York Lions Stadium is an outdoor sports stadium on the Keele Campus of Toronto's York University in the former city of

North York North York is one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly north of York, Old Toronto and East York, between Etobicoke to the west and Scarborough to the east. As of the 2016 Census, it had a popu ...

. It is home to the York Lions, the

varsity team In most English-speaking countries, varsity is an abbreviation of the word ''university''. In the United States and Canada, the term is mostly used in relation to sports teams. Varsity in the United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, varsity team ...

s of York University, the

Toronto Arrows Toronto Arrows R.F.C. is a rugby union club based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that plays in Major League Rugby. The Arrows team is an independent off-shoot of the Ontario Blues provincial programme and is funded by a group of private investors ...

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR or USMLR) is a professional rugby union competition and the top-level championship for clubs in North America. In the 2022 season it was contested by thirteen teams: twelve from the United States and one from Canada. Off ...

and

York United York United Football Club (formerly known as York9 FC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home games at York University's York Lions Stadium. History ...

of the Canadian Premier League. The facility was primarily built for the 2015 Pan American and

Parapan American Games The Parapan American Games is an international multi-sport event for athletes with physical disabilities held every four years after every Pan American Games. The first Games were held in 1999 in Mexico City, Mexico. The 2003 Parapan American Ga ...

, where it hosted track and field events and the opening ceremony. In 2021, the stadium's running track was removed to expand the playing surface used for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

History

Initial plans had a multi-purpose athletics and soccer stadium to be built somewhere in the vicinity of Hamilton, Ontario; however, the final plans separated the soccer and athletics venues. The soccer stadium, Tim Hortons Field, was built on the site of Ivor Wynne Stadium, while the athletics stadium was built at York University. During the games the venue was known as the ''CIBC Pan Am and Parapan Am Athletics Stadium.'' The stadium was expected to seat approximately 5,000 spectators – 3,000 permanent and 2,000 temporary. During the games an additional 7,500 temporary seats were added, bringing total capacity to 12,500.TO2015 officially breaks ground on new athletics stadium at York University
The facility cost roughly $45.5 million, with $34.9 million attributed to the design and construction with the rest for running costs. On May 26, 2016, it was announced that the stadium would play host to the

2017 North American Indigenous Games The 2017 North American Indigenous Games were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada July 16 to 23. The event featured 5,000 athletes aged 13 to 19 in 14 sports. Bidding process The 2017 North American Indigenous Games bidding process began on January ...

. The stadium will be the site of the opening and closing ceremonies as well as the athletics competitions in July 2017. In the same year, the stadium was also used as an event facility for the Invictus Games. In early 2021, the stadium's track and grass field was replaced with a larger FIFA and World Rugby certified

artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commer ...

surface. The renovations also allow for the playing surface to be covered with an air-supported dome during winter months.

Professional sports

The

, a professional rugby union club which joined

in 2019, played exhibition games in 2018 at York Lions Stadium. However, during its inaugural 2019 MLR season the team split its home games between Alumni Field and Lamport Stadium. They began hosting their games at York Lions Stadium in 2022.

York United FC York United Football Club (formerly known as York9 FC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home games at York University's York Lions Stadium. History ...

, a soccer team in the Canadian Premier League, has played their home games at York Lions Stadium since their inaugural season in 2019. Toronto FC II, a soccer team in MLS Next Pro, began playing their home games at York Lions Stadium in 2022.

Major competitions hosted

Gallery

York Lions Stadium during the 2015 Pan Am Games.jpg, The stadium in 2015 York Lions Stadium photo by Djuradj Vujcic.jpg, The stadium in 2021 York Lions Stadium panoramic photo by Djuradj Vujcic.jpg, A panoramic of the stadium in 2021

References

External links