McMahon Stadium is a
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 ...
stadium
A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...
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 ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
. The stadium is owned by the
University of Calgary
The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...
and operated by the McMahon Stadium Society.
The stadium is between the downtown core and the University of Calgary, north of 16 Avenue NW between
Crowchild Trail
Crowchild Trail is a major expressway in western Calgary, Alberta. The segment from the 12 Mile Coulee Road at the edge of the city to 16 Avenue NW (Trans-Canada Highway, Highway 1) is designated as Highway 1A by Alberta Transportation ...
and University Drive. It is within walking distance of the
Banff Trail C-Train
CTrain (previously branded C-Train) is a light rail rapid transit system in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Most of the network functions as a light metro, though in the free-fare zone that runs through the downtown core the Red and Blue lines opera ...
station.
It is the home venue for the
University of Calgary Dinos
The Calgary Dinos are the athletic teams that represent the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. They were known as the "Dinosaurs" but usually referred to as the "Dinos" until 1999, when the name was officially shortened. Some of its venue ...
,
Calgary Colts
The Calgary Colts are a Canadian Junior Football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Colts play in the six-team Prairie Football Conference, which itself is part of the Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) and competes annually for the national ...
of the
Canadian Junior Football League
The Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) is a national Major Junior Canadian football league consisting of 19 teams playing in five provinces across Canada. The teams compete annually for the Canadian Bowl. Many CJFL players move on to profess ...
,
Calgary Gators
The Alberta Football League (AFL) is an amateur Canadian football league. The league's schedule runs from the start of June through to the end of September.
The Alberta Football League was established in 1984 so that men over the age of 21 cou ...
and Calgary Wolfpack of the
Alberta Football League, and the
Calgary Stampeders
The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...
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 ...
, who played at
Mewata Stadium
Mewata Stadium () was a multi-purpose stadium in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It was the home stadium of the Calgary Stampeders, both before and after the formation of the Canadian Football League in 1958, until they moved to McMahon Stadium for the ...
from 1935 to 1959. The stadium also was the open-air venue (as an ice rink) for 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 ...
's
2011 Heritage Classic match between 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 ...
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 stadium was also the location of the
1988 Winter Olympics
The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games (french: XVes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Calgary 1988 ( bla, MohkÃnsstsisi 1988; sto, Wîchîspa Oyade 1988 or ; cr, Otôskwanihk 1998/; srs, Guts†...
opening and closing ceremonies, serving as 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 ...
.
History
From 1945 to 1960, the
Calgary Stampeders
The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...
and other athletic organizations operated out of the
Mewata Park Stadium
Mewata Stadium () was a multi-purpose stadium in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It was the home stadium of the Calgary Stampeders, both before and after the formation of the Canadian Football League in 1958, until they moved to McMahon Stadium for the ...
, a 10,000-person facility, which was expanded to 16,700
located in the Downtown west end. An early proposal for a new stadium came in 1954 when the Stampeders proposed a new 20,000-person facility south of
Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to:
Places Australia
* Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales
* Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse
* Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...
. The rush for a new stadium came with construction of a new bridge for 14th Street, which was believed to require land adjacent to the Mewata Park Stadium. The Victoria Park Stadium proposal had limited support from the
Calgary Stampede and Exhibition
The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, fair, exhibition, and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year and ...
board.
In February 1957, it was announced that a new stadium was planned near the
University of Alberta (Calgary) with an estimated cost of $1 million.
The planning sketches detailed a 20,000-person facility on an tract of land near the site of a tract of land set aside for the university. The initial plan sought financing through provincially or city issued bonds.
The city and province failed to back the stadium plan. On January 1, 1960, the team General Manager
Jim Finks
James Edward Finks (August 31, 1927 – May 8, 1994) was an American football and Canadian football player, coach, and executive.
Early life and playing career
Finks was born in St. Louis, Missouri, attended high school in Salem, Illinois, and ...
, play-by-play commentator
Eric Bishop and ''
Calgary Herald
The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network.
History
''The ...
'' columnist Gorde Hunter approached the McMahon brothers to finance the stadium, which they agreed to.
The stadium was designed by architect
Peter Rule and constructed by
Red Dutton
Norman Alexander Dutton (July 23, 1897 – March 15, 1987) was a Canadian ice hockey player, coach and executive. Commonly known as Red Dutton, and earlier by the nickname "Mervyn", he played for the Calgary Tigers of the Western Canada Hockey ...
