Stadium Updates

[rdavies]

Unfortunately, with the rain starting before the game, most of the shirts were wet before people got to their seats.

There's a marketing opportunity missed, oh, to have the likes of Lonie Glieberman again. Not!

One idea I had was that maybe some former NFL player with a passion for football and a lot of money would be interested based on a passion for the game. Dare to dream....dare to dream.

Need local ownership, like Ottawa, when a situation is as bad as the Argos. Bob Young while not living in Hamilton is hooked into the community, Wetenhall has people to do that for him.

Toronto's history of bringing in big name NFLers hasn't had much long term success.

[T-Bone]

I was there and I got the white "Holy Mackinaw" shirt. Unfortunately, with the rain starting before the game, most of the shirts were wet before people got to their seats.

I was there as well and gave my "Oskee Wee Wee" shirt to my friend who is a Ti-Cat fan. Unfortunately or fortunately we can't control the weather but the shirts dried.

[rdavies]

BMO Field Expansion Video

[Argocister]

BMO Expansion video ........ Heavy Sigh.

Well I guess they have to sell their season tickets so no point in letting any indication that it may be convertible to a CFL field or that they have to share the field. Let's hope it's still a go in a couple of years.
Not that this video shows much for the CFL group, but if there's a roof over the one end, does that mean they only have one moveable end (the one without the roof) and the stands will be shifted on the CFL field ? ......ie . The middle of the stands would not be the 55 yd line?

[T-Bone]

BMO Expansion video ........ Heavy Sigh.

Well I guess they have to sell their season tickets so no point in letting any indication that it may be convertible to a CFL field or that they have to share the field. Let's hope it's still a go in a couple of years.
Not that this video shows much for the CFL group, but if there's a roof over the one end, does that mean they only have one moveable end (the one without the roof) and the stands will be shifted on the CFL field ? ......ie . The middle of the stands would not be the 55 yd line?

I believe the plan is that the south end (with roof) will have the retractable seats and the north end will be removed which is why they are not adding a roof to it.

[rdavies]

Tks to king10 at SkyscraperPage for headsup

[rdavies]

Jays hope new turf will be softer for players
Shi Davidi Sportsnet.ca December 2, 2014

TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays will be playing on a new artificial surface in 2015, one they believe will be more comfortable and less taxing on their players.

That’s a good thing given the widely-held disdain for the old rug – the AstroTurf 3D installed for the 2010 season – which is often blamed for causing excessive wear and tear on the bodies of those who play on it.

There are some who feel it’s a deterrent for free agents, and others are adamant the synthetic field contributes to the team’s health issues, the oft-injured Brett Lawrie, traded Friday to the Oakland Athletics as part of the package for Josh Donaldson, among them.

“It treats my body kind of silly and throws it off,” he said this week during a conference call with Bay Area media, adding later: “I really do feel that turf has a lot to do with (all the injuries). I’m wound tight, my body is wound tight just being a high-energy guy and being a quick-twitch guy, so for me being on that turf and bouncing around and whatnot, I hear people just saying from walking on it or standing on it from opposing teams, ‘Man, we were only in there for three days but my body feels terrible.’

“When you hear those sorts of things and you realize we’re on that stuff every single day, I can only point the finger at it because it makes sense. I really do feel when I go on the road and I play on grass and dirt and whatnot, I feel better. Once you get back into five, six, seven games in a row on that stuff, your body just gets thrown through a bit of a loop. I feel like this is a big step forward for me into being healthy and staying on the field.”

The coming season will determine whether or not the switch to natural grass really makes a difference on that front for Lawrie, and the Blue Jays can only hope their new surface provides similar potential benefits.

Installation of the new AstroTurf 3D Xtreme, the next generation of their old carpet with redesigned grass fibres, is scheduled to start Jan. 23 and should be completed by early March. While it’s far from ideal, the new rug is slated to serve as a stop-gap until Rogers Centre can be retrofitted for natural grass, a process slated for 2018.

