24 Hours Vancouver - Sports: B.C. Place Stadium to live on after 2010

24 Hours Vancouver - Sports: B.C. Place Stadium to live on after 2010: "Christmas came early for B.C. Place Stadium on Friday.

If B.C. Pavilion Corporation chairman David Podmore has his way, the taxpayer-owned home of the Canadian Football League's B.C. Lions and site of 2010 Winter Olympics opening and closing ceremonies will escape the wrecking ball.

Sun Media has learned that Podmore presented his vision of B.C. Place's future during a year-end staff meeting at the stadium.

Since he was hired to head the Crown corporation in April, Podmore has studied whether to renew, replace or remove the domed stadium, which opened on June 19, 1983. He was supposed to submit his recommendation to the provincial government in October.

A source told Sun Media that Podmore's preference is renewal and it would involve major work to restore or replace the air-supported, Teflon-coated fibreglas roof.

Podmore did not return phone calls.

Podmore didn't explain to B.C. Place staff how renovations would be financed. Olympic venue preparations are being funded from a $6.27 million portion of VANOC's $600 million capital budget. PavCo could exploit Vancouver's red-hot real estate market and sell unused land on stadium property to condominium or office tower developers. When rumours swirled five years ago about the stadium's possible demise, Lions' owner David Braley told reporters he would be offer to buy it. The stad"