Oh boy!! Not looking good for the stadium with all the hammering it took from the wind, snow and rain.
[FONT size=1]This image shows a massive hole in the side of the B.C. Place stadium roof.[/FONT]
[H3]B.C. Place Stadium's inflated roof collapses[/H3] [P class=timeStamp]Updated Fri. Jan. 5 2007 4:57 PM ET
[P class=storyAttributes]CTV.ca News Staff
B.C. Place Stadium's inflated roof has partially collapsed, but officials say that no one was injured.
"It's an air-supported roof, or the 'Big Pillow' as people call it, and it developed a rip in the corner over the G-Gate entrance," CTV's Todd Battis reported.
John McKearney, deputy chief of Vancouver Fire and Rescue, said no one was hurt when part of the roof fell at about 12:40 p.m.
"The roof is actually slowly collapsing -- it hasn't completely deflated as of yet," he said.
"All staff inside were relocated and at this point it's now a maintenance issue."
He added that 16 firefighters were dispatched to the scene.
Battis said the collapse may have resulted from inclement weather and high winds. Clouds have dumped huge amounts of rain and snow on the West Coast in recent days.
"We've got heavy, we snow showers in Vancouver at the moment," Battis told CTV Newsnet.
"The thinking is that the weight just couldn't be supported -- it found a weak area in the roof, tore it back, and so now you've got snow and rain falling into that part of the stadium."
The roof is made from about 10 acres of fiberglass-woven fabric, consisting of two layers. Hot air can be pumped between the layers to melt more than 15 centimetres of snow every hour.
The building is home to the B.C. Lions CFL team and known as "the world's largest air supported domed stadium."
It will also be the future home of the 2010 Winter Olympics, where both the opening and closing ceremonies will be held -- the first time the events will be seen indoors.
Vancouver built the stadium 21 years ago for the Expo '86 World's Fair. In 2006, the provincial government said the roof would last until at least 2020.
More details to come... [A href="vny!://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070105/roof_collapse_070105/20070105?hub=TopStories"][FONT size=1]vny!://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070105/roof_collapse_070105/20070105?hub=TopStories[/FONT][/A]
