Commonwealth Stadium (Edmonton)
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Commonwealth Stadium is an open-air,
multipurpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy th ...
located in the McCauley neighbourhood of
Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
, Alberta, Canada. It has a
seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...
of 56,302, making it the largest open-air stadium in Canada. Primarily used for
Canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...
, it also hosts
athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...
,
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 ...
,
rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
and concerts. Construction commenced in 1975 and the venue opened ahead of the 1978 Commonwealth Games (hence its name), replacing the adjacent
Clarke Stadium Clarke Stadium is a multipurpose facility located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The stadium was originally used for Canadian football. Over the years different sports have participated at the site. Presently, it is the home of the Edmonton Hus ...
as the home of the Edmonton Eskimos (the Elks' name until 2020). It received a major expansion ahead of the 1983 Summer Universiade, when it reached a capacity of 60,081. Its main tenants are the Edmonton Elks of the
Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
(CFL), and has hosted five
Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...
s, the CFL's
championship game In sport, a championship is a Competition#Sports, competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match sy ...
. The stadium had remained the only CFL venue with natural grass for a long time, until FieldTurf Duraspine Pro was installed in 2010. Soccer tournaments include nine
FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a competitive match that a national association football team takes in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the (men's) FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments are hel ...
matches with
Canada Men's National Soccer Team The Canada men's national soccer team (french: Équipe du Canada de soccer masculin) represents Canada in international soccer competitions since 1924. They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association, the governing body for soccer in Cana ...
, two versions of the invitational
Canada Cup The Canada Cup (french: Coupe Canada) was an invitational international ice hockey tournament held on five occasions between 1976 and 1991. The brainchild of Toronto lawyer Alan Eagleson, the tournament was created to meet demand for a true worl ...
, the 1996 CONCACAF Men's Pre-Olympic Tournament, the 2002 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship and the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and the
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...
.
FC Edmonton FC Edmonton was a Canadian professional soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club was founded in 2010 and competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 2011 to 2017. The club went on hiatus when NASL ceased competitive operat ...
played its Canadian Championship matches at Commonwealth Stadium from 2011 to 2013. Other events at the stadium include the 2001 World Championships in Athletics, the 2006 Women's Rugby World Cup and three editions of the
Churchill Cup The Churchill Cup was an annual rugby union tournament, held in June, contested by representative men's (and formerly women's) teams from Canada, England, the United States, and other invited teams (originally one and later three) from a wide arr ...
.


