BC Place deflates the roof (on purpose this time)

White peaks are a common sight in Vancouver and as of 11am this morning, there is one less white peak in the city; the iconic “marshmallow” roof of BC Place was deflated this morning. BC Place had the largest air supported roof amongst its other dome stadium counterparts.

Photo by dherrera_96 (Flickr)

All is not lost as the white roof will be back in 2011, and will be bigger and better! Well, maybe not bigger, but certainly better. It will take the new title of having the largest retractable roof in its domed stadium category. The new roof will cost a hefty $458-million, much more than its original cost of $126-million. Let’s remember that was in the 1980s of course. The new roof is also going to be a little greener and save about $350,000/yr in power bills.

Speaking of greens…once the roof is complete, the BC Lions (Canadian Football League) will call BC Place home in 2011. Game on!

This time around the roof was deflated on purpose, unlike back in 2007 when a hole in the Teflon material ripped.

Head over to Miss 604 (a local Vancouver blogger) for some interesting before and after pictures and videos.