A date has been officially set for the, as yet to be named, stadium's completion but some unreported incidents may be cause for concern and responsible for the delay
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While I respect and value the date given to us, my concern is that perhaps we are not out of the woods yet. A large push will be put on construction over the next 4 months. By most accounts it took the construction team a little longer than expected to get the last couple masts up and there was not much given in the way of explanation as to why."Our September 30th scheduled completion is also dependent on weather or other factors beyond our control. While we will do our level best to be ready on that date, we will, of course, always put the safety of our talented and dedicated workers ahead of any other consideration. Nonetheless, construction at BC Place is progressing so well, that we are now at a point where we can confidently set the re-opening date,” -David Podmore, chair of the BC Pavilion Corporation
Read between the lines on that quote and take note of the mention of safety and employees because sources around the project have told me that two incidents occurred between Dec. 1 and Jan. 10 (when the last mast was erected) that are cause for concern.
Incident # 1. One of the massive support cables that will hold the roof slipped from its lift and came crashing to the ground and fell within a short distance of a skid steer operator and multiple other workers. No one was hurt.
Incident # 2. While removing the centre crane from the stadium one of the cranes used to remove it struck one of the support masts, dislodging it.
Now it is unclear as to how much of a delay these two accidents caused and how much the poor weather in December had to do with matters. Either way it is a relief to know that everyone is OK and that things are back on track with the dome. If the Sept. 30 unveiling is correct then it should make sense for us to see at least one Women's Olympic Qualifier match held in BC Place in December of 2011.