History

Prior to Commonwealth Stadium, the main stadium in Edmonton was Clarke Stadium, which opened in 1939 and was built on a plot of land. Work on applying to host the 1978 Commonwealth Games started in the early 1970s. With both federal, provincial and city funding backing the bid, it called for a massive renovation of the city's various sporting venues. The original plans called for Clarke Stadium to be rebuilt and expanded to host the athletics events. By 1974 there was consensus that Clarke Stadium would not be sufficient and that an all-new stadium should be built. Several locations and sizes were discussed, with Edmonton City Council in January 1975 landing on building a 40,000-seat venue next to Clarke Stadium. The venue was designed by Ragan, Bell, McManus Consultants. The city also decided to build additional new venues: Kinsmen Aquatic Centre and Argyll Velodrome. They based their design on
Jack Trice Stadium Jack Trice Stadium (originally Cyclone Stadium and formerly Jack Trice Field, sometimes referred to as "the Jack") is a stadium located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Primarily used for college football, it is the home field of the Iowa State Cyc ...
in the US city of
Ames, Iowa Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines in central Iowa. It is best known as the home of Iowa State University (ISU), with leading agriculture, design, engineering, and veterinary medici ...
. Part of the public support for the stadium came from it being built to also support being used by the Eskimos (the Elks' name until 2020). The plans were met with opposition from local residents. There were also discussions regarding the necessity of a $50,000 royal retirement room and the allocation of training and office space to the Eskimos. The largest discussion was related to whether the stadium needed a roof or dome. As the roof would cost $18.2 million, there was limited public support, and the stadium was built without one. In an attempt to further the roof process, the Eskimos offered to pay $1.6 million towards the roof. The Commonwealth Games did not permit an enclosed stadium, so the design would have to call for the roof to be added afterwards. Among the opponents of the roof was Commonwealth Games Foundation President Maury Van Vliet, who said experience from construction of the Olympic Stadium in Montreal showed the necessity of building a simple structure. An alternative design, which would have cost an additional $7.3 million, was launched by the Eskimos in August 1975, but rejected by the city council. A major concern for the city council was the large
cost overruns A cost overrun, also known as a cost increase or budget overrun, involves unexpected incurred costs. When these costs are in excess of budgeted amounts due to a value engineering underestimation of the actual cost during budgeting, they are known ...
being experienced in Montreal at the time. Excavation started in December 1974 and saw the removal of of earthwork. A local action committee, Action Edmonton, demanded in early 1975 that construction be halted and the venue relocated. The city estimated that this would cost an additional $2.5 million and delay the process with eight months. The decision to not enclose the stadium was taken on December 10, 1975. The venue was thus not designed to allow a roof, air-filled or stiff, to be retrofitted. The venue was built on the former site of the Rat Creek Dump and the Williamson Slaughter House. During excavation, remains from the dump were struck, resulting in archaeological surveys being carried out. Construction of the
Edmonton Light Rail Transit Edmonton Light Rail Transit, commonly referred to as the LRT, is a light rail system in Edmonton, Alberta. Part of the Edmonton Transit Service (ETS), the system has 18 stations on two lines and of track. As of 2018, it is number seven on the ...
's inaugural line (later named the
Capital Line The Edmonton LRT Capital Line is a light rail transit line running from northeast Edmonton to the south. Operated by the Edmonton Transit Service, the line provides access to Downtown Edmonton and the University of Alberta. The Capital Line cur ...
) commenced in 1974 and was opened in time for the Commonwealth Games, which allowed spectators to take the LRT from Stadium station to
downtown Edmonton Downtown Edmonton is the central business district of Edmonton, Alberta. Located at the geographical centre of the city, the downtown area is bounded by 109 Street to the west, 105 Avenue to the north, 97 Street to the east, 97 Avenue and Rossdale ...
. Construction of the stadium was completed within budget and time. When the venue opened it had a capacity for 42,500 and a natural grass turf. Unlike most other major stadiums in Canada, Commonwealth Stadium elected for a natural grass turf. The original configuration included 39,384 bucket seats and 3,200 bench seating on the north end. The venue was officially opened on July 15, 1978, in an event which attracted 15,000 spectators. The venue went through a slight expansion in 1980, when the seating capacity was increased to 43,346. Additional proposals for a roof, ranging from $10 to $32 million in cost, were presented in 1979, but since then the discussion of covering the stadium died out. Edmonton was selected to host the 1983 Summer Universiade, and in 1981 the city council approved an $11 million upgrade to the venue, which added a further 18,000 seats to the upper tiers and the north end zone; this gave a capacity of 59,912 in 1982 and 60,081 from 1983. For special events, such as the Grey Cup, additional seating could be added. This made it the second-largest stadium in Canada, after