Finding the Toronto Argonauts a new home is a key element within that timeline, and the CFL club may yet end up at BMO Field, where they were set to move before funding issues scuttled a plan to bring them over. It’s the most sensible landing spot for them, and one school of thought is logic will rule the day and the stadium’s upcoming renovations will allow it to accommodate a CFL playing field.

Until all that gets settled, the Blue Jays are trying to do the next best thing for their players, and the new turf is it.

“Our turf was starting to get worn down,” says Kelly Keyes, vice-president, building services for the Blue Jays. “(The new one) will be softer for the players, it will be better for their bodies, and the ball won’t roll as fast, it will be much slower.”

The difference won’t be only in going from one field to another, but also in the way the new carpet is laid down and handled.

The previous surface ended up hardening over time because of the way it compresses while rolled up for Rogers Centre’s other events, causing the grass blades to flatten out. Compounding matters, the mixture of sand and rubber crumbs poured on the turf to make it springier only added to the weight, increasing the pressure on it while sitting and especially while rolled up.

A switch this past season to a rubber crumb only mixture helped for a little while, but the surface by then had seen better days.

“The sand adds a lot of weight to it,” explained Keyes. “Our big rolls ranged from 11,000-12,000 pounds.”

This time the rolls should weigh about 6,000 pounds. With approximately half of the pressure and a slightly bigger crumb size, the Blue Jays hope the surface won’t compress as much.

“In theory, that should make it a little softer and last longer,” Keyes said.

One problem the Blue Jays simply won’t be able to resolve is the toll the frequent placement and removal takes on the turf.

The club’s selection of artificial surfaces is limited by the need for a portable system. Prior to 2010, the Blue Jays for five years used a tray system field made up of roughly 2,000 pieces, and players regularly found odd seams and dead spots that changed after every conversion.

The new carpet – 145 rolls, the longest piece measuring 170 feet – will be similar to the old carpet put together with basically the same seaming plan.

“This allows us to continue to be multipurpose,” said Keyes. “The fibre will be a blend of two different greens so it looks a little sharper and the blades are supposed to be stronger, they shouldn’t fall down as quickly as they do right now.”

The key matter, however, is whether it makes playing at Rogers Centre less physically taxing for Blue Jays players, and a real reading of that won’t come until well into next season.

The surface won’t ever be as forgiving as natural grass, but it needs to be better than the light padding over concrete it became.

As for the old surface, it will be returned to AstroTurf so it can be recycled and live on in one of the other carpeting products the manufacturer makes. Few who played on it will be sad to see it go, and many will be eager to wish it good riddance.

[rdavies]

FIFA says turf at Commonwealth Stadium must be ripped up for Women’s World Cup due to faint white lines
Cost: $800,000, to be shared by city and soccer association
Gordon Kent, Edmonton Journal February 12, 2015

The international soccer federation is giving Commonwealth Stadium turf the boot to ensure faint white football lines don’t mar TV broadcasts during the Women’s World Cup.

The painted football lines are removed from the artificial grass during soccer matches, which use a different set of markings.

But over time, small amounts of paint stick to the fibres and the rubber crumb around them, Commonwealth Stadium acting director Kevin Kobi said Wednesday.

“The Canadian Soccer Association has assessed a number of pitches that are being played on and had come to the conclusion, along with FIFA, that a number needed to be replaced,” he said.

“What was noticed last year during the under-20 Women’s World Cup was there was ghosting on the (Commonwealth) pitch.”

After consulting the manufacturer and a paint supplier, the only practical solution was to tear out the five-year-old turf, Kobi said.

Although 99 per cent of the paint can be stripped off the material, that’s not enough, he said.

“It was that remaining one per cent on the field *— with high-definition cameras and the quality of filming, it was evident you could see it during the under-20s.”

Replacement will start in April and be finished by the end of May, at a cost of about $800,000, Kobi said.

The Canadian Soccer Association is paying half the bill, as well as replacing one of two artificial fields being used for practices in Henry Singer Park.

The average lifespan of the Commonwealth surface is eight to 10 years, so the city is getting a good deal, he said.

