Crews heat sealed a replacement panel on the deflated Teflon-coated fabric roof at B.C. Place stadium Monday to fix the hole that ripped open more than a week ago.

Several smaller tears in the massive roof were also heat sealed, as 75 high riggers prepare to reinflate it.

Workers heat seal the new panel into the roof of B.C. Place stadium.
(CBC)

B.C. Place general manager Howard Crosley said they hope to reinflate it by Wednesday or Thursday, but he cautioned the weather could delay the job.

"It will depend a lot on what happens this [Monday] evening with the snow that is predicted to come. So that may set us back a day or so," he said.

The repairs have to be completed by Jan. 23, when the stadium is booked for a contractors' trade show.

A preliminary engineering report released on Friday said the dramatic deflation on Jan. 5 was the result of a weakened spot in the original panel, a communications error and gusty winds.

When the roof started to sag that morning, two workers both activated additional fans to reinflate it — independently of each other — which caused the actual blowout.

Stadium should be moved: realtor

B.C. Place may not be worth keeping at its current downtown location, said a leading Vancouver realtor who feels there are better uses for the property.

Bob Rennie told CBC Radio on Monday that the 24-year-old stadium loses too much money annually, and is on an expensive piece of real estate, surrounded by the condo towers of Yaletown.

"I don't think it's just about condos. I think it's about retail, it's about future office towers. You see how there's a worry that we haven't preserved enough office space for the future.

"I just think the whole thing should be looked at. I don't think you should jump in and say, 'Sell it,' or  jump in and say, 'Lets put on a retractable roof.' Let's really look at the alternatives."

Rennie pegs the value of the land at $250 million to $400 million.

Stadium hosts Olympics

The stadium is operated by Pavco, a provincial Crown corporation, and receives government subsidies of $2 million to $4 million a year.

Built 24 years ago in what was a quiet part of the city 24 years ago as a showcase for Expo 86, it is home to the B.C. Lions football club and hosts numerous trade shows. It will also be the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Since then, dozens of condo towers have gone up as the Yaletown area adjacent to the stadium was developed, noted Stan Hagen, minister responsible for B.C. Place, as he toured the facility Monday morning.

"At that time, it was the logical place to build a stadium; the land wasn't much good for anything else," said Hagen. "Now, of course, since we have seen the buildup since Expo 86, maybe there is a different use for the stadium."

In the meantime, Hagen said, B.C. Place is not an albatross and already has bookings into 2012.