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
's Olympic Stadium, and the largest without a dome. After
Winnipeg Stadium Canad Inns Stadium (also known as Winnipeg Stadium) was a multipurpose stadium in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The stadium was located at the corner of St. James Street and Maroons Road, immediately north of the Polo Park Shopping Centre and th ...
, home of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, installed AstroTurf on their field for the 1988 CFL season, the stadium was the last in the CFL to have a natural grass surface (a few teams from the CFL's American expansion in the 1990s notwithstanding); it would have this distinction for the next 21 years. Ahead of the 2001 World Championships in Athletics, the stadium received a $24-million facelift. Major investments included a new façade, an enlargement of the concourse, improved lighting, a new
scoreboard A scoreboard is a large board for publicly displaying the score in a game. Most levels of sport from high school and above use at least one scoreboard for keeping score, measuring time, and displaying statistics. Scoreboards in the past used ...
and an all-new
all-weather running track An all-weather running track is a rubberized, artificial running surface for track and field athletics. It provides a consistent surface for competitors to test their athletic ability unencumbered by adverse weather conditions. Historically, v ...
. Ahead of the 2008 season the stadium underwent a reconfiguration, reducing its capacity to 59,537. For the nine seasons prior to 2010, the natural turf was replaced eight times, costing $50,000 each time. The natural grass turf was replaced with FieldTurf Duraspine Pro in May 2010, making the Eskimos the last CFL team to switch to
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 ...
(and made all fields in the CFL having artificial turf; this would last for six seasons), and the last team to play on grass until the
Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...
began playing at
BMO Field BMO Field is an outdoor stadium located at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which is home to Toronto FC of Major League Soccer and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. Constructed on the site of the former ...
for the 2016 season. The investment cost $2.6 million and was split evenly between the city and the Eskimos. The work included the removal of of soil, and the turf has a life expectancy of 8 to 10 years. It will cost $500,000 to replace. The reasons for the replacement were to reduce injuries, reduce the need for watering and fertilizer, allow a green turf for the entire season, including at Grey Cups (when the weather is especially cold in Edmonton), allow the venue to host more events, as concerts and the like will not damage the field, and that turf is recycled and recyclable. Commonwealth Stadium underwent a $112-million facelift starting in 2009. The main investment was a
field house Field house or fieldhouse is an American English term for an indoor sports arena or stadium, mostly used for college basketball, volleyball, or ice hockey, or a support building for various adjacent sports fields, e.g. locker room, team room, coac ...
, new locker rooms, a hosting area and two floors of office space. The complex, named the Commonwealth Community Recreation Centre and designed by MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects and HIP Architects, also has an aquatic centre and a fitness centre. The complex was completed in February 2012. Following the 2010 Grey Cup, the program to replace the seating at the stadium commenced. All seating (which had been in place since the stadium's opening) was replaced with new and wider seats, and the color changed from red and orange to green and yellow—the Eskimos' colors. Approval of the $12 million upgrade was made by the city council on May 18, 2011, and it took 11 months to select a supplier, with installation starting in June 2012. The upgrade removed all bench seating, which had been in place in the corners and end zones, resulting in an all-seater stadium. Because of wider seats, wide instead of , capacity for the venue as reduced to 56,302. The process reduced the number of seats in each row by one. With the seating installed, the total investment in the venue exceeded $200 million. Before the start of the 2014 CFL season, the track surface was stripped off, thus giving the football end zones a squared-off look; they were rounded off prior to this. On June 15, 2016, the Edmonton Eskimos announced a five-year field naming rights partnership with
The Brick The Brick Ltd. is a Canadian retailer of furniture, mattresses, appliances and home electronics. The company was founded as The Brick Warehouse LP by brothers, John, Fred, and Bill Comrie. The first warehouse opened on September 1, 1971 in E ...
to name the field "The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium" during CFL events.


