In the ongoing effort to beef up Vancouver's image as a world class Olympic city it seems like the BC Place Stadium has taken a page out of the book of Montreal's Olympic Stadium and collapsed part of it's roof. Yup, I guess that all the recent wind, rain and snow have taken their toll on the roof and a 40 foot long hole has opened up. From the Vancouver Sun's coverage:
The roof is held up by air pressure, so even a tiny tear in the fabric could cause the roof to collapse.
...
There are two layers of fabric with a four-foot space between them.
When it snows, like today, hot air is pumped between these layers to melt 12 centimetres of snow per hour.
The total thickness of each layer of roofing material is only 1/30 inch (0.85 millimetres).
Electric-powered fans keep the air pressure inside the stadium at a higher level than the air outside. There are no beams in the roof -- extra air pressure is the only thing that supported the roof.
If the fans were turned off and the doors shut, it would take four to six hours to deflate the roof -- but spectators today said the roof collapsed within minutes.
The roof on Montreal's stadium has been a nightmare since it was installed in 1982, costing more and more for the already overpriced piece of junk. I still don't know why Montrealers don't put the thing out of it's misery and tear it down. Now with the Expos gone and the Alouettes playing elsewhere what else is it good for? A boat show once a year? Pfffft.
As for BC Place, it certainly seems to be utilized much better and will probably recover from this incident. I hope it's not a sign of things to come though...