A temporary 30-row grandstand with more than 10,000 seats that will stretch the length of the field at the Apple Bowl is now being assembled.
The transportable structure, most recently used at the Montreal Grand Prix, will be used for two Canadian Football League games at the end of June and early July.
“Their scheduled date to finish building all the seats is the 23rd of June,” Stephen Hebden, the city’s recreation facilities operations supervisor, said in an interview at the Apple Bowl on Tuesday morning.
That’s just three days before the BC Lions host the Calgary Stampeders in a stadium that will have a short-lived total capacity of almost 20,000 spectators.
Tower Scaffold has provided similar temporary seating structures for Super Bowl-related events, Grey Cup games, PGA tournaments, and concerts and festivals around North America since 2007. One of its biggest installations was a 56,000-seat grandstand for a Grand Prix race in Austin, Texas.
At the Apple Bowl, the grandstand now being assembled at the east side of the field will extend 375 feet, while smaller grandstands will also be place at the north and south ends. It’s a massive upsizing for the Apple Bowl, which can accommodate only about 1,100 people in its permanent grandstand.
Some VIP areas, with food and drink included, are also being created. And two large video screens will be placed at either end of the field.
“This will probably be the single largest event ever held in Kelowna,” Hebden said.
As of Tuesday morning, some isolated single-seat grandstand tickets were still showing as being available on Ticketmaster for the games.
The Lions, who have to temporarily vacate BC Place for the World Cup soccer tournament, play the Calgary Stampeders on June 27 and the Edmonton Elks on July 4.