Whattagame
Active Member
Whatever they do, it had better allow for winter programming. The fan park does that, and an open-air seated amphitheatre would not. I'd rather not have millions of tax dollars go to a venue that is less useful/accessible.
ICE District Block IJ | ?m | ?s | ICE District Prop. | Next Architecture
- Thread starter Daveography
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Tropical
Active Member
The renders I saw did not appear to be an open air amphitheater.
Out of Towner
Active Member
"They're" not doing anything as far as I've heard but the fan park and an amphitheatre wouldn't really be comparable venues. Further, any outdoor facility has some seasonality to it. Outdoor skating rinks, for example, are 5 month facilities at best, which is no better than a golf course or ball diamond. In terms of seasonal usage, a very good case could probably be made that city taxpayers use outdoor summer facilities more than they use outdoor winter facilities. Outdoor facilities are cheaper to construct than indoor facilities though. So the tradeoff becomes a less expensive seasonal outdoor facility versus a more expensive year round indoor facility.
Edmcowboy11
Senior Member
Well the fan park is good as it is for now. Fully paved with drainage and properly fenced with distinct entrances has made for a very good programmable area year round, which they have done.
Out of Towner
Active Member
I doubt that if an ampitheatre is ever built in Edmonton that it would be built on the fan park site. Ampitheatres, however, do appear to be gaining popularity as an attraction for cities that choose to compete for business from tourism and the "arts" crowd. An ampitheatre would be a nice addition to the city. The Fringe, for example, is well established in Edmonton and an ampitheatre would elevate that festival to an even higher level of professionalism that other cities would find difficult to compete with. Before an ampitheatre could ever be built in Edmonton though it would need to overcome its Ed Leger legacy. You know. Traveling north on 156 street between Stoney Plain Road and the Yellowhead, there are some potholes in the left lane that need fixing.
buildings
Active Member
^don't know if you've heard of the Hawrelak Park amphitheatre?
Gronk!
Senior Member
Hawrelak Park amphitheatre is not in the downtown area.
scyeg
Active Member
Capacity of about 4300 which surprised me. I know it gets used for local performances, but I can't really remember many touring acts booking here. You'd think that it could in theory be used in place of Jubilee, Winspear, and Midway during the summer months.
supaflyryguy
Active Member
Hawrelak is a terrible location for anything commercial with crowds. Fan Park location with access to multiple LRT lines and actual living people is a great choice, if they can mitigate enough sound to not brutalize people living in the vicinity too frequently.
Barnaby
Active Member
The Fan Park has been pretty successful for events. I would expect a version of it to stick around in the future. As someone now living in Ice District, I haven't viewed it as an annoyance at all. Rather, the additional foot traffic from the events has improved the perceived safety of the area at night. I'd be in favour of a permanent stage space.
buildings
Active Member
So? I was commenting on the post "I doubt that if an ampitheatre is ever built in Edmonton that it would be built on the fan park site". seemed to me that the poster was unaware that we have one that's been running for over 30 years. But while I'm here. the proposed theatre in Vancouver a bunch of folks are drooling about....not downtown.
edit...to me the obvioius choice for a facility like this would be Gallagher Hill. and back to the topic at hand...
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buildings
Active Member
As for fan park. its success has been due to the efforts of the OEG programming the space aggressively. SIte size is roughly the same as the Warehouse Park project. The trick for the OEG, I think, will be to design a performance space big enough to accommodate the acts, some covered seating, some temporary seating (or standing room only), ability to throw open the walls in summer and close up in the winter, and leaving some open space for things like the ice climbing wall event and the carnival rides. I bet OEG is getting tired of the cost and time of constantly installing performance space and seating and then tearing it all down a week later... pretty sure they don't want to spend money on a space that would provide competition for Rodger's Place itself. As a design challenge, I'd love to be in on it.
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Offworld
New Member
How about mothballing the casino and turning the shell into an entertainment venue? I can't imagine that casino knocks anything out of the park.
Whattagame
Active Member
People get to Hawrelak just fine for major events. I went to a rock festival at the heritage amphitheatre years ago as well, and it was a great venue.
thommyjo
Senior Member
Idk if just fine is a fair assessment. Sure, some activities happen there. But if this was along a train line and more accessible by multiple modes, you’d see a lot more use I think.