Uh oh: The $514 million roof at B.C. Place stadium seems to have sprung a leak this weekend.
Fans in attendance for Saturday’s Vancouver Whitecaps and Portland Timbers game needed buckets to catch the drips from the pricey retractable roof. This isn’t the first time, however, that the roof has leaked.
Three years ago the stadium was plagued by small leaks that the B.C. Pavillion Corporation said were to be expected as not all the beams had been sealed. Once they were, PavCo promised, “the stadium would be watertight.”
Tell that to the people getting dripped on this weekend. To compensate for the unexpected sogginess, some fans were reportedly given free beer.
Leaky roof = free beer for us! #vwfc (at Vancouver Whitecaps At Bc Place Stadium) pic.twitter.com/dJRI2sZxbY
— John Biehler (@JohnBiehler) August 31, 2014
PavCo said Tuesday in a statement: “Workers are currently in the process of addressing deficiencies with the fixed fabric roof. This remedial work is scheduled to be completed in November. There is no cost to PavCo for this work.”
The roof is still under warranty and will be repaired at the cost to the manufacturer.
Check out how people dealt with the leaks on Saturday:
Leaky roof? No problem, we have the Cascadia Cup #vwfc (at Vancouver Whitecaps At Bc Place Stadium) pic.twitter.com/98K2Fwxgcd
— John Biehler (@JohnBiehler) August 31, 2014
.@bcplace roof drips on @WhitecapsFC fans. PavCo says it’s working on it. 5pm #CBC News w/@AndrewChangCBC Ch3/HD209 pic.twitter.com/zVfO7d1pWS
— Dan Burritt (@DanBurritt) September 1, 2014
The roof at #bcplace is leaking again http://t.co/0Y0wbc6m1f pic.twitter.com/M3kwIn5yA4
— CTV Vancouver (@CTVVancouver) September 2, 2014
UPDATE: A representative from PavCo provided us with further information on Tuesday evening, including the following statement:
The issue during Saturday’s event was a result of work that is currently taking place on the roof. Workers are in the process of addressing a previous issue related to lubricant stains on the roof of BC Place. There is no cost to PavCo related to these repairs. We apologize to our guests for any inconvenience.
Additionally, PavCo points out that the roof’s actual cost was $514, not the $563 as budgeted and as initially mentioned in our story.
Featured image: Inside B.C. Place, June 2014 (Kenneth Chan / Vancity Buzz)