Facilities

Commonwealth Stadium has a seating capacity of 56,302, in an
all-seater An all-seater stadium is a sports stadium in which every spectator has a seat. This is commonplace in professional association football stadiums in nations such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most association football and Ame ...
configuration. The stadium has two twin-tier grandstands along each side, and single-tier stands on the corners and ends. The sides feature 44,032 seats, with the remaining 12,386 in the corners and ends. The side seats are wide and have a
cup holder A cup holder is a device, such as a zarf, to hold a cup or other drinking vessel. It may be free standing to hold cups securely on a desk or other flat surface, or in a tree style to store sets of cups in kitchens. They may be built into automob ...
, a feature lacking on the narrower end zone seats. The seating is laid out in a colorized mosaic pattern, with dark green at the bottom, yellow in the middle and lighter green at the top. In the sides there are 14,203 dark green seats, 19,019 yellow seats and 10,810 light green seats. In the corner and end zones there are 8,672 dark green and 3,713 yellow seats. There are 15
executive suite An executive suite in its most general definition is a collection of offices or rooms—or suite—used by top managers of a business—or executives. Over the years, this general term has taken on a variety of specific meanings. Corporate offi ...
s on the east stand, 7 on the west stand and 8 on the south end zone. There is a limited amount of covered seating on the upper sections of the lower tier on the sides; half of this section on the east stand is a media centre. The stadium has a Shaw Sports Turf Powerblade Elite 2.5S artificial turf system, installed in 2016 by GTR turf, which covers an area of . It contains additional cushioning through the installation of an extra shock pad. The turf lacks permanent line markings; this allows the markings to alternate between football and soccer. Because of the running track, the corners of the
end zone The end zone is the scoring area on the field, according to gridiron-based codes of football. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field. ...
s were partially cut. In 2014, the end zones were squared off. The
track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...
segment consists of a Sportflex Super X
all-weather running track An all-weather running track is a rubberized, artificial running surface for track and field athletics. It provides a consistent surface for competitors to test their athletic ability unencumbered by adverse weather conditions. Historically, v ...
manufactured by Mondo of Italy. The
International Association of Athletics Federations World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...
has certified the stadium as a Class 1 venue, a certification only two other stadiums have in Canada:
Moncton Stadium Medavie Blue Cross Stadium (french: Stade Croix-Bleue Medavie), formerly Moncton Stadium (french: Stade Moncton), is a track and field stadium on the campus of the Université de Moncton in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, built to host the IAAF 201 ...
and Université de Sherbrooke Stadium. At Commonwealth Stadium complex is the Field House, an three-storey training facility which includes a running track, a artificial turf training field, a fitness and weight room, locker rooms and a running track. It is part of the Commonwealth Community Recreation Centre, which also includes a aquatics centre with a four-lane lap pool, water slides and a recreational pool; of administrative offices; and a fitness centre. The building features a central lobby with each of the facilities in an annex. The centre has
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...
(LEED) Silver certification. Adjacent to Commonwealth Stadium lays
Clarke Stadium Clarke Stadium is a multipurpose facility located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The stadium was originally used for Canadian football. Over the years different sports have participated at the site. Presently, it is the home of the Edmonton Hus ...
; it sits 5,000 and is both used as a training field and as the home ground of the
Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; french: Première ligue canadienne, links=no) is a professional men's Association football, soccer league in Canada. At the top of the Canadian soccer league system, it is the country's primary nationa ...
side
FC Edmonton FC Edmonton was a Canadian professional soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club was founded in 2010 and competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 2011 to 2017. The club went on hiatus when NASL ceased competitive operat ...
. The stadium is served by Stadium station of the
Edmonton Light Rail Transit Edmonton Light Rail Transit, commonly referred to as the LRT, is a light rail system in Edmonton, Alberta. Part of the Edmonton Transit Service (ETS), the system has 18 stations on two lines and of track. As of 2018, it is number seven on the ...
Capital Line The Edmonton LRT Capital Line is a light rail transit line running from northeast Edmonton to the south. Operated by the Edmonton Transit Service, the line provides access to Downtown Edmonton and the University of Alberta. The Capital Line cur ...
. During Elks games, the service frequency is increased. The City of Edmonton and the Elks cooperate on the Green & Go program, which provides free transit rides to the venue from six
park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuting, commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail t ...
lots throughout Edmonton. Any holder of a pre-purchased game ticket can travel for free on the services from these lots to Commonwealth Stadium. The program is initiated by the city to minimize parking and congestion in the stadium's neighbourhood. Game tickets are also valid fare on the LRT service from two hours prior to games to two hours after games. The city declares a neighbourhood parking ban in the vicinity of the stadium during games, with only cars with residential permits being allowed to be parked on streets.


Events


Athletics

Commonwealth Stadium was the centrepiece of the 1978 Commonwealth Games, which were hosted from August 3 to 12. The games saw 1,474 athletes from 46 nations competed in 128 events. Canada conducted its all-time best performance, capturing 45 gold medals and 109 medals in total. Commonwealth Stadium hosted the athletics events, which consisted of 38 events: 23 for male and 15 for female competitors, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies. The success and popularity of the Commonwealth Games resulted in Edmonton bidding for and being selected to host the 1983 Summer Universiade. Commonwealth Stadium was again selected to host the athletics events, in addition to the opening and closing ceremonies. 24 male and 17 female athletics events were hosted. The games saw 2,400 participants from 73 countries, but did not attract the same public attention as the Commonwealth Games had. The 2001 World Championships in Athletics were held at Commonwealth Stadium between August 3 and 12, featuring 1677 participants from 189 nations.


