Allan A. Lamport Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium on King Street West in the Liberty Village neighbourhood of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. It is the practice facility for 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 CFL East Division, East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based i ...

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 c ...

. It is also partial home for

Canada national rugby league team The Canada national rugby league team represents Canada in international rugby league football tournaments. History 1987–2000: Origins Rugby league was first introduced to Canada in the 1900s but was quickly outlawed by Rugby Union officials ...

. The playing surface of the 9,600

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 tha ...

stadium is also dually marked for soccer and

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

. The stadium was named for long-time

politician

Allan Lamport Allan Austin Lamport, (April 4, 1903 – November 18, 1999) was mayor of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, from 1951 to 1954. Known as "Lampy", his most notable achievement was his opposition to Toronto's Blue laws which banned virtually any activi ...

, who was associated with sporting activities in the city.

History

Lamport Stadium was built during the winter and spring of 1974–1975 on the site of the

Andrew Mercer Reformatory for Women The Andrew Mercer Reformatory for Women was a women's (16 years of age or older) prison in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. At various times, the facility was also known as the Mercer Complex, Andrew Mercer Reformatory for Females, and Andrew Mercer O ...

, and opened on July 1, 1975. Lamport Stadium Field

As part of a deal with the city to convert

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 ...

to natural grass,

Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. (MLSE) is a professional sports and commercial real estate company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With assets that include franchises in four of the six major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

spent adding a winter bubble to Lamport Stadium in the winter of 2009–2010. MLSE manages the operations of the facility during the winter season, when the field is covered by the dome and community soccer programs are held.

Facilities

Since opening in 1975, the playing surface has been artificial turf. Lamport Stadium's indoor field measures 68 metres by 105 metres, allowing a full eleven-a-side game.

Sports usage

Canadian football

The home games of the semi-professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

team Toronto Athletics Football Team were played at the stadium from 1993 to 1996. The team provided players looking to keep playing sought to be scouted by professional gridiron football teams. The Athletics won the Mid-Continental League Championship in 1993, and was ranked as high as 9th over all in the American Semi Professional Football Rankings in 1995. In 2018, the professional

Canadian football Canadian football () is a 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 scoring area ( ...

team, the CFL's

, announced that they would use the stadium as their practice facility.

Lacrosse

The Toronto Nationals played their 2010 season at Lamport Stadium before moving to

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilto ...

Soccer

Since the opening of Lamport Stadium the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its d ...

used the stadium as a home venue for many of its clubs based in Toronto. Both

SC Toronto SC Toronto was a Canadian soccer team, founded in 1994. The team was a member of the Canadian Soccer League, and played its final home games at Lamport Stadium in the city of Toronto, Ontario. The club found success early on since its incepti ...

and

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...

team

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...

's Academy side played their

Canadian Soccer League The Canadian Soccer League (CSL; french: Ligue canadienne de soccer — LCS) is a semi-professional league for Canadian soccer clubs primarily located in the province of Ontario, and claims the history of the Canadian National Soccer League (C ...

home games at Lamport Stadium. The

OUA Oua is an islet on the north-east of Nukufetau atoll, Tuvalu, next to Lafanga Lafanga or Lafaga is an islet of Nukufetau, Tuvalu. The traditional history of Nukufetau recalls that in order to protect the atoll from raiders from Tonga Tong ...

Ryerson Rams TMU Bold (known as the Ryerson Rams prior to August 2022) are the varsity athletic teams that represent Toronto Metropolitan University (previously known as Ryerson University) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Toronto Metropolitan University opera ...

soccer teams also call the stadium home. In 2014, the

Serbian White Eagles Serbian White Eagles Football Club ( sr, Фудбалски клуб Српски бели орлови / ''Fudbalski klub Srpski beli orlovi'') is a Canadian soccer team. The team is a member of the Canadian Soccer League, an unsanctioned socce ...

of the

and

Internacional de Toronto Internacional de Toronto C.F. was a short-lived Canadian soccer club founded and dissolved in 2014 and based in Toronto, Ontario. The club played in League1 Ontario, part of the third division of the Canadian soccer league system. The club played ...