The Edmonton Eskimos have been consulted to ensure the new product meets their needs.

The work won’t interfere with their spring training, which is being held this year in Spruce Grove.

This isn’t an example of “big soccer” pushing around Edmonton, Kobi said.

“Not at all ... Realistically, we would have to replace this field in three years anyway,” he said.

“Although we’re replacing it earlier than we normally would, it allows us to extend the lifespan of the field five to seven years at a fraction of the cost.”

Coun. Bryan Anderson said new styles of turf are better at shedding paint when required.

“If we’re going to host ... there are certain regulations we have to meet,” he said.

“One is to have soccer lines only visible to a world television audience.”

Edmonton is holding 11 World Cup games, including the opener, during the June 5-July 6 tournament staged in six Canadian cities.

About 40 top players filed an Ontario Human Rights Commission complaint they later withdrew. They had argued they shouldn’t have their matches on artificial turf.

Men play on natural grass, which many feel gives a different style of game and reduces injury.

[rdavies]

Board approves stadium revitalization
Communications Staff Queen's Gazette December 8, 2014


An early rendering of what the revitalized Richardson Stadium could look like.

Queen’s Board of Trustees has approved the Richardson Stadium revitalization project, at a cost of $20.27 million. The board made the decision at its December meeting. Construction of the stadium is expected to begin after the Gaels’ 2015 football season, and completed by fall 2016. The revitalization is the latest phase of the Fields & Stadium project supporting athletics and recreation through the construction of Nixon, Tindall, and Miklas-McCarney fields.

Plans for the revitalization were kicked off in March with the announcement of a $10 million pledge to the stadium project from Queen’s alumnus and former Gael Stu Lang and his wife Kim. That announcement was followed by news of a $5 million contribution from the Richardson Foundation. Other donors have also come forward to contribute to the project, bringing the total amount raised to more than $17 million. The university will contribute an additional $3 million for infrastructure support of the stadium, bringing the total funding to $20.27 million.

“I am very pleased that the board has approved the plan to proceed with a very exciting project for both the Queen’s and Kingston communities,” says Principal Daniel Woolf. “A revitalized stadium will be a point of pride and further enhance health and wellness at Queen’s as well as the competitiveness of several of our sports programs.”

With board approval, the university will engage the Queen’s and Kingston communities in discussions around the stadium. A website dedicated to the project will be launched in early January, and public meetings will be held to solicit feedback.

The new stadium, which will be amongst the top facilities of its kind in Ontario, will include an artificial turf field, state-of-the-art scoreboard, and bowl-style seating. Temporary stands will be installed at the north end of the stadium, pending additional fundraising for a pavilion that will complete the bowl design. The revitalized stadium will be in the same location as the current stadium, and have a similar capacity of approximately 9,000. It will be home to the Queen’s soccer and football teams, and used by a number of other teams and clubs.

The Fields & Stadium Cabinet is chaired by Paul and Vicki Hand.

“We are incredibly grateful to our generous benefactors for making the dream of a revitalized Richardson Stadium a reality,” says Tom Harris, Vice-Principal (Advancement). “Without philanthropic support, this project would not be happening.”

The current stadium is in urgent need of revitalization. Originally built as a temporary facility more than 40 years ago, parts of the stadium date back to 1920, and it no longer meets the needs of student-athletes and spectators. In 2013, following an engineering report, sections of bleachers at the stadium were decommissioned and replaced with temporary seating. Without a revitalization the stadium would continue to deteriorate to the point where the university would have to invest significant resources to repair or renovate the existing structure.

“A revitalized stadium will be extremely beneficial to the health and wellness of all of our student-athletes, from varsity teams to recreational programs, and also be a great asset to our community partners,” says Leslie Dal Cin, Executive Director, Athletics and Recreation.

More details about the stadium’s design will be released as community engagement moves forward.

[rdavies]

Toronto Blue Jays hope new artificial turf for Rogers Centre will be their last
John Lott The National Post January 13, 2015

TORONTO – New artificial turf is coming to the Rogers Centre – possibly for the last time.