Canadian football

Commonwealth Stadium has been the home of the Canadian Football League's
Edmonton Elks The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...
since the 1978 season. In the 1977 season, the last whole season at Clarke, the Eskimos drew an average 25,324 spectators, filling up the venue to its capacity for seven of eight games. For the 1979 season, they drew an average 42,540 spectators, selling out seven of eight games. The all-time regular-season attendance record is 62,517, set against the
Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...
on September 26, 2009. 28 regular-season Edmonton Elks games have sold out at Commonwealth. With the laying of artificial turf in 2010, the team stopped training on Clarke Stadium and have since used Commonwealth Stadium as their training ground. The stadium has been host to the
Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...
, the CFL's championship game, five times, in 1984, 1997,
2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
,
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
, and 2018. Tickets to the 2010 Grey Cup were sold out prior to the start of the season. The game was spectated by a crowd of 63,317, the largest to attend the stadium.


Soccer

;Edmonton Drillers The Edmonton Drillers of the
North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...
, then the premier soccer league in Canada and the United States, was established in 1979 with the relocation of the
Oakland Stompers The Oakland Stompers were a soccer team based out of Oakland, California that played the 1978 season in the North American Soccer League (NASL). The Stompers played in the Western Division of the American Conference and finished the year with ...
. Bought by
Peter Pocklington Peter Hugh Pocklington (born November 18, 1941) is a Canadian entrepreneur and vocal advocate of free-market capitalism. Peter Pocklington was known among North American hockey fans as "Peter Puck", the maverick entrepreneur from oil-rich Albert ...
, the team chose to play its first three seasons at Commonwealth Stadium. The team played to home play-off matches during the 1980 season. The Drillers averaged between 9,923 and 10,920 in their first three seasons. After having lost $10.5 million in three years, Pocklington chose to relocate to Clarke Stadium for the 1982 season. This caused average attendance to plummet to 4,922 and the team was disbanded at the end of the year. ;Canadian Soccer Association In the past, because of its natural turf, Commonwealth Stadium has been a favored stadium for the
Canadian Soccer Association The Canadian Soccer Association (Canada Soccer) is the governing body of soccer in Canada. It is a national organization that oversees the Canadian men's and women's national teams for international play, as well as the respective junior sides ...
to host national games. It has hosted 18 games of the Men's National Soccer Team and two of the Men's Under-20 National Team. The most intense period was between 1995 and 2000, when 13 A-team games were played. The A-team has played nine
FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a competitive match that a national association football team takes in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the (men's) FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments are hel ...
and five friendly matches at Commonwealth. The record attendance of 51,936 was set when Canada tied
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
1–1 on June 5, 1994. The Canadian Soccer Association twice invited to the
Canada Cup The Canada Cup (french: Coupe Canada) was an invitational international ice hockey tournament held on five occasions between 1976 and 1991. The brainchild of Toronto lawyer Alan Eagleson, the tournament was created to meet demand for a true worl ...
, a three- or four-way invitational international friendly tournament, with all matches hosted at Commonwealth Stadium. The 1995 Canada Cup featured Canada,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
and
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, while the 1999 Canada Cup featured Canada U-23,
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
,
Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...
and Guatemala U-23. On November 16, 2021, the stadium hosted a third-round match in the CONCACAF 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers between
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
; with a 2–1 victory, Canada defeated Mexico for the first time in 21 years, taking the lead in the pool. Due to the frigid
Prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
temperatures of November,
Canada Soccer The Canadian Soccer Association (Canada Soccer) is the governing body of soccer in Canada. It is a national organization that oversees the Canadian men's and women's national teams for international play, as well as the respective junior sides ...
tweeted that the stadium was "Canada's frozen fortress", while fans also nicknamed the field "Estadio Iceteca" or "The Iceteca", in reference to Mexico's home field
Estadio Azteca Estadio Azteca () is a multi-purpose stadium located in Mexico City. It is the official home of football clubs Club América and Cruz Azul as well as the Mexico national football team. The stadium sits at an altitude of above sea level. Wit ...
. With a temperature of −9 °C at kickoff, it was the coldest game in Mexico national team history. Edmonton has hosted five international friendly matches and two FIFA Women's World Cup matches featuring the Canada women's national soccer team. Before the
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...
, the record attendance was 29,953 for a game on August 31, 2003, when Canada beat
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
8–0. The attendance record was broken in 2015, when a record crowd of 53,058 saw Canada beat
