BC Place Stadium

Structure Type: Stadium roof
Project Scope:
Project Size: 378,960 sqft
Material: PTFE
Location: Vancouver, BC
Completion Date: 2011
Market Segment: Sports Facilities
Owner: BC Pavilion Corp (PAVCO)
General Contractor: PCL Constructors Westcoast, Inc
Architect: Stantec Architecture
Engineer: Geiger Engineers | Schlaich Bergermann (und) Partner

Enclos Tensile Structures completed the installation of 36 outer and 36 inner fixed fabric panels as part of the integrated roof system at BC Place, British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. The stadium reopened to Canadian Football League (CFL) fans in the late fall of 2011, where the home team, the BC Lions, took on the Edmonton Eskimos in the season’s opener. The purpose of BC Place’s roof replacement – part of a 17-month revitalization project for the stadium – was to replace its previously air-supported dome roof with a modern retractable roof to reveal more than 25,000 square feet of blue sky. The retractable roof has turned BC Place into a year-round, open-air facility and serves as an architectural signature for the Canadian province of British Columbia.

Enclos Tensile Structures was awarded the tensile roof project back in December 2009, reaching substantial completion of the job in November 2011. The fixed fabric roof covering the stadium’s 54,500 seats is comprised of 36 outer panels, each approximately 220 feet long and 10,000 square feet in surface area, and 36 liner panels, each approximately 120 feet long and 6,000 square feet in surface area. The outer membrane was Sheerfill I, and the liner membrane was Fabrasorb, as manufactured by St Gobain. The Enclos team was instrumental in developing and designing the flexible perimeter closure system that closes the area between the ETFE façade panels and the fixed fabric roof panels. This perimeter closure system is effectively an expansion joint between the membrane roof panels and the fixed steel-framed façade that had to accommodate vertical deflections of 1.7 feet. The Enclos team developed a tensioned fabric hinge panel and utilized a Ferrari 1002S fabric for the construction of the 36 panels. The total surface area of the perimeter closure system was approximately 18,770 square feet. In order to meet the completion deadline of September 30th, 2011, the massive job required an Enclos installation crew of 80-85 experts per day, working up to 7 days a week, 12 hours a day. At the height of their efficiency, the Enclos crew installed a whopping 72 panels in just 44 calendar days.

Learn more about this project in our LEARN article: Life In A Pandemic: A Story Of The Retractable Roof At BC Place

This is to confirm that FabriTec Structures LLC was one of the key Specialty Contractors engaged in the fabrication and installation works of new retractable roof for BC Place in Vancouver, BC Canada. The Project was substantially completed in September 2011.

The new roof covers a multi-purpose Canadian football stadium seating 60,000. The new roof replaced the original air-supported stadium roof. The new roof primary structure is a radial cable net with a fixed/stationary roof and a retractable/foldable roof portion. With the roof closed the building operates as a fully conditioned indoor venue.

FabriTec was responsible for the PTFE coated fiberglass tensioned membrane of the fixed roof portion of the Project including detail engineering, patterning, fastening, fabrication and installation. The total installed surface area of a two layers PTFE roof system is nominally 65,250 m2 (702,000 ft2).

FabriTec performed their contractual scope of work diligently, on time, and in full conformance of this project Contract Documents.

Geiger Engineers was the Prime Professional and the Owner’s, Pavco, representative and I was the Engineer of Record for the Roof for the New Roof portion of the Renovation Project.

David M. Campbell, PE
President

Geiger Gossen Campbell Engineers, PC

2012 Steel Design Award
Projects Outside of Quebec
Canadian Institute of Steel Construction