It’s a sunny Saturday afternoon, not a chance of rain. A great day to watch some football — some Canadian football, I should note. What a great day, sitting in the sun, in one of the few summer-ish days left. Maybe pop open a cold bottle of Coke or knock back some overpriced domestic beer. What a day.
But wait, I’m watching the BC Lions at BC Place. Despite boasting on its website that BC Place has “a spectacular, one-of-a-kind retractable roof — the largest in the world,” on this bright, sunny Saturday the roof was, for some reason, closed.
The other things were still there — a cold pop, a pretty decent game of football — but one of the very reasons I looked forward to the game was for seeing it in the sun. Instead I sat inside for three hours on one of the last days of semi-summer.
It ain’t the first time I had to watch a game indoors at BC Place for no real reason. Back in the day, when the Heritage Classic came to town — a supposedly outdoor game — despite great weather outside, the roof was closed.
What’s the point of having “a spectacular, one-of-a-kind retractable roof” if you’re never going to retract it?
Down in Seattle, at Safeco Field, home of the Mariners, they’ve got an awesome system for baseball games, where if it starts to rain, their retractable roof can quickly cover the stadium. Why can’t BC Place do that? I don’t know if Safeco is “one of a kind” like BC Place, but that certainly is “spectacular.”
Apparently, the decision to close the roof comes 90 minutes before the game, so I guess it means it has little or nothing to do with the weather. But why close it? Part of the fun of any sporting event — aside from hockey — is to take in the fresh air.
Now, apparently the Lions want it closed for the competitive advantage, I suppose to keep the amplified noise trapped in. I’m not going to be delusional and say that the Lions can get anywhere near the atmosphere of the Seahawks, but come on, Centurylink Field can manage just fine without a closed roof. The Lions have also had trouble drawing fans in all year, so I’m not sure how much of a competitive advantage there could be with a very meagre crowd there making little noise.
Oh well. I suppose it’s just another reason I’d rather watch the Seahawks.
