Jump to content

Soccer Stadiums In Canada


TOareaFan

Recommended Posts

There have been a variety of discussion boards and sites talking about leagues and teams (new canadian league, A league, MLS etc. etc.).

While I am very interested in this I have a particular interest/passion (some who know me call it an obsession) with Stadiums.

I would love to hear from people about potential soccer stadiums in their cities/regions.

Some of the popular stadium sites on the web (eg. www.worldstadiums.com ) list stadiums in Canada that I can find very little information about but, on the surface, sound like they could handle a decent Canadian sized soccer crowd.

Some of these are (I have stated the capacity figure that I can find on the web):

Royal Athletic Park (Victoria)- 9,250, Apple Bowl (Kelowna) - 5,700, Griffiths Stadium (Saskatoon) - 5,000, Winnipeg Soccer Complex - 10,000, Richardson Stadium (Kingston) 10,250, PEPS (Quebec City) - 18,500, Huskies Stadium (Halifax) - 9,000, King George V (St. John's) - 10,000, Swilers Rugby Grounds (also St. John's) 6,500.

Aside from the better known soccer venues in Canada (Swanguard, Lamport, Centenial, CCR,....etc.) The above represent 9 stadiums in 8 cities that have capacities of over 5,000 and seem capable of hosting the sort of crowds that A league teams get and that we would reasonably expect for any new fledgling "CSL".

I would love to receive any information about these stadiums (such as their condition, sightlines, location, etc.) and any stadiums not on the list that you might deem as good soccer stadiums that could seat 5,000 + or get to that number pretty easily.

Thanks....hope there are other stadium junkies out there to chat with.....

P.S. since I have identified myself as a stadium fanatic, please assume that I know about BC Place, McMahon, Commonwealth, Taylor, CanadInns, SkyDome, New Varsity/York, Frank Clair, Ivor Wynne, McGill, and the Big OWE and acknowledge that each of these is a stadium of over 5,000 and, turf issues aside, could hold a soccer crowd.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Much of the information on worldstadiums is inaccurate and out-of-date. Many, people, myself included, have contacted them with correct information, but they don't seem concerned about ammending it.

For instance, King George V Stadium in St. John's is cuurrently undergoing upgrade renovation for 6040 permanent seats, and improved lighting, dressingroom and medical facilities. There will also be temporary seats available (like there was before) to increase the capacity. The upgraded stadium is designed to be capable of better holding international matches. I think the 10,000 is a shot in the dark. I recall an attendence there of over 10,000 there in the 80's, but many of those fans were standing out of the stands. The 10,000 figue you cite is just a shot in the dark like many of the figures.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

quote:Originally posted by beachesl

Much of the information on worldstadiums is inaccurate and out-of-date. Many, people, myself included, have contacted them with correct information, but they don't seem concerned about ammending it.

I know that they are reliant on people sending them information. I am responsible for a couple of their stadium/arena infos. I think they got the ones I sent them correct.

But for many of the stadiums that I listed, they are the only "web" information I can find.

quote:Originally posted by beachesl

The 10,000 figue you cite is just a shot in the dark like many of the figures.

I was only citing what I could find...that is the whole point of my topic here, I would love to find as much as I can about as many of these as possible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

quote:Originally posted by beachesl

Just saw it on television. Looked okay.

You are aware of the admittedly out-of-date stadium info on this site , eh?

http://www.canadian-soccer.com/en/cs_stadiums.asp

Well, with respect to the writers of it, I didn't have a lot of confidence in the list. There were too many of the items that you just know are wrong to have any confidence in the others (as an example...exhibition stadium held over 45k when it was demolished and they show it as 22k).

It does show the problem we have in tracking/finding this stuff out because of the variety of "info" out there. Does Stade PEPS hold 2500 (as this site would lead you to believe and would be interesting as the Laval football team had four crowds of over 15k there this season) or is it the 18,500 shown on Worldstadiums (more likely given the football crowds)? Is there a 16,000 seat stadium in Sudbury?

I am hoping to find folks with "first hand" knowledge of these stadiums.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

quote:Originally posted by TOareaFan

Well, with respect to the writers of it, I didn't have a lot of confidence in the list. There were too many of the items that you just know are wrong to have any confidence in the others (as an example...exhibition stadium held over 45k when it was demolished and they show it as 22k).

When exhibition held 45,000 it was really mostly used as a baseball stadium, even though soccer was occasionally played there. The 22k figure is a correct one, before the "baseball" east stand was built.

quote:

It does show the problem we have in tracking/finding this stuff out because of the variety of "info" out there. Does Stade PEPS hold 2500 (as this site would lead you to believe and would be interesting as the Laval football team had four crowds of over 15k there this season) or is it the 18,500 shown on Worldstadiums (more likely given the football crowds)? Is there a 16,000 seat stadium in Sudbury?

I am hoping to find folks with "first hand" knowledge of these stadiums.

The information has been updated. In the PEPS stadium there was a mixup, and yes, there is a 16,000 seat stadium in Sudbury.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Jarrek.

I find it amazing that there would be a stadium that size in Sudbury and I have never heard of it...do you have many/any details on it or know where I could find them? I assumed it was on campus at Laurentian but could not find any information on their web page.

What is it used for?

I won't debate with you the right attendance at "the ex". It is correct that the expansion was driven by baseball coming to Toronto but the stadium (including the new baseball bit) were used often for both kinds of football and crowds of more than 22k (the attendance shown on this web page) were the norm.

Anyway, I am already getting new information to satisfy my stadium appetite.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Jarrek.

