Stadium–Chinatown station

Station signage using both English and traditional Chinese

Opened as "Stadium" in 1985 as part of the original SkyTrain system (now known as the Expo Line), the station was designed by Austrian architecture firm Architektengruppe U-Bahn.[2][3] The station's original name was based on its proximity to BC Place Stadium. Both the station and the stadium were vital to Vancouver's Expo 86. The "Chinatown" portion of the station's name was added in 2004, because local merchants and politicians wished to promote the historical and cultural significance of Vancouver's Chinatown district, located just one block away from the station.[4]

During the Expo 86 World's Fair, the station served as a transfer point between the main site of the fair and the Canadian Pavilion (now Canada Place), located on Burrard Inlet at Waterfront station. Transferring between these two stations was free for fair attendees during the fair using special shuttle trains, which ran from a third platform at Stadium station (where there was a connection to the monorail serving the main Expo 86 site) to the Canadian Pavilion at Waterfront station. An automated announcement was aired during people's shuttle ride explaining how SkyTrain and its automated driverless technology operated. The third platform and track were taken out of revenue use once Expo 86 ended and are rarely used except in cases of extreme crowds from hockey games and concerts. The third platform and track are primarily used for training purposes, train storage, special event service, and rerouting during rail replacement.[5][6]

The station was originally constructed with a passageway under Beatty Street to the west in anticipation of future development. When the Amec Building, built across Beatty Street, did not link to the underground passage, the passage was closed and has been occupied by TransLink's Lost Property Office since 1991.[7] The staircase on the west side of Beatty was filled with sand and topped with a concrete sidewalk so that the passage could be reopened in the future.

Until 1988, the Expo Boulevard / Abbott Street entrance was just an open-stair emergency exit. However, with the closing of the entrance tunnel under Beatty Street as well as poor accessibility to Stadium station from False Creek, the emergency exit was redesigned and enclosed, opening in 1989 as the second access point to and from the station.

The Beatty Street entrance is often used by those attending events at BC Place.

Important destinations near the station include Rogers Arena and BC Place Stadium, where home games of the Vancouver Canucks, BC Lions, and Vancouver Whitecaps FC are played and other major events are held. Following an event at BC Place or Rogers Arena, the passenger volumes are sufficiently large that it is feasible to post TransLink personnel to collect and check fares at this station, in contrast to the proof-of-payment system that was in force prior to the roll out of the Compass Card. The Queen Elizabeth Theatre as well as the downtown location of Vancouver Community College are located a few blocks away from the station.

Chinatown is located northeast of the intersection of Taylor and Keefer. The station entrance closest to Chinatown is labelled with traditional Chinese characters in addition to English. The sign reads: "Stadium–Chinatown Station 體育館／華埠（唐人街）". This makes Stadium–Chinatown the only station on the system to be officially labelled in Chinese. The International Village shopping centre (colloquially called "Tinseltown" after the movie theatre on the third floor) and the Chinatown location of T & T Supermarket are located near the station at the intersection of Abbott and Keefer.