BC Place

Opening and 20th century

Construction of the stadium started in February of 1981, with Dillingham Construction contracted to build the stadium, designed by architecture firm Studio Phillips Barratt, Ltd.^[5] BC Place was built as part of the preparations for the 1986 World's Fair, Expo 86. Upon its completion in 1983, the stadium, designed by structural engineers Geiger Berger Associates,^[5][8] was the world's largest air-supported domed stadium until May 4, 2010, when it was deflated for the last time in preparation for the erection of its new retractable roof.^[9] Its original air-supported design was similar to the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which later stored pieces of the roof for reuse.^[10]

The stadium held its grand opening on June 19, 1983.^[6][7] The first major event held in the stadium came the next day, June 20, when the Vancouver Whitecaps hosted the Seattle Sounders in a Monday night North American Soccer League (NASL) game with attendance announced at 60,342.^[11][12] On June 23, 1983, the BC Lions played their first game at the new stadium, a preseason 41–19 victory against the Calgary Stampeders with 53,472 in attendance.^[13] A month later, on July 24, 1983, a crowd of 41,810 watched the BC Lions defeat the Saskatchewan Roughriders 44–28 in the Lions' first regular season game at the stadium.^[14] The venue would host the Soccer Bowl '83 and the 1983 Grey Cup game later that year.^[15][16][17] On September 18, 1984, Pope John Paul II addressed an over-capacity crowd of 60,000 for "A Celebration of Life". The celebration was part of the papal visit to the Archdiocese of Vancouver. It was one of the most heavily attended events in the stadium. The Pope's Celebration of Life was followed a few months later by the Billy Graham Crusade, which drew similar numbers^{[citation needed]} for eight nights.^[18]

The stadium was then used for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1986 World Exposition on Transportation and Communication (Expo '86). Accepting an invitation by the Province of British Columbia, Prince Charles and Princess Diana presided over the opening ceremonies of the World's Fair on May 2, 1986.^[18] In 1987, an exhibition match of Australian rules football was played at the stadium and drew a crowd of 32,789  – a record for the largest AFL/VFL crowd outside of Australia.^{[citation needed]} The stadium also hosted a National Football League exhibition game in 1998 when the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Seattle Seahawks 24–21 in the American Bowl with 45,000 in attendance.^[19]

Inside BC Place Stadium under original roof in July 2005

2007 roof deflation

On January 5, 2007, snow accumulated on the air-supported Teflon Fibreglass roof, despite strict zero accumulation of ice guidelines and ice accumulation structural warnings. The accumulation caused a tear in the roof's ETFE-coated fabric close to Gate G on the south side where the roof meets the top of the concrete bowl.^[20][21] The tear grew quickly as air escaped through it, whereupon maintenance staff performed an intentional, controlled deflation to protect the integrity of the roof's intact fabric panels.^[22] As it was designed to do, the deflated roof rested on its steel support cables 6 metres (20 ft) above the seating and the field. Normally, the roof had a rise of 27 metres (90 ft) above the top of the bowl when inflated.^[23] No one was injured during the incident, although rain and melted snow flooded the bowl and subsequently had to be pumped out.

An independent report indicated that an accidental rapid pressurization combined with lightly gusting wind and a location of previously undetected damage caused the tear.^[24] The damaged panel was replaced with a temporary one on January 19 and the roof was re-inflated.^[25][26] The BC Contractors Association held an exhibition in the stadium over the week of January 23,^[27] during which the roof leaked in several places when it rained.^[28] The temporary panel was successfully replaced with a permanent one in June 2007, just prior to the start of the 2007 CFL season.^[29]

