Attendees - Your Opinions of the Venue?
- Thread starter Winnipeg
- Start date
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2004
There are not a lot of hotels around, if thats what you are asking. The area is working class.It's not too scummy, but not the nicest either. I'd say it's about average. The arena itself is undergoing renovations, but I quite like the arena. It has a cozy feel to it 
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2003
Hey, it's a a part of BC history. The Coliseum is on our Pacific National Exhibition grounds which started in 1920. It is in a central location and easy to get to. Everyone in the lower mainland knows where Hastings park is.
Here is the history of Hastings Park dating back to 1888:
http://hastingspark.ca/node/21
Here is the history of Hastings Park dating back to 1888:
http://hastingspark.ca/node/21
Thanks for that! Sounds really interesting and should be a great spot for the Olympics for people to ge an understanding of the local history!
What a great week 
My impressions of the venue are .... facilty is wonderful. Nice seats although not a lot of leg room, the seats are wide enough for a large body and soft as well. The stairs were easily managed. Plenty of washrooms. The food was surprisingly good although the lines were fairly lenghty at times. One food booth offered fresh sandwiches, salads, veggies, muffins, yogurt etc so you didn't have to live on hamburger and fries. I did try a chicken burger and it was really nice, tender chicken breast with no coating so it was better too. I think it is the right size as far as audience seating goes. You could see some skaters having to adjust to the slightly narrower ice surface but it wasn't a huge issue. Outside the facility it is a little sketchy. The houses were clean but a little old and run down. There is no where to go to eat around the arena unless they build something. The practice arena is a little dark and the seats are horrible...tiny old wooden seats but there is a railing going around the top so it was easy to stand and lean against that. The volunteers were wonderful. Very friendly and helpful and there were tons of them so CONGRATS to all the volunteers in BC, you were wonderful!!! 
My impressions of the venue are .... facilty is wonderful. Nice seats although not a lot of leg room, the seats are wide enough for a large body and soft as well. The stairs were easily managed. Plenty of washrooms. The food was surprisingly good although the lines were fairly lenghty at times. One food booth offered fresh sandwiches, salads, veggies, muffins, yogurt etc so you didn't have to live on hamburger and fries. I did try a chicken burger and it was really nice, tender chicken breast with no coating so it was better too. I think it is the right size as far as audience seating goes. You could see some skaters having to adjust to the slightly narrower ice surface but it wasn't a huge issue. Outside the facility it is a little sketchy. The houses were clean but a little old and run down. There is no where to go to eat around the arena unless they build something. The practice arena is a little dark and the seats are horrible...tiny old wooden seats but there is a railing going around the top so it was easy to stand and lean against that. The volunteers were wonderful. Very friendly and helpful and there were tons of them so CONGRATS to all the volunteers in BC, you were wonderful!!! 
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2007
Hey Laceup,
what is your impression on the championships itself? Would you mind sharing your story?
what is your impression on the championships itself? Would you mind sharing your story?
I have just posted my thoughts on Senior Pair on that thread and I didn't see all the events. I do think it was nice to see the judging system working in most events. D/D were knocked down where they deserved and brought back up where they deserved. V/M don't require comment as they are amazing!!! C/P were deserving of the 2nd place in dance (too bad they were behind after the OD because they really are amazing and the freedance was spectacular). I would have flipped 2 and 3 but what do I know. I think the senior men finished where they belonged. Chipeur's jumps are absolutely huge but Shawn has more of a whole package. I would have liked Phenuef to be second. Some people talk about Mira's improvement but I don't think it's enough. I don't think she will ever have the polish and poise to represent our country well. Too bad for Lesley in the short ... some days are just like that I guess.
In the junior events there was lots of movement (except pairs). I think the ladies and dance were well judged. I would have flipped 3 and 4 in pairs and the men's event was a bit of a mess. Blade has a nice 3 axel to win the event but lacks in many area's such as polish, spins and presentation. I think Wolfe was knocked down way too hard in the long and Lum was brought up too high. He is very short and doesn't get off the ground. He is quick but it isn't enjoyable to watch, he's always looking at the ground. In the end I guess he got the job done but I'd take a few less jumps but clean nice lines and edges (like Wolfe) anyday.
Like I said on the pair link, the facility was really great and the volunteers were fantastic - a good run thru of the 'O's' - well done B.C.
In the junior events there was lots of movement (except pairs). I think the ladies and dance were well judged. I would have flipped 3 and 4 in pairs and the men's event was a bit of a mess. Blade has a nice 3 axel to win the event but lacks in many area's such as polish, spins and presentation. I think Wolfe was knocked down way too hard in the long and Lum was brought up too high. He is very short and doesn't get off the ground. He is quick but it isn't enjoyable to watch, he's always looking at the ground. In the end I guess he got the job done but I'd take a few less jumps but clean nice lines and edges (like Wolfe) anyday.
