Grease leaking from BC Place’s new roof support cables has stained the fabric roof and could cost $10 million to fix, a B.C. Supreme Court judge heard on March 6.
“There has been some grease leaking from the cables,” Glen Boswall, lawyer for French cable installer Freyssinet, told Justice Jon Sigurdson. “Canam Group [the steel contractor] claims it has incurred costs. The membrane has been damaged.”
Stuart Hankinson, lawyer for Quebec-based steel contractor Canam Group, said the grease issue is “under constant scrutiny.”
“Numbers as large as $10 million are involved,” Hankinson said.
Two rigging workers, suspended from the cables, were observed affixing material to the cables on March 6. A source, who did not want to be named, described the material as pad-like to absorb the grease and prevent it from dripping on the roof. The source also said replacement of the stained roof fabric is a possibility.
B.C. Pavilion Corporation (PavCo) chairman David Podmore and CEO Warren Buckley were not available for immediate comment.
Freyssinet launched a claim against Canam for almost $6.5 million on October 31, 2011. Canam responded with a $26.15 million counterclaim on November 18.
Canam was hired as a $122 million subcontractor by main contractor PCL. Canam, in turn, hired Freyssinet for $30 million.
In April 2011, Canam told shareholders that it suffered a $25 million cost overrun and blamed Freyssinet. Troubles with the cable installation delayed application of the roof fabric, which affected the Telus and Cisco technology installation.
Boswall said the parties anticipated an 85-day, judge-only trial would begin in October 2013.
Mike Demers, a lawyer representing PCL and PavCo, told Sigurdson that he hoped the plaintiffs would drop their action against his clients.
“We do not, obviously, want to be involved in the trial,” Demers said.
The grease leaks were spotted even before the fabric was applied. Business in Vancouver obtained, via the Freedom of Information Act, a February 2011 letter from Bill Schmidt, project executive of Dallas-based Shade Worldwide, to PCL project manager Martijn Lunneker that said: “We applied some grease to both the SF 1 (Sheerfill 1) and Fabrasorb fabrics and have concluded the grease will most likely permanently stain the both the outer and liner fabrics.”
The stadium reopened September 30, 2011, but the final cost of the budgeted $563 million renovation has not been released because work isn’t complete.
The Vancouver Whitecaps kick off their second Major League Soccer season at BC Place on Saturday against Impact Montreal.
Telus, which was in line for the building’s naming rights, publicized its $10 million to $15 million technology and telecommunication installation in the stadium for the first time last week.
Telus CEO Darren Entwistle said an official supplier agreement is still under negotiation.