I find it amazing that there would be a stadium that size in Sudbury and I have never heard of it...do you have many/any details on it or know where I could find them? I assumed it was on campus at Laurentian but could not find any information on their web page.

What is it used for?

I won't debate with you the right attendance at "the ex". It is correct that the expansion was driven by baseball coming to Toronto but the stadium (including the new baseball bit) were used often for both kinds of football and crowds of more than 22k (the attendance shown on this web page) were the norm.

Anyway, I am already getting new information to satisfy my stadium appetite.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

chilliwack has Exhibition Stadium at The Landing. (same site as the recreation centre, both the brand new and very old hockey arena's and former site of the racehorse track). it holds between 2 and 4 thousand depending on additional stands. could quite easily be expanded to a 5-10000 seat stadium (if for some reason there was a need!)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

quote:Originally posted by bettermirror

chilliwack has Exhibition Stadium at The Landing. (same site as the recreation centre, both the brand new and very old hockey arena's and former site of the racehorse track). it holds between 2 and 4 thousand depending on additional stands. could quite easily be expanded to a 5-10000 seat stadium (if for some reason there was a need!)

I posted links to Exhibition Stadium at the Landing here ages ago. I recall many positive comments. It could easily hold 10,000 if it's expanded.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

quote:Originally posted by beachesl

Much of the information on worldstadiums is inaccurate and out-of-date. Many, people, myself included, have contacted them with correct information, but they don't seem concerned about ammending it.

I did send them some info in the past dealing with venues and they have changed it. They usually have time lapse between updates befre changing the info.

They have the old capacity for Clarke Park up there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

quote:Originally posted by dbailey62

Sorry about that. Let's try this again.

The 22k figure is for the main grandstand, also known as The Grandstand. Prior to the permanent baseball expansion, there were some very large bleachers located on thee south side of the field outside the track (yes, there was a track, paved, and we used to watch the Helldrivers do car stunts on it during the Ex).

db

Link to comment
Share on other sites

quote:Originally posted by hamiltonfan

http://www.greycup2004.com/GreyCup2004/seatingmap.html

There's some great pics of Frank Clare Stadium in Ottawa if anyone wants to see. I know there's not that many good ones out there.

I was in Ottawa last week and drove by the stadium a couple of times (too busy with work to stop in though :(). Those temp. stands look a wee bit scary! Hope it is not too cold on the day for the fans.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

quote:Originally posted by hamiltonfan

http://www.greycup2004.com/GreyCup2004/seatingmap.html

There's some great pics of Frank Clare Stadium in Ottawa if anyone wants to see. I know there's not that many good ones out there.

I was in Ottawa last week and drove by the stadium a couple of times (too busy with work to stop in though :(). Those temp. stands look a wee bit scary! Hope it is not too cold on the day for the fans.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

quote:Originally posted by CanadianSoccerFan

The stadium in Sudbury is in very rough shape. Old wooden bleachers and a track with the lines worn off from age. Hosted some Pan-American Youth track & field championship in the 80's but has since been left to rot.

Are you from the area? Are there any pics available? Is it fixable?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

quote:Originally posted by CanadianSoccerFan

The stadium in Sudbury is in very rough shape. Old wooden bleachers and a track with the lines worn off from age. Hosted some Pan-American Youth track & field championship in the 80's but has since been left to rot.

Are you from the area? Are there any pics available? Is it fixable?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was actually just visiting Laurentian a few years ago when I was deciding what school to attend. I'm not from sudbury. I always simply assumed Laurentian didn't have a stadium because they had no football team so when I showed up I was kinda stunned to see a huge stadium there. Ironically, the LU soccer team was playing that day but not in the stadium. They played on a field beside it.... go figure! After checking the LU site it looks like they've torn down the stadium since I was there.

In this pic there's just floodlights and a field where the stadium used to be... sad!

http://laurentian.ca/?file=tour/avery_e.php

Link to comment
Share on other sites

quote:Originally posted by TOareaFan

Thanks Sounder....have you been to RAP? If so, what is it like?

I'm not Sounder but I am the guy who created and maintains the victoria United website. [8D]

RAP is an awesome stadium although it does not hold the capacity you quoted and I think even the "official" capacity is way off base. We had a little more than 2,000 people for the PCSL All-Stars v. Hearts last summer and the stands felt packed. OK, they felt packed compared to 200 people we get to a United game[:P] but still I cannot see how we could get more than about another 1,000 - 1,500 people total.

The turf has seen better days but their is no track and the covered stand creates a great sound effect when the crowd is in full roar. You can almost touch the players on the sidelines and they can clearly hear any abuse from the stands. Sightlines are totally undisturbed by any supports or pillars. The venue is licensed and they sell Vancouver Island Breweries beer. Food service is adequate (no pies) but certainly better than the volunteer operation at the University of Victoria's Centennial Stadium (a sad hole of a soccer stadium if ever there was one.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

quote:Originally posted by TOareaFan

I was in Ottawa last week and drove by the stadium a couple of times (too busy with work to stop in though :(). Those temp. stands look a wee bit scary! Hope it is not too cold on the day for the fans.

I saw them from Colonel By Drive and yes, they look very scarey. It's the wind as much as the cold that would freak me out. No way I'd sit in the back row either.

db

Link to comment
Share on other sites

quote:Originally posted by dbailey62

I saw them from Colonel By Drive and yes, they look very scarey. It's the wind as much as the cold that would freak me out. No way I'd sit in the back row either.

db

I was thinking the same thing about the back row....if you lean back you might just find yourself tumbling off!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...