Renovation and roof replacement

On May 16, 2008, it was announced that over $150 million in major renovations would be carried out on BC Place Stadium. The work was done in two phases. The first phase involved upgrades to seating, washrooms, concessions, and luxury suites, as well as the reinforcement of the existing ring beam at the top of the building^[30] and was completed in October 2009, in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Work on the retractable roof began in May 2010, with PCL Westcoast Constructors Inc. contracted to construct the roof designed by architecture firm Stantec Architecture Ltd. and structural engineering firm Geiger Engineers, with Schlaich Bergermann & Partner serving as consulting engineers and Genivar, Inc. acting as services engineers.^[31] Geiger also designed the stadium's new centre-hung scoreboard.^[31] The roof's construction began immediately after the completion of the 2010 Winter Paralympics and the final deflation of the air-supported roof. The official budget for the completed Phase 1 upgrades plus the revitalization project was $514 million.^[32] The new roof, a cable-supported retractable roof system first used with the Commerzbank-Arena in Frankfurt, Germany,^[33] is the largest of its kind.^[34] The opening measures 100 by 85 metres (109 by 93 yd), the same size as the field below. The fabric roof retracts into and is hidden by a pod in the centre of the opening, above the suspended videoboard.^[35]

The updated stadium also features the second largest centre-hung high definition scoreboard in North America, after the one in AT&T Stadium.^[36] In addition, a new artificial turf developed by Polytan was installed at an estimated cost of $1.2 million. It is designed to achieve FIFA 2-star certification, the highest rating possible. The soccer pitch is 117 by 75 yards (107 by 69 m).^[37]

TSN analyst and former CFL player Chris Schultz praised both the design and engineering of the new stadium.^[36] Columnist Brian Hutchinson has praised the renovations for significantly improving the acoustics, and providing a bright and airy feel to the stadium. These were aspects that were missing in its previous air-supported roof incarnation, as well as the Montreal Olympic Stadium and the Rogers Centre (formerly SkyDome).^[34]

The artificial turf installed between September 2011 and April 2015 drew criticism, notably its lacklustre characteristics for playing professional level soccer.^[38][39] A new artificial turf was installed in May 2015, prior to the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015. The total cost of the turf upgrade was $1.327 million, with Canada Soccer and Rugby Canada contributing $500,000 CDN to the project.^[40] Liam Middleton, Canada's Rugby Sevens coach, stated that the new surface was "better than some natural grass surfaces they've played on."^[41]

Post-renovation

The opening and closing ceremonies of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the opening ceremonies of the X Paralympic Winter Games were also held in BC Place Stadium in February and March 2010, respectively. The stadium was the first air-supported structure and 24th venue to host the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics. It was also both the third CFL venue and the third Canadian venue to have served as an Olympic Stadium, after Montreal's Olympic Stadium and Calgary's McMahon Stadium.^{[citation needed]}

The 47th Vanier Cup was the first Canadian university football championship paired with the Grey Cup Festival and played on November 25, 2011, between the McMaster Marauders and Laval Rouge et Or in front of 24,935. Nicknamed "Best Game... Ever",^[51] it is widely regarded as one of the most exciting Canadian Football games of all time^[52] with McMaster winning 41–38 in double overtime. It was the first championship played in the newly renovated facility.^{[citation needed]}

The 2012 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament final between the United States and Canada played at the stadium was the highest attendance for a women's CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying game with 25,427 people in attendance.^[53]

The 2014 NHL Heritage Classic took place March 2, 2014, in BC Place, with the Ottawa Senators facing off against the home team Vancouver Canucks.^[54] It was the first NHL game to be played in a retractable roof stadium.^[55]

BC Place hosted its second major international sports competition, the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. Five group stage matches, two round of 16 matches, and one quarter-final were held in the stadium during June 2015, and the Final between Japan and the United States was played here on July 5, 2015.^[56] The Canada women's national team played Australia at BC Place on December 5, 2023, as part of a farewell tour for Christine Sinclair. The stadium was temporarily renamed to Christine Sinclair Place in her honor.^[57]

The stadium hosted round six of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2015–16 series.^[58]

A new overall attendance record was set on September 2, 2023, with 65,061 people attending an Ed Sheeran concert, surpassing the previous record of 63,803 set by a U2 concert in 2009.^[3] On December 6, 7, and 8, 2024, BC Place hosted the final three shows of Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour.^[59]

Canadian football

The Lions have played at BC Place since it opened in 1983 and had a record attendance of 59,478 for three games in 1985 and 1986.^[61] When it was built, the floor of BC Place was too small to accommodate a full-sized CFL regulation field, as a result BC Place became the first CFL stadium to use a 20-yard end zone instead of the regulation 25-yard end zone then in use. Although controversial at first, the smaller end zone proved highly popular with players and was adopted league-wide in 1986.^[62]