's firm Burns and Dutton Concrete and Construction Company on the then University of Alberta (Calgary) campus using pre-cast concrete over 103 days with groundbreaking beginning on April 4, 1960, for a cost of $1.05 million.
George McMahon and Dutton wagered $1,500 on whether the construction would finish on time, and when the project finished on time 103 days later, Dutton paid McMahon with one-dollar bills.
The original stadium capacity was 19,536
and the university hoped that the structure could be expanded to 45,000 at some point in the future.
McMahon stadium repurposed bleachers from Mewata Stadium around the end zone to provide seating for youth football program members, and the Mewata scoreboard was also relocated to the new stadium.
The University Board of Governors announced the stadium would be named after Calgary residents
Frank McMahon and his brother, George McMahon, in August 1960.
The McMahon brothers donated to the university and the citizens of Calgary, and guaranteed the balance of money for the stadium's construction. Another name commonly considered was "Devil's Head Stadium" after
Devils Head a mountain summit in Alberta.
The stadium opened on August 15, 1960, with a Canadian Football League game seeing the Stampeders fall to the
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...
38–23. George McMahon kicked the ceremonial kickoff with a ball held by university president
Walter H. Johns. Defensive Tackle Don Luzzi scored the first touchdown on a fumble recovery.
McMahon Stadium was expanded multiple times, first in 1967 with 2,600 seats for a capacity of 22,136, then in 1973 adding 3,500 seats to 25,636, and in 1975 with a $1.125-million expansion to 32,454 in time for the
63rd Grey Cup
The 63rd Grey Cup was played on November 23, 1975, before 32,454 fans at McMahon Stadium in Calgary. In a tight, defensive battle, the Edmonton Eskimos defeated the Montreal Alouettes 9–8. Just before the contest began, a young woman was "str ...
.
Additional expansions occurred in 1978 at a cost of $4.5 million to 33,386,
and in 1987 saw major expansion and upgrades at a cost of $17 million with 11,000 theatre-style seats added with capacity raised to 38,205.
Skyboxes were added in 1993, lowering capacity to 37,211, with more skyboxes added in 2000 to lower capacity again to 35,967.
Throughout the stadium's history temporary bleachers were employed for major events, including a record 60,000 at the opening and closing ceremonies for the 1988 Winter Olympics, and 50,000 for the
81st Grey Cup
The 81st Grey Cup was the 1993 Canadian Football League championship game played between the Edmonton Eskimos and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alberta. The Eskimos defeated the Blue Bombers 33–23 to win the Grey Cup.
...
.
The university acquired complete ownership of the stadium and land in 1985 after the original financing was retired (1973) and a land exchange agreement was signed with the City of Calgary.
McMahon Stadium Society
The stadium is operated by the McMahon Stadium Society. The society was incorporated as a non-profit society in Alberta in 1960 with its objectives to operate, improve and manage the stadium and its facilities, for sports, recreation and other useful purposes.
Its membership consists of: two persons appointed by the University of Calgary; from the City of Calgary, the Commissioner of Finance and the Commissioner of Planning and Community Services; and two other persons appointed by the four other members. The two other members were appointed by the McMahon brothers until the financing guaranteed by the McMahons was retired in 1973.
The society operates the stadium under two leases and a four-year, three-month agreement with the City of Calgary, approved on January 7, 2007.
Seating
With permanent seating totalling 35,650, the stadium is the fifth-largest stadium in Canada. It was expanded in several stages from its original 22,000-seat capacity in 1960 to 38,205 in 1988.
More recent renovations in 2001 and 2005, in which
luxury box
The luxury box (or skybox) and club seating constitute the most exclusive class of seating in arenas and stadiums, and generate much higher revenues than regular seating. Club ticketholders often receive exclusive access to an indoor part of th ...
es replaced bleacher seating in the higher rows of the grandstands, reduced the capacity to 37,317 in 2001, and to its current 35,650 in 2005. In 2007, Calgary Stampeders president Ted Hellard proposed a further reduction of the stadium's capacity by approximately 4,200 seats to accommodate further luxury boxes, with renovations to be underwritten with
personal seat license
A personal seat license, or PSL, is a paid license that entitles the holder to the right to buy season tickets for a certain seat in a stadium. This holder can sell the seat license to someone else if they no longer wish to purchase season ti ...
s.