Crews are scheduled to install the new AstroTurf surface next month. The Toronto Blue Jays are expected to play on it through the 2017 season.

Team officials hope that by 2018, a natural grass surface and dirt infield will be in place following major renovations to accommodate irrigation, drainage and ventilation.

Meanwhile, the new artificial turf will represent an upgrade, said Stephen Brooks, the Jays’ senior vice-president of business operations. And the players should notice the difference.

“It will play a bit softer, which is the feedback we got from players when we asked them what they wanted,” Brooks said.

When the previous AstroTurf was installed, its granular base was a mix of sand and rubber pellets. With repeated removal and re-application of the rolls of turf, the sand compacted, making it difficult to distribute the infill evenly and groom the field before each homestand.

Before last season, the Jays removed the infill and replaced it with rubber pellets only. The new turf also contains pellets from recycled rubber tires.

As with previous iterations, the new turf will be taken up to accommodate non-baseball events and re-applied when the Jays play at home.

[rdavies]

Toronto Blue Jays want grass in the Rogers Centre: An inside look at the difficult growth process it requires
John Lott National Post January 13, 2015

Imagine: Sitting before you is a scale model of the Rogers Centre, roughly the size of a round roasting pan. Your challenge: to put a real baseball field in the stadium – natural grass with a dirt infield — by opening day 2018.

Your research has been thorough. Experts at the University of Guelph have determined the ideal species of grass. They have it growing on an Ontario sod farm. They say it will flourish indoors with the roof closed.

Under the right conditions, that is. Your job is to create those conditions.

So open the roof, reach in and toss out that artificial turf, which was new for the 2015 season. Haul out your jackhammer. Rip up the concrete. Install plumbing for irrigation and drainage. Dig some more to accommodate the sod and the dirt infield.

Close the roof. Strip that shiny skin from the four mammoth roof panels. It’s the original PVC membrane, circa 1989, and it’s worn out. While you’re at it, you might figure out a way to replace it with a material that lets in the light. Grass likes natural light, and right now, the closed dome shuts it out.

The scientists at Guelph say the grass will grow without natural light, but you’ll need lots of artificial light – enormous banks of mobile “grow lights” that sit about 10 feet off the ground and nourish the sod when the field is not in use. You’ll roll them around between games to focus on the worn spots, even after games played with the roof open.



One more thing. Grass sweats. (Scientists call it transpiration.). Water from the roots vaporizes from the leaf surface into the air. All of that grass will create a lot of humidity, and you’ve got to figure out a way to get rid of that sticky air or the Rogers Centre will become a sweatbox with the roof closed. So you’ll need a dehumidifier. Forget Home Depot; you need a really big one.

Now you’re ready to install the grass.

Assuming, of course, that your engineers surmounted all of those challenges and you have the budget to make it happen.

***

Except for the 2018 deadline, all of the foregoing is fantasy. The grass is not growing. The University of Guelph has not begun the serious business of testing grass species. The Jays’ engineering team continues to investigate the enormously complex logistical challenges. They have visited stadiums in Milwaukee, Miami and Arizona, among others, to see how officials there have dealt with airflow and light issues.

Of course, there is a fundamental difference between the Rogers Centre and those facilities. Those other stadiums are baseball parks, engineered to grow grass. The Rogers Centre is a multi-use indoor entertainment facility engineered nearly three decades ago without grass in mind.

For a year or so, Guelph has been eager to strike a formal working agreement with the Jays. That deal might get done “within a week, give or take,” said Stephen Brooks, the Jays senior vice-president of business operations.

It has been a long time coming.

For three years, Blue Jays president Paul Beeston has spoken publicly about putting grass in the Rogers Centre. According to documents obtained by Blue Jays fan David Dowe through a Freedom of Information request, the Jays and Guelph officials have been in discussions since December 2013, when Guelph gave the club a detailed research proposal with timelines.

