A deal to sell off development rights to land on the west side of BC Place Stadium is imminent says operator PavCo.

The deal, which will take up 700,000 square feet of the 1.4 million square feet of development space the pavilion corporation (PavCo) has available to it, would be on a 75-year lease and will likely see both residential and commercial development on the site. Revenue from the land rights will help pay for the building’s $458-million new roof.

PavCo, the Crown corporation that operates BC Place and the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre, is in the midst of a $565-million total refurbishment of the 26-year-old stadium, which includes the new retractable roof and $55 million in interior improvements ahead of the opening ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Olympics next month.

The provincial government will finance the $458-million roof project with a 40-year loan, and Podmore said the sale of development rights around the stadium is key to PavCo’s business case for the project, which is designed to extend BC Place’s life for up to another 50 years.