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
1–0 in the first match of the Women's World Cup. Canada and Commonwealth Stadium were host to the 1996 edition of the
CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament The CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship was a quadrennial, international, age-restricted football tournament organized by CONCACAF to determine which men's under-23 national teams from the North, Central America and Caribbean region qual ...
, which featured the Men's Under-23 National Team between 10 and 19 May. The tournament drew crowds up to 19,401, and saw Canada finish second to
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. Canada played
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, playing 2–2 at Commonwealth Stadium on 26 May. Canada lost 5–0 in Australia and fail to qualify. Edmonton co-hosted the inaugural 2002 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship between August 17 and September 1 along with
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
and
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
. Edmonton was the base of operations and featured 12 of the 26 matches.
FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
was originally skeptical to using such a large venue, especially for those matches which did not involve
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. The 12 games drew a total 238,090 and an average 19,841 spectators. The final, which saw the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
defeat Canada 1–0 in
extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...
, was spectated by 47,784; this remains a world-record attendance for youth-level women's soccer. Commonwealth Stadium was one of six Canadian venues selected to host the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup between June 30 and July 22. Nine of 52 matches were played in Edmonton, including a quarterfinal and a semifinal, and two of
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. The games drew a total attendance of 243,517 and an average attendance of 27,057, second only to the
Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...
in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
. The highest attendance was 32,058, which watched Canada play Congo. Two club friendly matches were played at Commonwealth in 2009 and 2010, under the
Edmonton Cup The Edmonton Cup is a one game association football tournament which takes place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The first game took place on 25 July 2009 between the Argentine club River Plate and the English club Everton at Commonwealth Stadiu ...
umbrella. In the first, 15,800 spectators watched Argentinian side River Plate defeat England's Everton 1–0. In the second, 8,792 spectators watched
FC Edmonton FC Edmonton was a Canadian professional soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club was founded in 2010 and competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 2011 to 2017. The club went on hiatus when NASL ceased competitive operat ...
play English side
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...
to a 1–1 draw. A third club friendly was played in 2019 at Commonwealth Stadium between Cardiff City FC (English Football League) and Real Valladolid (La Liga Spain). Cardiff City fought out a 1–1 draw against the Spanish La Liga club, owned by Brazilian ace Ronaldo, before winning the penalty shoot-out 4–2. FC Edmonton started competing in the Canadian Championship in 2011 season and played these games at Commonwealth Stadium until 2014 when they returned to Clarke Stadium which is their regular home ground. Commonwealth Stadium also hosted matches during the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup between August 5 and 24, and the
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...
between June 5 and July 6.


Concerts

Concerts held at Commonwealth Stadium include
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
,
Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
,
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
,
Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those album ...
,
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
,
The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
,
The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Police ...
,
Fiction Plane Fiction Plane is a rock band consisting of lead vocalist and bass player Joe Sumner, guitarist Seton Daunt, and drummer Pete Wilhoit. History When Sumner was a teenager in England, he was inspired to write songs after he heard Nirvana's albu ...
,
AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...
,
Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
, U2,
Kenny Chesney Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has recorded more than 20 albums and has produced more than 40 Top 10 singles on the US ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Hot Coun ...
,
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
,
Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...
,
Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
,
Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald (American musician), Hugh McD ...
,
Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...
,
Lilith Fair Lilith Fair was a concert tour and travelling music festival, founded by Canadian musician Sarah McLachlan, Nettwerk Music Group's Dan Fraser and Terry McBride, and New York talent agent Marty Diamond. It took place during the summers of 1997 ...
,
Edgefest Edgefest was an annual outdoor rock festival in Canada. It was founded by staff members of Toronto radio station CFNY-FM. From 1987 to 2015, the festival was held every year in the summer (except for 2007). The festival was most frequently hel ...
and
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. September 4, 2022 Mötley Crüe Stadium tour


