change orders.

[SebC]

Edmontonians have started a petition asking their city council to build a 1000' statue of Wolverine.

it is what is commonly referred to as a "catalyst project", meaning it will spur greater growth on the downtown of Alberta's capital city and create numerous spin-off projects [...] Please don't miss this opportunity to revitalize our downtown core Edmonton City Council, I fear the downtown arena and other developments will be in jeopardy if we don't.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by SebC

Edmontonians have started a petition asking their city council to build a 1000' statue of Wolverine.

I would chip in if it was a statue of this...

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by SebC

Edmontonians have started a petition asking their city council to build a 1000' statue of Wolverine.

LOL I love Edmontonians;

Wolverine represents, in many ways, everything this proud city stands for. He's strong, tenacious, gets his signature power from an environmentally damaging source, is persecuted by much of society for that power, and is a total badass. I can't think of a better symbol for Edmonton, and I think that making this symbol into a really gigantic statue would be a great way to put this city on the map, and attract new business, investment, and tourism. I am behind this petition 100%.

[jammies]

I would go to Edmonton to see the Wolverine statue, but I wouldn't go to the new arena to see the Oilers. I think these people have a legitimate case.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by Sakari

Honestly that picture looks surreal.

Holy. ####.

The picture of the building that doesn't exist looks surreal?

Shocking!