Proposed Stadium Unanimously Approved For Next Step

Vancouver City Council unanimously endorsed a city staff report earlier today which identifies a process to potentially resolve the proposed Whitecaps Waterfront Stadium’s five key requirements set out by City Council last July. In addition, the staff report outlined a procedure to integrate the stadium with the Waterfront Hub Study.

The staff report includes a revised site for the proposed stadium situated slightly west of the previously proposed site, just north of the CP Rail tracks, on the waterfront and near the SeaBus hub. As part of the approved process there will now be a number of opportunities for the public to provide input on the proposed revised site through one-on-one meetings, public open houses and workshops.

“We are pleased with City Council’s decision and look forward to continuing to work with the City, public and stakeholders in resolving or mitigating the five key issues,” said Whitecaps director of soccer operations Bob Lenarduzzi. “We introduced this proposed revised site in response to the key requirements set out last July. There is still a lot of work to be done between now and June in order to move forward to the rezoning process but we are optimistic.”

The five key requirements the Whitecaps are working with the City, public and stakeholders to resolve are the following:

• Provision of an adequate street network
• Resolution of the risks and liability associated with dangerous goods in the rail lands
• Reconfiguration of the stadium structure to ensure a better fit with Gastown
• Resolution of impacts on the liveability of residential areas south of the rail lands
• Resolution of impacts on future Port Lands development

The process is scheduled to be completed in June 2007, at that time Council will decide whether the five key requirements can be resolved sufficiently to proceed to a rezoning process. If approved, the stadium will follow a timeline which would see it ready in early 2010.

The proposed Whitecaps Waterfront Stadium would be located adjacent to Vancouver’s transit hub making it easily accessible from the new Canada Line, SkyTrain, SeaBus, West Coast Express, Helijet and numerous bus routes. The multi-purpose venue would accommodate year-round events including more than 30 Whitecaps Men’s and Women’s games, Canadian national team soccer matches, international sporting events such as rugby and tennis, concerts, and community festivals.

The Vancouver city staff report can be found online here. For more information about the proposed Whitecaps Waterfront Stadium call the Whitecaps office at 604.669.WAVE (9283).