The conceptual ‘sculpted stadium in the park’ design of the stadium by Claiborne has won appreciation from the review panel, who called it an imaginative stadium.
The most striking feature of the design is a sinuous $7.5-million ‘veil’ of glued laminated Alaskan yellow cedar that rises up from the back side of the new southside stands and curls over the top, creating a flowing system of enclosure and roofing.
Claiborne has used the same veil motif at the entrances to the northside stands. It reappears behind the end zone scoreboard, creating a bandstand that could be used during outdoor concerts in Lansdowne Park’s proposed ‘front lawn’ urban park.
The design of the southside stands seem to emerge organically from a steep grassy berm that rises seven metres from the Queen Elizabeth Driveway. The park can be seen bending up and merging into the stadium. It is a part of the concept of ‘laminar space’, described as a space that literally flows. The frames of the veil are finished in wood, which is a part of the same idea of flow. At the concourse level of the southside stands, the public can walk or ride bicycles right through the veil, even on game days.
To improve spectator sight lines and enhance the stadium’s bowl appearance, Claiborne has proposed to lower the current playing field by about one metre. The remaining southside stands would be demolished and replaced by new stands. The existing northside stands will be refurbished.
New wider seats would be installed at the stadium and the heavy metal roof would be replaced by the same translucent fabric used on the southside roof. The stadium will be capable of seating 24,000 people with 13,000 in the northside stands and 11,000 in the southside. It would offer three levels of seating — general, club seats and seats in 28 box suites. For events such as the Grey Cup, temporary end zone seats could be installed, which will raise the stadium’s capacity to 45,000.
The design plan also includes a two-storey retail component that would provide improved entrances to the arena and enclose the huge steel frames on the north facade of the Civic Centre.
