Comments on: They built it, and they came

By: Stephen Talko

Stephen Talko — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 02:05:11 +0000

I wonder if those millions of dollars in renovations were well spent. The Alouettes still have to share the field with the McGill Redmen which can result in time conflicts. Picnickers on Mount Royal can be disturbed by rowdy football fans. Those extra seats way up in the clouds would make it difficult to see the action on the playing field. The giant screens could help but it would be better seeing the action up close at home on your 50 inch plasma TV screen. I have been at the ground level of the stadium in August and sometimes the howling winds makes it downright chilly even with a windbreaker. The washrooms are grimy and not fun to use. With the colder months approaching you can shiver a lot if not extremely well dressed. The Bell Centre and Olympic Stadium being both indoors have more pleasant temperatures. Indoor facilities such as these can be used for more types of events even in the dead of winter providing a greater return on investment. The actual playing surface at this football field is artificial comprised of threaded components and rubber pellets which has a strange feel to it. These particles can get stuck in the treads of your shoes and be tracked all over the place. Compared to natural grass the surfaces are significantly hotter posing greater risk of heat stroke and also teeming with bacteria that can cause life threatening infections from simple scrapes and bruises. Injury patterns are different as well. The recent injury to our quarterback may not have occurred on grass. I am far more impressed with the architectural beauty of the adjoining sports complex that McGill University added in recent years. The expanded stadium falls way short of these standards.

By: David St Pierre

David St Pierre — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 23:59:08 +0000

Well, I have to admit that I always do appreciate the minutiae of details that The Explainer offers up. Sure it may be trivial but damn is it ever edifying (if instantly forgettable.lol). All the same, this article nicely rounds out my understanding of what exactly was done vis-à-vis the upgrades/renovations that were carried out at Molson Stadium. I really can’t argue with what was done in terms of increasing the seating capacity or the accompanying revenues that this will generate but as Dave St Pierre duly noted, all of this pales in comparison to the real drama unfolding with the team this season. First, the good – we’re 6 – 2, handily lead our division and have thrashed some pretty good teams in the process. Now the bad : it remains to be seen how long we’ll be able to maintain such a record in view of the fact that star QB Cavillo, our team’s driving offensive force and undisputed leader, is on the shelf with a bruised sternum indefinitely and finally the ugly : if the fact that his son,Wes – VP of Sales, was sacked is any indication, the Larry Smith era is drawing to a sad and untimely end. Conversely, though, I don’t begrudge The Explainer for not reporting any of this owing to the fact that all of this broke after The Hour went to press last week.

By: Joe Noel

Joe Noel — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 22:24:54 +0000

Well, the Alouettes have long been in need of extra seating capacity to accommodate their ever burgeoning legion of fans so the ensuing noise brought about by the upgrades is to be expected especially with a perfect 4 – 0 record at home thus far. But enough about the refurbished Molson Stadium, the real news these days is the injury sustained by QB Cavillo last game as well as Larry Smith’s rumoured impending dismissal. This is where the real drama lay – only wish the Explainer could’ve addressed/dismissed these more pressing concerns…