"Roof!" He flung open the gates. The warm glory of afternoon sunlight made him start and blink his eyes. "Oh, roof!" he repeated in a voice of rapture. He was as though suddenly and joyfully awakened from a dark annihilating stupor. "Roof!"
-Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
Last night, I attended the opening game of the BC Lions football team in the newly renovated BC Place. Here is a picture of my friend Steve cheering. Above, you can see the spectacular retractable roof which was open to the cool evening sky.
Although the entire stadium received extensive remodelling, the new roof is the focal point. Where before the BC Place dome was permanently closed, now it can be opened and shut something like the iris of a gigantic eye.
Despite a price tag of well over five hundred million dollars, the new BC Place should prove its worth to our region as a massive magnet for sport and culture. Still, that price tag is very steep considering the size and use of the stadium. Since BC Place opened for business in 1983, it has rained only sixteen times for twenty seven seasons of Lions home games.
Oh, yes, and the Lions won! Victory! The CFL 99th Grey Cup championship game will be held here at BC Place on November 27th, 2011. We'll see you there!
For another JSVB post about BC Place, please click here.
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