BC Place to don retractable roof after 2010 Games

The B.C. government will put a retractable roof on the BC Place Stadium but construction will not be complete before the 2010 Vancouver Games, CBC News has learned.

Premier Gordon Campbell is expected to make a formal announcement at a news conference scheduled for Friday.

BC Place Stadium will host the 2010 Games opening ceremonies but the new structure will not be ready for the event. Instead, the province has decided to refurbish the 25-year-old inflatable dome.

The marshmallow-like dome collapsed during a windstorm on Jan. 5, 2007. One of the panels ripped and had to be replaced.

Replacing the entire roof with a similar design would cost about $20 million, while a retractable roof is estimated to cost $200 million, according to proposals by BC Pavilion Corp.,the Crown corporation that runs the stadium.