Ice hockey

The 2003 Heritage Classic was an outdoor ice hockey game played on November 22 between the
National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
(NHL) sides
Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...
and the
Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...
. The first regular-season NHL game to be played outdoors, it saw the Canadiens win 4–3 in front of a crowd of 57,167, despite temperatures of close to −18 °C, −30 °C (−22 °F) with wind chill. It was held to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the
Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...
joining the NHL in 1979 and the 20th anniversary of their first
Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...
win in 1984. The
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...
television broadcast drew 2.747 million viewers in Canada, the second-highest audience for a regular-season NHL game. The 2023 Heritage Classic will also be played at Commonwealth Stadium, with the Oilers hosting the
Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...
in the first outdoor NHL “
Battle of Alberta The Battle of Alberta is a term applied to the intense rivalry between the Canadian cities of Calgary, the province's most populous city (since 1976), and Edmonton, the capital of the province of Alberta (since 1905). Most often it is used to ...
.”


Rugby union

Commonwealth Stadium has been used to host
Churchill Cup The Churchill Cup was an annual rugby union tournament, held in June, contested by representative men's (and formerly women's) teams from Canada, England, the United States, and other invited teams (originally one and later three) from a wide arr ...
matches. The 2004 edition had the first round played in
Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
and the second round played at Commonwealth Stadium. The 2005 edition saw all matches being played in Edmonton, with the final drawing a crowd of 17,000. In the 2006 edition the three finals were played at Commonwealth Stadium. The 2006 Women's Rugby World Cup was hosted in Edmonton and its suburb, St. Albert. Most of the Edmonton games were played at
Ellerslie Rugby Park Ellerslie Rugby Park is a park located in South Edmonton in the neighborhood of Ellerslie. It was the Edmonton Gold's home field and it also held puts on many private events. There are two buildings on the site, the Banquet Room, and the Clubroo ...
, but the final, third-place match and fifth-place match were all played at Commonwealth Stadium. On June 9, 2018, the Canadian Men's National team played host to Scotland, world number 6 at the time, in a test match at Commonwealth Stadium. Scotland came away with a 48–10 victory over Canada in front of a crowd of 12,824 at Commonwealth Stadium.


Evangelism and baseball

In 1980, the venue hosted a
Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...
event during his Northern Canada Crusade. In 1983, the
Edmonton Trappers The Edmonton Trappers were a minor league baseball team in Edmonton, Alberta. They were a part of the Triple-A level in the Pacific Coast League, ending with the 2004 season. Their home games were played at Telus Field in downtown Edmonton. T ...
Triple-A baseball team defeated the
California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...
of
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
in an exhibition baseball game witnessed by a crowd of 24,830. On 26 July 2022,
Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
led an open-air
Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...
in front of an attendance of nearly 50,000 people as part of his first visit to Canada.


See also

*
List of Commonwealth Games venues The following are lists of all Commonwealth Games venues, starting with the first Commonwealth Games in 1930, alphabetically, by sport and by year. As a multi-sport event, competitions held during a given the Commonwealth Games usually take p ...


References

{{Authority control Edmonton Elks c Edmonton Drillers (1979–1982) Sports venues in Edmonton Music venues in Edmonton Tourist attractions in Edmonton Canadian Football League venues Soccer venues in Canada Athletics (track and field) venues in Canada Rugby union stadiums in Canada Outdoor ice hockey venues in Canada Multi-purpose stadiums in Canada 1978 Commonwealth Games venues 1978 establishments in Alberta Sports venues completed in 1978 North American Soccer League (1968–1984) stadiums 1983 Summer Universiade 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup stadiums