B C Place is the home to many of the largest sporting events, concerts, conventions, and other events in British Columbia. Its massive size and downtown location make it perfect for hosting everything from Canadian football to Olympic ceremonies and even visiting royalty.
The stadium was built in part as a venue for Expo 86, and also as a lure for a Major League Baseball team. The baseball dream never became reality, but BC Place served its role in the world's fair and has since remained very active with sports, entertainment, and cultural events.
It's main feature is the dome, which is made of two layers of fabric each 1/30 of an inch thick, four feet apart, and floating on a cushion of air. By keeping the air pressure inside the building greater than the pressure outside, the dome remains inflated.
At the time of its completion, this was the world's largest air-supported domed stadium.
The fabric roof lets in 20% of the outside light.
A battery of 16 fans can inflate the roof in one hour.
This is the location for the 2010 Olympic winter games opening and closing ceremonies as well as victory ceremonies.
This is the first place where the winter Olympic opening and closing ceremonies have been held indoors.
Football capacity: 59,841
Convention space: 247,000 square feet
Roof size: 446,490 square feet
April, 1981: Groundbreaking
June 19, 1983: This building opened to the public.
1983: This was the location of the CFL Grey Cup.
1983: The Vancouver Whitecaps soccer team started playing here.
1983: The Vancouver Lions Canadian football team started playing here.
1984: The Vancouver Whitecaps soccer team stopped playing here.
September 18, 1984: Pope John Paul II hosted "A Celebration of Life" here.
May 2, 1986: Britain's Prince Charles and Lady Diana opened the 1986 world's fair here.
1986: This was the location of the CFL Grey Cup.
1987: This was the location of the CFL Grey Cup.
1988: This was where the World Basketball League's Vancouver Nighthawks played.
1990: This was the location of the CFL Grey Cup.
1994: This was the location of the CFL Grey Cup.
January, 2007: Because of a tear in fabric, the roof had to be deflated and repaired.
1998: The American Bowl was held here.
1999: This was the location of the CFL Grey Cup.
2005: This was the location of the CFL Grey Cup.
2005: The original AstroTurf in this stadium was replaced with FieldTurf from the former Montreal Expos stadium.
February 12, 2010: The opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics will be held here.
February 28, 2010: The closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics will be held here