For special events such as Grey Cup games, temporary bleachers have been built in the facility's end zones. These seats accounted for a stadium attendance record 46,020 spectators at the
97th Grey Cup
The 97th Grey Cup was played on November 29, 2009, at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alberta, and decided the Canadian Football League (CFL) champion for the 2009 season. The Montreal Alouettes came from behind to defeat the Saskatchewan Roughrider ...
, between the Montreal Alouettes and Saskatchewan Roughriders on November 29, 2009.
Field
The stadium features an infilled artificial
FieldTurf field installed in 2006. Previously, the stadium installed its first
AstroTurf
AstroTurf is an American subsidiary of SportGroup that produces artificial turf for playing surfaces in sports. The original AstroTurf product was a short-pile synthetic turf invented in 1965 by Monsanto. Since the early 2000s, AstroTurf has m ...
artificial playing surface in 1975 amid concerns the original grass field (which was in place from the stadium's opening) would not withstand an intended increase in use of the stadium facilities by professional, amateur and recreational teams.
Notable events
Football
* The first football game took place at the stadium on August 15, 1960. The
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...
beat the
Calgary Stampeders
The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...
38–20.
* The CFL
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 ...
game was held at stadium in
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
,
1993,
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
,
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
, and
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
.
* The stadium hosted two
CFL All-Star Game
The Canadian Football League played an all-star game regularly during the 1950s and 1970s and twice in the 1980s.
1950s
The first game in 1955 actually precedes the establishment of the Canadian Football Council and the CFL, and was known as the ...
s, in 1972 and 1978.
Hockey
It was the site of the
2011 NHL Heritage Classic regular season game between 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 ...
and
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 ...
on February 20, 2011.
Olympics
The stadium was also used for the opening and closing ceremonies of the
1988 Winter Olympics
The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games (french: XVes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Calgary 1988 ( bla, MohkÃnsstsisi 1988; sto, Wîchîspa Oyade 1988 or ; cr, Otôskwanihk 1998/; srs, Guts†...
, which required major expansion of its seating area.
Concerts
* The facility is occasionally used as an outdoor concert venue also, notably for the
Festival Express
''Festival Express'' is a 2003 documentary film about the 1970 train tour of the same name across Canada taken by some of North America's most popular rock bands, including the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Band, Buddy Guy, Flying Burrito B ...
tour in 1970, the
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 ...
tours in 1997, 1998 and 2010 and
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...
and the
Monsters of Rock
Monsters of Rock was an annual hard rock and heavy metal music festival held in Castle Donington, England, from 1980 to 1996, taking place every year except 1989 and 1993. It later branched into other locations such as the Netherlands, Poland, ...
on July 26, 2008.
* On August 13, 2009,
ZZ Top
ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature sound ...
and
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...
were to perform at the venue, but an injury that occurred to Aerosmith's lead singer
Steven Tyler led to the show's cancellation.
Other events
*The stadium hosted a
Billy Graham Crusade
William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American Evangelism, evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist Convention, Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. ...
in 1981.
*
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
conducted an inspection of the
Canadian Army
The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...
at the stadium during her visit in 1990.
*''
Nitro Circus Live
''Nitro Circus Live'' (also known as ''Nitro Circus Live: World Tour'' in the final three seasons) is a reality television show. It follows Travis Pastrana and the Nitro Circus crew as they perform live on tour around the world.
Cast
;Travis Pas ...
'' came to the stadium in 2017.
See also
*
List of Canadian Football League stadiums
The following is a list of stadiums in the Canadian Football League.
Current stadiums
;Notes
Map of current stadiums
Future stadiums
Neutral site stadiums
;Notes
Former stadiums
Defunct team stadiums
See also
*List of stadiums ...
*
CalgaryNEXT
The Calgary Event Centre was a planned arena complex to be built in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It would have replaced the Scotiabank Saddledome, home of the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League. Construction was scheduled to start in earl ...
, a formerly proposed replacement for McMahon Stadium
*
Calgary Stampeders
The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...
, the CFL franchise that McMahon Stadium is most well known for hosting
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
Calgary Stampeders profile of McMahon Stadium.
{{Authority control
1960 establishments in Alberta
Venues of the 1988 Winter Olympics
Canadian football in Calgary
Canadian Football League venues
Olympic stadiums
Soccer venues in Alberta
Sports venues completed in 1960
Sports venues in Calgary
University of Calgary
University sports venues in Canada
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) stadiums
Canadian football venues