The stadium has hosted the CFL's championship game, the Grey Cup, ten times: in 1983, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1994, 1999, 2005, 2011, 2014, and 2024. Notable was the 1994 championship, in which the hometown BC Lions defeated the U.S. expansion team the Baltimore Football Club on a last-second field goal by Lui Passaglia, preventing the Grey Cup trophy from leaving Canada (Baltimore would win the Grey Cup the following year). The stadium hosted the 99th Grey Cup in 2011 after the new roof was completed (this Grey Cup game was also won by the BC Lions at home).^[63]

Soccer

Several incarnations of the Whitecaps have played at BC Place. The original Vancouver Whitecaps of the North American Soccer League (NASL) played at the stadium from 1983 to 1984, when the team folded.^[64] The team hosted the first sporting event at BC Place, a regular season match against the Seattle Sounders on June 20, 1983, which drew 60,342 spectators.^[61] Soccer Bowl '83 was also held at BC Place, where the Tulsa Roughnecks defeated the Toronto Blizzard 2–0 in front of 53,326 spectators.^[65]

The stadium was also used for exhibition matches as well as Canada national team fixtures during the 1980s and 1990s. The second incarnation of the Whitecaps, initially named the Vancouver 86ers, played exhibition matches at BC Place in 1991 and 1992 before returning for regular season games in 1995 during renovations to Swangard Stadium.^[66] On November 7, 2007, the Whitecaps hosted the LA Galaxy for an exhibition match that drew 48,172 spectators—mainly attracted by the appearance of David Beckham.^[67]

On August 21, 2021, the Whitecaps played their first home game at BC Place since the COVID-19 pandemic after being forced to stay in the United States for the 2020 season and the first half of the 2021 season. They won 2–1 against Los Angeles FC.

After the Whitecaps joined MLS and moved into the renovated BC Place, the team only sold seats in the lower bowl. They drew a record of 27,683 spectators for a regular season match against Seattle Sounders FC in 2018 without opening the upper bowl.^[61] The restriction was lifted for a 2023 playoff match against Los Angeles FC on November 5, 2023; the match had 30,204 spectators.^[68] The team set their new MLS attendance record on May 25, 2024, with 51,035 spectators during a regular season match against Inter Miami CF who had signed football legend Lionel Messi the year prior.^[69]

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup

More information Date, Team #1 ...

Date	Team #1	Result	Team #2	Round	Attendance
June 8, 2015	Cameroon	6–0	Ecuador	Group C	25,942
	Japan	1–0	Switzerland		25,942
June 12, 2015	Switzerland	10–1	Ecuador		31,441
	Japan	2–1	Cameroon		31,441
June 16, 2015	Nigeria	0–1	United States	Group D	52,193
June 21, 2015	Canada	1–0	Switzerland	Round of 16	53,855
June 23, 2015	Japan	2–1	Netherlands		28,717
June 27, 2015	England	2–1	Canada	Quarterfinal	54,027
July 5, 2015	United States	5–2	Japan	Final	54,027

Close

Baseball

BC Place can also be used in a baseball configuration to attract a future Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise.^[72] It can accommodate a baseball diamond with retractable seating sections making room for right field. The Vancouver Canadians of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League played several series of games there between 1984 and 1988, including games 1 and 2 of the 1985 league championship series. Numerous MLB spring training games were also played, including in 1984 (Toronto Blue Jays and Milwaukee Brewers), 1986 (Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Montreal Expos and Seattle Mariners), 1993 (Toronto, Seattle, Milwaukee and Detroit Tigers) and 1994 MLB season (Toronto, Seattle, Montreal and Colorado Rockies).^[73] The Mariners explored plans to play regular season games at BC Place in the mid-1990s,^[74] but were unable to receive approval from MLB.^[75][76]

In the mid-1990s, the stadium was planned to be the home of the yet-to-be named Vancouver team, a charter franchise of the United League (UL) which was planned to be a third league of MLB; it never came to fruition.^[77][78]