Thunderbird Stadium is an outdoor stadium on the
University Endowment Lands
The University Endowment Lands (UEL) is an unincorporated area that lies to the west of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and adjacent to the University of British Columbia and the lands associated with that campus. Pacific ...
in
British Columbia, Canada. It is located west of
Vancouver's city limits, and is primarily used for
soccer and
football by the
UBC
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top three ...
Thunderbirds. It seats 3,500 in the main grandstand, plus grass seating for about 5,000 people on the west side and ends of the stadium, and by using the surrounding grass embankment the facility can accommodate up to 12,000 spectators.
The stadium was opened on October 7, 1967.
[Thunderbird Stadium Construction Information]
/ref> It features 12 80-foot-high concrete support towers, all topped with concrete thunderbird statues created by renowned First Nations artist Bill Reid
William Ronald Reid Jr. (12 January 1920 – 13 March 1998) (Haida) was a Canadian artist whose works include jewelry, sculpture, screen-printing, and paintings. Producing over one thousand original works during his fifty-year career, Reid is ...
. Later renovations include the replacement of a few original benches with fold-down seating directly below the press box.
History
Sports
The facility is also used for Canadian Rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
international matches, and the B.C. High School Rugby Championships. In 2009, the stadium was used to host the Ireland national rugby union team playing against the Canada national rugby union team
The Canada national rugby union team (french: Équipe du Canada de rugby à XV) represents Canada in men's international rugby union competitions and is governed by Rugby Canada. Canada is classified by World Rugby as a tier two rugby nation a ...
.
Since 2006, the stadium has been used for Australian rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
matches, including the West Coast Challenge tournament, and in 2007 as the venue for Canada's international games against the United States and Japan which drew 2,500 spectators. In 2008, it became home to the Vancouver Cougars club.
In 2013, the Vancouver Nighthawks, a professional ultimate
Ultimate or Ultimates may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums
* ''Ultimate'' (Jolin Tsai album)
* ''Ultimate'' (Pet Shop Boys album)
*'' Ultimate!'', an album by The Yardbirds
*'' The Ultimate (Bryan Adams Album)'', a compilat ...
team competing in Major League Ultimate
Major League Ultimate (MLU) was a North American semi-professional Ultimate league from 2013 to 2016. It was composed of eight member teams, seven in the United States and one in Canada. It was formed in 2012, and began its inaugural season in Apr ...
, became tenants of Thunderbird Stadium. A total of five home games were played at Thunderbird Stadium for both the team and the league's inaugural season. The team ceased operation when the Major League Ultimate
Major League Ultimate (MLU) was a North American semi-professional Ultimate league from 2013 to 2016. It was composed of eight member teams, seven in the United States and one in Canada. It was formed in 2012, and began its inaugural season in Apr ...
(MLU) ceased all operations on December 21, 2016.
From 2015-2017, the USL
The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...
soccer team, Whitecaps FC 2
Whitecaps FC 2 is a professional soccer team based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada that serves as the reserve team of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC of Major League Soccer.
History
Prior to the MLS Next Pro iteration the team played its h ...
(part of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC) played their home games at the stadium.
In June 2015, a Canadian Football League preseason game was to be held at the stadium on June 19, 2015, between the BC Lions
The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place.
The Lions played their first season ...
and Edmonton Eskimos. This was due to Women's World Cup soccer being held at the Lions' usual home, BC Place
BC Place is a multi-purpose stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Located at the north side of False Creek, it is owned and operated by the BC Pavilion Corporation (PavCo), a crown corporation of the province.
The venue is currently ...
.
The highest attendance for a Thunderbirds game at the stadium came on September 17, 2017 when UBC played their annual homecoming game in front of 9,542 fans, the third highest attendance for a Canada West football game in History
Cultural events
The facility was also used for cultural events and rock festivals. However, with the installation of artificial turf in 2010, concerts are no longer permitted.
Thunderbird Stadium hosted Ozzfest
Ozzfest is an annual music festival tour of the United States and sometimes Europe and later Japan, featuring performances by many heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Sharon Osbourne and her husband Ozzy Osbourne, both ...
, Lilith Fair, Lollapalooza, Area:One Festival, Another Roadside Attraction and the Arts County Fair. It also held individual concerts including "Midnight Oil
Midnight Oil (known informally as "The Oils") are an Australian rock band composed of Peter Garrett (vocals, harmonica), Rob Hirst (drums), Jim Moginie (guitar, keyboard) and Martin Rotsey (guitar). The group was formed in Sydney in 1972 by H ...
/ Hunters & Collectors/Art Bergmann
Arthur Frank Bergmann (born February 8, 1953 in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter who was one of the key figures in Canadian punk rock in the late 1970s.Michael Barclay, Ian A.D. Jack and Jason Schneider, '' Have ...
" in 1991. From 1995 into the 2000s it was used for the Vans Warped Tour
The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running tour ...
. Up to 25,000 have attended individual concerts and/or festivals at the stadium.
References
External links
Official Page
{{Authority control
Canadian football venues in British Columbia
USL Championship stadiums
Soccer venues in British Columbia
Sports venues in Vancouver
UBC Thunderbirds
Rugby union stadiums in British Columbia
University sports venues in Canada
1967 establishments in British Columbia
Sports venues completed in 1967
Ultimate (sport) venues
College football venues
Whitecaps FC 2