Commonwealth Stadium

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.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.[7] 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.[4] 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;[4] this gave a capacity of 59,912 in 1982 and 60,081 from 1983.Major investments included a new façade, an enlargement of the concourse, improved lighting, a new scoreboard and an all-new all-weather running track.[8] The work included the removal of 12,400 cubic metres (440,000 cu ft) of soil,[9] and the turf has a life expectancy of 8 to 10 years.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.The main investment was a field house, new locker rooms, a hosting area and two floors of office space.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.[14] 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.[21] At Commonwealth Stadium complex is the Field House, an 8,400-square-metre (90,000 sq ft) three-storey training facility which includes a running track, a 64-by-64-metre (70 by 70 yd) artificial turf training field, a fitness and weight room, locker rooms and a running track.The city bans on-street parking in the vicinity of the stadium during games, excepting cars with residential permits.[2] The success and popularity of the Commonwealth Games resulted in Edmonton bidding for and being selected to host the 1983 Summer Universiade.Before the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, the record attendance was 29,953 for a game on August 31, 2003, when Canada beat Mexico 8–0.[74] Edmonton co-hosted the inaugural 2002 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship between August 17 and September 1 along with Vancouver and Victoria.The final, which saw the United States defeat Canada 1–0 in extra time, was spectated by 47,784;[75] this remains a world-record attendance for youth-level women's soccer.[76] Commonwealth Stadium was one of six Canadian venues selected to host the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup between June 30 and July 22.[79] 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.[81] Concerts held at Commonwealth Stadium include Pink Floyd, Beyoncé, David Bowie, Tim McGraw, Genesis, the Rolling Stones, the Police, Fiction Plane, AC/DC, Metallica, U2, Kenny Chesney, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Taylor Swift, Bon Jovi, Guns N' Roses, Lilith Fair, Mötley Crüe, Edgefest and One Direction.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,[88] −30 °C (−22 °F) with wind chill.[95][96] 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.On 26 July 2022, Pope Francis led an open-air Mass in front of an attendance of nearly 50,000 people as part of his first visit to Canada.In 2024, it hosted the IFAF U20 World Junior Championship, marking the first time American football was played at the stadium.