League1 Ontario League1 Ontario (L1O) is a semi-professional men's association football, soccer league in Ontario, Canada. The league began play in 2014 and is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association as a pro-am league ...

also played their home games at the stadium.

Toronto FC II Toronto FC II is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, who play in MLS Next Pro, a third tier league of the United States soccer league system. It is the reserve team and minor league affiliate of Toronto FC as wel ...

announced in August 2017 that it would move its home games from the

Ontario Soccer Centre The Soccer Centre, also known as the Ontario Soccer Centre, is a Canadian competition, training, education, and exposition soccer facility. It is located in Vaughan, Ontario, 20 km north-west of downtown Toronto. Details The centre featur ...

and Lamport Stadium beginning with the 2018 season. However, with their drop to the division 3

USL League One USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019. The Division III league is operated by United Soccer League, the same group that operates the Division II USL Championshi ...

for the 2019 season, the team moved their home games to

BMO Training Ground Downsview Park is a large urban park located in the Downsview neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The park's name is officially bilingual due to it being federally owned and managed, and was first home to de Havilland Canada, an aircraft ...

. The

University of Toronto Schools University of Toronto Schools (UTS) is an independent secondary day school affiliated with the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school follows a specialized academic curriculum, and admission is determined by competitive ex ...

high school team also uses Lamport Stadium as a practice field and for home games.

Rugby league

On 21 May 2012, it was announced that Lamport Stadium would be the new home of the

, the Wolverines. Their first game of 2013, the Colonial Cup opener against the

United States national rugby league team The United States national rugby league team represents the United States in international rugby league football competitions. The team is managed by the USA Rugby League (USARL). The United States competed with little success in some interna ...

saw a crowd of nearly 8,000 turn out to witness a comeback from the Wolverines. The stadium also hosted a professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

club, the Toronto Wolfpack, which began playing there in 2017. Toronto Wolfpack v London Broncos 3 - June 9, 2018

On May 18, 2019, Lamport hosted the inaugural Americas 9s tournament.

International matches

Rugby union

In January 2019,

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 ...

expansion team, 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 ...

announced that they would split home games between Lamport Stadium and Alumni Field at

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,000 faculty and sta ...

for their inaugural season. They were scheduled to play games at the stadium in 2020, but the season was canceled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. The team moved their home games to

York Lions Stadium York Lions Stadium is an outdoor sports stadium on the Keele Campus of Toronto's York University in the former city of North York. It is home to the York Lions, the varsity teams of York University, the Toronto Arrows of Major League Rugby and Y ...

for the 2022 season.

Non-sports usage

Besides sporting events, the stadium also hosts a major

Caribana The Toronto Caribbean Carnival, formerly known as Caribana, is a festival of Caribbean culture and traditions held each summer in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a pan-Caribbean Carnival event and has been billed as North America's ...

event each summer: the crowning ceremony for the King and Queen of Caribana.

Homeless Encampment

The area around the stadium became a homeless encampment for a period of time, but was cleared by police and city staff on July 21, 2021, resulting in arrests of both homeless people who had been staying there and protestors standing in solidarity with them. Images of police activity from the incident heavily circulated various social media platforms as well as getting coverage from a variety of news outlets

References

{{Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Parks in Toronto Soccer venues in Ontario Rugby union stadiums in Ontario Rugby league stadiums in Canada Sports venues in Toronto Multi-purpose stadiums in Canada SC Toronto Sports venues completed in 1975 Toronto FC Toronto Wolfpack Toronto Arrows Toronto FC II Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Lacrosse venues Former Major League Lacrosse venues 1975 establishments in Ontario USL League One stadiums Major League Rugby stadiums Toronto Arrows stadiums