Commonwealth Stadium

Commonwealth Stadium

Location	11000 Stadium Road Edmonton, Alberta T5J 2R7
Owner	City of Edmonton
Capacity	60,081
Surface	Grass (1978-2010) FieldTurf artificial turf (2010-present)
Construction
Opened	1978
Renovated	2001
Construction cost	$20.9 million (CAD) Reconstruction cost: $22.17 million (CAD)
Tenants
Edmonton Eskimos (CFL) (1978–present) Edmonton Drillers (NASL) (1979–1981) Canadian Soccer Association 1978 Commonwealth Games 1983 Summer Universiade 2001 World Championships in Athletics 2003 Heritage Classic

Commonwealth Stadium is a sports stadium located in the Norwood Area of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, primarily used by the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. The stadium is owned and operated by the City of Edmonton.

History

Commonwealth Stadium was built for the 1978 Commonwealth Games, held in Edmonton. Initially, when Edmonton was chosen to host the games, thought was given to rebuild the existing Clarke Stadium. In January 1975, the Edmonton City Council decided to build a new over 40,000-seat stadium adjacent to Clarke Stadium.

Construction began in March 1975. Construction was completed in 1978, prior to the start of the Commonwealth Games on August 3, 1978. The stadium cost $20.9-million to build, and the original capacity was approximately 42,500. The stadium was expanded by about 18,000 seats to a total capacity of 60,081 for the Summer Universiade Games held in 1983. The stadium also underwent major renovations in 2001, costing $22.17 million.

On March 10, 2010, the city council approved the replacement of the grass with artificial turf. It cost $2.6 million to change the turf and was completed in May 2010 before the start of the 2010 Edmonton Eskimos season. This was the last CFL stadium to switch to artificial turf.

Seating

The stadium has permanent seating for 60,081, but can hold more with temporary seating. On September 26, 2009, the record for largest crowd to attend a regular-season Eskimos home game was set at 62,517 against the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The largest crowd in stadium history was the Grey Cup game on November 28, 2010, with 63,317 in attendance. The stadium is the second largest in permanent capacity in Canada, after Montreal's Olympic Stadium.

Panoramic view of Commonwealth Stadium

Field

Commonwealth Stadium during a CFL game.

The stadium was, until 2010, one of the few major facilities in Canada to have a natural grass playing surface. As such, Commonwealth Stadium often played host to international soccer matches and tournaments, and is the home field for the country's national soccer teams.

Despite the completion of the soccer-specific BMO Field in Toronto, Commonwealth Stadium remains a major venue for soccer in Canada due to its capacity. Commonwealth stadium was last resodded in April 2007 in preparation for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. In 2010, Edmonton City Council approved the replacement of the turf with field turf, which was completed in May of 2010.

Notable events

The stadium has hosted the 1978 Commonwealth Games, the 1983 Universiade Summer Games, the 2001 IAAF World Championships in Athletics, the final match of the inaugural FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship in 2002, and the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

The stadium was the host of the first regular-season outdoor NHL hockey game in 2003, called the Heritage Classic.

It had also been the home field for Canada's men's national soccer team until the 2007 opening of BMO Field in Toronto. It hosted an international friendly match between the Los Angeles Galaxy and Vancouver Whitecaps in May 2008, and River Plate and Everton F.C. in July 2009.

In rugby union, the stadium has hosted Churchill Cup matches and hosted some 2006 Women's Rugby World Cup matches, including the final.

The CFL Grey Cup game has been played at Commonwealth Stadium on four occasions: in 1984, 1997, 2002, and 2010.

It has also hosted many concerts, including Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Tim McGraw, The Rolling Stones, The Police, Fiction Plane, AC/DC, U2, Rage Against the Machine, Kenny Chesney, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Taylor Swift, Bon Jovi, Lilith Fair & Edgefest.

Billy Graham's 1980 Northern Canada Crusade was held here.

U2 will perform at the stadium on June 1, 2011, on their U2 360° Tour. The show was originally to be held on June 23, 2010, but had to be postponed following Bono's emergency back surgery.

Transportation

View of Commonwealth Stadium, from the LRT Platform.

It is served by Stadium Station along the LRT (201) line and the Stadium Transit Centre (served by Routes 2, 120 and 127) adjacent to the LRT station.

See also

• List of Canadian Football League stadiums

Sources

• "Commonwealth Stadium facts and figures". Esks.com.

External links

• City of Edmonton, Commonwealth Stadium

Events and tenants
Preceded by Clarke Stadium	Home of the Edmonton Eskimos 1978 – present	Current holder
First game	Host of the NHL Heritage Classic 2003	Succeeded by McMahon Stadium, Calgary, Alberta
Preceded by Estadio Olímpico, Seville, Spain	Host of the IAAF World Championships in Athletics 2001	Succeeded by Stade de France, Paris, France
Preceded by Stadionul Naţional, Bucharest, Romania	Host of the Summer Universiade 1983	Succeeded by Universiade Memorial Stadium, Kobe, Japan
Preceded by Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, California	Home of the Edmonton Drillers (NASL) 1979 – 1981	Succeeded by Clarke Stadium
Preceded by Queen Elizabeth II Park, Christchurch, New Zealand	Host of the Commonwealth Games 1978	Succeeded by Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Sports Centre, Brisbane, Australia