Like I said on the pair link, the facility was really great and the volunteers were fantastic - a good run thru of the 'O's' - well done B.C.
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2007
Thank you so much for your insight. Amen to you. :agree::agree:
As for Balde and Vaughn - two of Canada's jumping jocks, I think they might have a better chance to get the job done than polished skaters with lack of jumping arsenal would do (Plushy came to my mind - OGM, his spins and footwork were dreadful, then again, what do I know?). And hopefully, would it be easier to polish up after learning big tricks than trying to learn big tricks at a ripe age of 25 (Jeffrey Buttle)?
Anywho, we used to have a skater who has both polish, dance moves and big tricks- Sandhu. The only problem with that guy was we didn't know what to expect from him.
As for Balde and Vaughn - two of Canada's jumping jocks, I think they might have a better chance to get the job done than polished skaters with lack of jumping arsenal would do (Plushy came to my mind - OGM, his spins and footwork were dreadful, then again, what do I know?). And hopefully, would it be easier to polish up after learning big tricks than trying to learn big tricks at a ripe age of 25 (Jeffrey Buttle)?
Anywho, we used to have a skater who has both polish, dance moves and big tricks- Sandhu. The only problem with that guy was we didn't know what to expect from him.
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2003
I'm not very tall, but I found the legroom adequate in the back half of the bottom section, which someone told me was roomier than the botton half (rows x-11). (They only opened the top section to some school groups, and it looked like some of the sky boxes were used during the senior finals. The rest was curtained off.)
There were two burger/chicken burger/veggie burger stations, and they were back-to-back, and on the opposite side of the rink. It was most crowded on Sunday, and most of the top of the arena was not used. While all week long the lines hadn't been long, when the bottom bowl was full on Sunday, it took me nearly 30 minutes to get food, and it wasn't a big space, so that people had to cut through lines to exit and get to the condiments. I expect the Olympic events to be pretty packed -- well, maybe not Dance CD, but the rest -- and this set-up is not going to work well for twice as many people. On the other hand, the Olympic events are spread out, and the number of competitors is smaller. I don't think people are going to be in the arena from 9am-11pm, which is when the food situation gets critical. There were a number of ice cream carts, several pretzel/hot dog stations, and a beer station on my side of the arena.
The great thing was, at least on our side, was that the organizers hijacked a Men's room and turned it into a Ladies' room. (The Ladies room line was starting to go back to the beer station, four sections over.)
There are a lot of restaurants, mainly Asian, but also Burger King, and I think a Subway, within a 15-20 minute walk from the arena heading south and west, and I suspect there will be more during the Olympics. I didn't even check out anything east of PNE or on the north side.
There are at least three buses that go to within two blocks of PNE (10, 16, and N35) and downtown, and I would expect expanded bus service during the events. The buses are a convenient walk for anyone who is staying in the eastern part of downtown, and a transfer or 10-15 minute walk for those staying in the western part of downtown.
There were two burger/chicken burger/veggie burger stations, and they were back-to-back, and on the opposite side of the rink. It was most crowded on Sunday, and most of the top of the arena was not used. While all week long the lines hadn't been long, when the bottom bowl was full on Sunday, it took me nearly 30 minutes to get food, and it wasn't a big space, so that people had to cut through lines to exit and get to the condiments. I expect the Olympic events to be pretty packed -- well, maybe not Dance CD, but the rest -- and this set-up is not going to work well for twice as many people. On the other hand, the Olympic events are spread out, and the number of competitors is smaller. I don't think people are going to be in the arena from 9am-11pm, which is when the food situation gets critical. There were a number of ice cream carts, several pretzel/hot dog stations, and a beer station on my side of the arena.
The great thing was, at least on our side, was that the organizers hijacked a Men's room and turned it into a Ladies' room. (The Ladies room line was starting to go back to the beer station, four sections over.)
There are a lot of restaurants, mainly Asian, but also Burger King, and I think a Subway, within a 15-20 minute walk from the arena heading south and west, and I suspect there will be more during the Olympics. I didn't even check out anything east of PNE or on the north side.
There are at least three buses that go to within two blocks of PNE (10, 16, and N35) and downtown, and I would expect expanded bus service during the events. The buses are a convenient walk for anyone who is staying in the eastern part of downtown, and a transfer or 10-15 minute walk for those staying in the western part of downtown.
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