BC Place Stadium to get facelift

BC Place Stadium is getting a $65-million interior upgrade in time for the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver.

B.C. Pavilion Corp., the provincial Crown corporation responsible for the stadium, hopes to spruce up everything from concession stands to lighting to the facility's washrooms.

Much of the stadium's outdated interior will be replaced with a modern new colour scheme and wood accents, designed to give the facility a warmer, more comfortable feel, according to PavCo chair David Podmore.

"The work we're doing right now we can comfortably complete before 2010. I have no concerns about that at all. And it's also an enhancement for the uses of the building for 2010," he said.

The $65 million for the interior upgrade will come from cash reserves and money from future real estate sales around the stadium. The renovations will be completed well in advance of the Winter Games, Podmore said Thursday.

However, one thing that won't be finished in time for the Games is the stadium's new retractable roof.

The B.C. government decided in May to replace the inflatable dome after it collapsed during a windstorm on Jan. 5, 2007. One of the panels ripped and had to be replaced.

However, the retractable roof is not expected to be completed until 2011. Instead, the province will refurbish the 25-year-old marshmallow-like roof in time for the Olympics.

Podmore said the corporation is about one third of the way through the design process for the new retractable roof, but he refused to discuss the price tag.

"I don't know the cost. I don't think it's relevant … I will not answer questions on the cost of the roof," Podmore told reporters.

According to previous proposals by PavCo, a retractable roof could cost $200 million.