Dowe, who lives in Burlington, submitted his FOI request to Guelph, seeking details of the university’s discussions with the Jays. He received a series of emails with most of the information redacted, but showing that discussions have been ongoing for more than a year and that Guelph politely nudged the Jays about settling a formal agreement in January, April, May, June and September last year.

Asked whether the negotiations are stalled, Brooks demurred.

“I wouldn’t characterize it as a standstill,” he said. “This is a big project that has lots of moving parts. It requires negotiations between the two parties. It requires us to work through internally what that means to our business. Those things take time.”

The FOI request went to Guelph but the Blue Jays also took part in the redaction process. Brooks said the blacked-out sections covered “financial discussions between the parties and matters of a proprietary nature.” One of the financial issues: How much the Jays would pay Guelph for the grass-roots research.

In an interview, Brooks seemed confident that the 2018 deadline is achievable. But given the complexity of reverse-engineering a 26-year-old stadium, he added a caveat.

“We’re going through a process that is uncharted territory,” he said. “We don’t necessarily know yet what we’re going to find out about what has to be done from a humidity perspective, or from an airflow perspective. That’s going to resolve itself as we work through this.

“We’re targeting 2018. Could that change? As we go through this process, things could change. We don’t know just yet.”

Eric Lyons is eager to see the agreement signed so he can get started. The associate professor at Guelph will lead the research into testing various grass species, measuring the levels of humidity they produce and how they respond to artificial light, as well as their ability to withstand the rigors of a baseball season.

Lyons grew up near Pittsburgh and remains an ardent (and long-suffering) Pirates fan. He admits he might become a Blue Jays fan too. Mainly, he’s a fan of science and turf grass.

“I’m a scientist. I love baseball, I love sports, I love turf grass,” he said. “Why wouldn’t I want to do this?”

He envisions a two-stage process. The first, ending in May 2016, would generate the results of his research — the right grass for the job. Meanwhile, the Jays would continue their retrofit research. After Lyons submits his final report, it would be up to the Jays to decide whether to take the project forward.

“Growing this many plants indoors is going to require a huge investment in infrastructure,” Lyons said. “You can do these things cheaply. You can do them in a way that won’t last, or you can do them right. And [the Jays] want to know the cost of doing it right. That’s what they’ve expressed to me.”

Ideally, he would finish tests to determine the appropriate species and start growing it for the Rogers Centre this fall, for harvest in 2017. Then he would test it in a simulated environment under artificial light.

If all goes well, it would be installed early in 2018 and groomed for opening day. Like most clubs, the Jays would likely need to replace it at least once during the season, he said.

Growing the new sod in a warmer climate south of the border might speed up the maturation process, but creates potential problems as well. Truck transportation would take at least a day and any holdups at the border – importing plants is no breeze – could leave the sod in poor shape.

“I would grow it in Canada with a sod producer that is prepared to set up a system so that you can harvest sod in the winter under frozen ground,” Lyons said. “So we would have to set up hoop houses, heat them up, thaw the ground and harvest. That would be very expensive.”

Among the hurdles the Jays face, dealing with humidity may be the biggest.

“If it’s hot and humid in that stadium, no one’s going to want to go a game,” he said.

Assuming the Jays can handle the required retrofit, Lyons is confident the grass will flourish, and that players and fans will love it.

“We can do this,” he said. “I am certain that we can. It’s just whether or not it’s feasible for the Blue Jays to want to do it. That’s what we’re going to help them answer.

“The question is, how much is it going to cost?”

David Dowe contributed reporting to this story.

[rdavies]

And so ends the whole BS legal action saga with the compromise below.

Weber: B.C. Place to get new turf in time for FIFA Women's World Cup
Marc Weber, The Province January 18, 2015


Photograph by: Arlen Redekop file photo, PNG

B.C. Place will have a new artificial turf in time for the FIFA Women's World Cup in June.

Plans to replace the current surface, installed in 2011, are in the final stages with the changeover set for May, the Province has learned.

High-profile MLS players and coaches have criticized the B.C. Place turf over the years, both for how it plays and for how unforgiving it is on the body.

