Inside the $514 Million BC Place-Vancouver Roof Retrofitted Boondoggle. (this was foisted upon BCers by former BC Libs Premier Gordo Scambell) From $100 Million original design to $514 Million all-in, how come??? Gregor Robertson, Mayor & his Vision Council dominated Muni Govt at City of Van - approved project unconditionally; meantime PAVCOs CEO David Podmore was talking to Paragon Gaming of Las Vegas about side projects on adjacent BC Place lands - the massive gambling casino shotdown by horrendous public anger (but now trying to be reborn under Paragon Gamings wily guise of an Urban Resort). This is an excellent example, prima facie case of how incredibly inept dishonest secretive biased government can operate against publics/taxpayers interests -that being BC Liberals Govt under Premiers Campbell & now Clark. quote: If youre a British Columbian, it would be reasonable for you to assume the big price tag for putting a new big top on BC Place Stadium in 2011 is being paid for gradually by the home teams, footballs BC Lions and soccers Vancouver Whitecaps. At least, youd think, the major renovations were conducted with a clear, workable business plan for all the investors (taxpayers) to see. Sorry, but you would be wrong. Its not your fault, though -- unless you were on the BC Liberals Treasury Board that OKd the deal in 2008 or part of the current Liberal government, which refuses to show the business case for what it claims was a $514-million project -- how could you know? Bill Bennett was the minister responsible for the renovations. His submissions to the Treasury Board (obtained through this reporters Freedom of Information requests) made the case that time was of the essence. The documents mentioned a shutdown period of about eight months would be needed to install the roof following the Olympics; it actually took double that time, from the May 2010 deflation of the original Teflon-coated fibreglass covering until the reopening of the stadium under a German-engineered retractable setup. (The cost estimates and re-roofing options were all censored. Despite approval and eventual completion of the project, the government claims it doesnt want to break cabinets traditional secrecy and it fears disclosure would financially harm the government.) We do know from another document, a January 2008 letter from then-PavCo chair David Podmore to Vancouver city manager Judy Rogers, that PavCos original concept was expected to cost just $100 million. That formed the basis for an NDP complaint to auditor general John Doyle last year, who agreed to consider an audit. The report said no public consultation is required on replacement of the roof, per se. Though, consultations characterized as positive did take place to gauge interest in potential residential and commercial opportunities on the BC Place lands. Vancouver city council approved the official development plan in 2008 for BC Place within its Northeast False Creek lands process, including 1.4 million square-feet of allowable development rights. It turned out PavCo was talking to Las Vegas-based Paragon Gaming about building a casino/hotel complex west of the stadium. The plan was announced after the Olympics and it was revealed how former B.C. Lottery Corporation chair Rick Turner became a Paragon director and lobbied the government to buck up for the retractable roof. Paragons proposal to pay PavCo a $6-million-a-year lease to build and operate Western Canadas biggest casino was nixed by city council in 2011, but it was allowed the right to move the existing Edgewater Casino licence without an increase in the number of slot machines and tables. After the 2013 provincial election, Paragon revealed it had a new deal with the province, but for only $3 million a year. It awaits city halls rubber stamp before beginning construction. Prof. Brad Humphreys, a University of Alberta sports economist, said boosters of publicly subsidized sports venues tend to exaggerate the economic benefits. If you look at the economic experience of cities across North America over the last 30 years youll find no evidence that sports teams or facilities are engines of local economic growth, said Humphreys, former president of the North American Association of Sports Economists. That is, it does not appear that they were linked in the past to any significant increase in employment or income per person in the cities that were host to those teams and facilities. he version of the business case made public doesnt include cost information. The government announced a $365-million budget for the renovations in January 2009, five months before the provincial election. In October 2009, it announced the budget had increased to $563 million. In August 2012, it claimed the final cost was $514 million. The latest PavCo service plan shows a forecast to chip only $829,000 off the $150-million debt from a government loan since last fiscal year. Back in 2007-2008, the stadium suffered $3.955 million in losses. Under the new roof in 2012-2013, it lost $13.036 million. Another $68.3 million of red ink is expected through 2015-2016. unquote thetyee.ca/News/2014/03/28/BC-Place-Boondoggle/?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=290314
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 19:06:10 +0000
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