Robbie Keane once called it "stupid."

More recently, it was singled out by a group of top female internationals who've launched a complaint against FIFA and the CSA, claiming that playing the Women's World Cup on turf amounts to gender discrimination.

But the existing turf was expected to retain its required FIFA 2 Star rating, and the impetus for change is as much about versatility and aesthetics.

Along with FIFA's approval, the new synthetic surface will also meet World Rugby (formerly IRB) standards. That opens the door for B.C. Place and Vancouver to host major international rugby events.

Rugby Canada and the Canada Sevens Bid Committee announced last year a formal submission for Vancouver to host an HSBC Sevens World Series event starting in 2016.

The height of the upright synthetic blades — known as pile height — has to be a minimum of 60mm for World Rugby-sanctioned events. The existing B.C. Place turf is only 40mm, which is more common for soccer.

But the soccer crowd has no concerns about the switch. And if the ball moves a fraction slower on the turf, it will be welcomed by those who've described the current experience as like playing on concrete.

The Caps already train occasionally on a 65mm turf field at Thunderbird Stadium. They're putting another one down on Wolfson Field at UBC.

Turf maintenance and watering techniques are far more crucial for quality of play, experts say, and B.C. Place has recently invested in a Zamboni-like watering machine, as well as a higher-end cover system to protect the field from the weight of so many non-sporting events at the Dome.

As for the look of the field, with the world watching in June and July the CSA had serious concerns about the TV broadcasts.

B.C. Place is set to host the Women's World Cup final, along with group games, two Round of 16 matches, and a quarterfinal.

The brown infill pellets currently make for ugly viewing and are expected to be replaced by green ones. The turf's colour could also get a tweak.

So while FIFA officials say the players won't get their wish for temporary grass, organizers will at least hope to create the illusion of the real stuff for the viewer.

Almost 63 million people tuned into the 2011 Women's World Cup final between the U.S. and Japan, according to FIFA.

The current B.C. Place turf — installed at a cost of around $1.2 million — is a product of Polytan, a German-based company that claims the most FIFA 2 Star re-certifications worldwide.

The changeover is likely slated for mid-to-late May.

The Whitecaps are home to Seattle on May 16 and then hit the road before hosting Salt Lake on May 30.

B.C. Place hosts its first two Women's World Cup matches on June 8.

[rdavies]

The first phase of the Regina Revitalization Initiative, new Mosaic Stadium, continues to be on schedule (August 2016). Construction is approximately 22 per cent complete.

[rdavies]

Stadium one-fifth complete | Video
Natascia Lypny, Leader-Post January 30, 2015

REGINA - Regina’s new stadium is 22 per cent complete, with progress helped and hurt by Saskatchewan’s fluctuating winter temperatures.

“Mid-January has been great for construction,” said Sean Hamelin, PCL Construction Management’s district manager, in his first update of the new year.

“The warm weather has been great. If you asked anybody working on this site, they would say that they’ve loved the warm weather. It does help productivity: Things happen faster and you can work longer when the weather is nice.”

By contrast, the end of December and beginning of January saw some days so cold the four cranes towering over the site couldn’t operate.

“This is very challenging project — complex, fast-paced — but with all the good people on it it’s a lot of fun for everybody to get up and go to work each day,” said Hamelin.

Despite a light dusting of snow, the stadium is taking shape as a veritable building now, with the multi-hued tarps covering the sprouting structure making it nearly as colourful as its Taylor Field predecessor. If you’re walking by, you’ll see the most progress on the southeast corner, although the west side is being built up as well.

PCL is tackling the stadium with a “design-build” approach, meaning designs are drafted concurrently with construction.

“I am very pleased to say that the design is progressing very well, staying ahead of construction so that it happen in a very fluid and efficient manner,” said Hamelin.

The design of the structure is complete, and Hamelin expects the design of the rest of the facility will be sketched in the next three to four months.

For those of you weather-wary folks, the stadium will be outfitted for both Mother Nature’s winter and summer extremes.

The sunken bowl will be designed to allow heavy rainfall to seep though, then be pumped into the city’s storm system. Though the partial roof isn’t heated, it will have a mechanical system to break up snow accumulation as it slips down to the perimeter.

Although Mayor Michael Fougere didn’t attend the stadium tour this time, he is excited by the progress he sees: “Every time you walk by, drive by, you see another element just building up out of the ground.”

Earlier this week, city council approved a development approach for the rail yard renewal project, a part of the Regina Revitalization Initiative, so that planning can begin for that area as well.

[rdavies]

Progress on Regina stadium puts build 86 yards from end zone
Stadium should be substantially complete by August 2016, officials say
CBC News Jan 29, 2015

Officials say progress on the construction of a new stadium in Regina is about 22 per cent complete which — measured on a football field — puts the project about 86 yards from the end zone (assuming they started from the opposite end zone 110 yards away).

"This is a very challenging project," Sean Hamelin, a manager for the construction company PCL, said Thursday. "You don't build a stadium every day."

He said some of the structural components are complex. As well, the logistics are complicated because the design of the facility is being done just ahead of the actual build.



Despite a few very cold days in December and early January, Hamelin said the recent warmer weather has been good.

"If you ask anybody working on the site, they'll tell you they love the warm weather," he said. "It does help productivity. Things happen faster."

Hamelin said the progress of the build is line with the facility being ready for the 2017 football season. The goal is to have the building substantially complete by August of 2016.

"We're right where we want to be," he said.

Hamelin noted the following statistics on the project, since work started in June of 2014:

- 12,000 cubic metres of concrete has been poured.
- 1,200 tonnes of reinforcing steel has been used at the site.
- 190 tradespeople are currently working on the stadium each day.
- A total of 189,700 hours have been logged by the PCL construction team on the project to date.

Hamelin said foundation work in the lower bowl will start in February.

The $278-million stadium was announced in July of 2012 and is being built on the city's exhibition grounds, known as Evraz Place.

[rdavies]

So to reiterate, there will be three new artificial turf playing surfaces in the CFL for the 2015 season: Toronto (Rogers Centre), Edmonton and Vancouver.

Regina has the oldest FieldTurf installation in the league at seven years (due to be replaced by the new stadium in the fall 2016/spring 2017). The end of life cycle for the product generally begins at eight years. The next oldest is Winnipeg at not yet two years so the playing surface situation in the CFL is good.

Newest to oldest artificial turf installations

May 2015 Edmonton - TBA
May 2015 Vancouver - TBA
February 2015 Toronto (Rogers Centre) - AstroTurf 3D Xtreme
July 2014 Hamilton - FieldTurf Revolution
June 2014 Ottawa - FieldTurf Revolution
May 2014 Moncton - FieldTurf Revolution
April 2014 Calgary - FieldTurf Revolution
May 2013 Montreal (Percival Molson) - FieldTurf Revolution
October 2012 Winnipeg - FieldTurf Revolution (installed previous to opening in 2013)
May 2007 Regina - FieldTurf

[Argocister]

Thanks rdavies for the updates.
On one hand it's nice they are getting new turf .... On the other hand .... Do we have to host events? Hopefully the return is beneficial.

[ArgoRavi]

As 1argoholic has been saying all along, it sounds like it will be a very difficult and expensive task to get grass into SkyDome.

[Argocister]

As 1argoholic has been saying all along, it sounds like it will be a very difficult and expensive task to get grass into SkyDome.

I think 1argoholic should put a proposal together to assist putting grass in the Skydome ...... It might cost rogers about 20 mill though .......10 for 1argoholic and 10 for the Argos

[1argoholic]

I'd gladly grab some cash off Rogers. hahaha.

It's very easy for folks like Beaston to sound off about sod in the dome but the reality will be so expensive. Just the fact that the dome doesn't have proper drainage alone makes this a massive construction issue. It's not like they just have to rip up the turf and toss a few yards of soil and sod on top.

Frankly I'm sick of Rogers in every aspect.