McMahon Stadium
Encyclopedia
McMahon Stadium is a Canadian football
stadium
located in Calgary
, Alberta
. The stadium is owned by the University of Calgary and operated by the McMahon Stadium Society.
McMahon Stadium is located between the downtown core and the University of Calgary
, north of 16 Avenue NW between Crowchild Trail
and University Drive. It is within walking distance of the Banff Trail
C-Train
station.
The stadium currently serves as the home venue for the University of Calgary Dinos
, Calgary Colts
of the Canadian Junior Football League
, Calgary Gators and Calgary Wolfpack of the Alberta Football League
, and the Calgary Stampeders
of the CFL
, who formerly played at Mewata Stadium
from 1935 to 1959. McMahon Stadium also served as the open-air venue (as an ice rink) for the 2011 National Hockey League Heritage Classic match between the Calgary Flames
and the Montreal Canadiens
.
The Stadium was also the location used for the 1988 Winter Olympics
for the opening and closing ceremonies.
campus over a 100-day period in 1960 for $1,050,000. It was built as a replacement for the Mewata Park Stadium.
It is named after Calgary residents Frank McMahon
and his brother, George McMahon. They donated C$
300,000 to the university and the citizens of Calgary, and guaranteed the balance of money for the stadium's construction.
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.
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 originally appointed by the McMahon brothers until the financing guaranteed by the McMahons was retired in 1973.
The society currently operates the stadium under two leases and a four-year, three-month agreement with the City of Calgary, approved on January 7, 2007.
. McMahon Stadium 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
es replaced bleacher seating in the higher rows of the grandstands, reduced the stadium 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 McMahon Stadium's capacity by approximately 4,200 seats to accommodate further luxury boxes, with renovations to be underwritten with personal seat license
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 record 46,020 spectators at the 97th Grey Cup, between the Montreal Alouettes and Saskatchewan Roughriders on November 29, 2009.
field installed in 2006. McMahon Stadium installed its first AstroTurf
artificial playing surface in 1975 amid concerns that the original grass pitch would not withstand an intended increase in use of the stadium facilities by professional, amateur and recreational teams.
The new FieldTurf surface is hoped to attract a wider variety of events to the stadium including future international soccer matches.
game was held at McMahon Stadium in 1975
, 1993
, 2000
, and 2009
.
McMahon Stadium was also used for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1988 Winter Olympics
, which required major expansion of its seating area.
The facility is occasionally used as an outdoor concert venue also, notably for the Festival Express
tour in 1970, the Lilith Fair
tours in 1997, 1998 and 2010 and Ozzy Osbourne
and the Monsters of Rock
on July 26, 2008, and Taylor Swift
's Speak Now World Tour
in 2011.
On August 13, 2009, ZZ Top
and Aerosmith
were to perform at the venue together, but due to a tour injury that occurred to Aerosmith's lead singer Steven Tyler
, the show was cancelled.
The Stadium hosted a Billy Graham
Crusade in 1981.
McMahon Stadium was the site of the 2011 NHL Heritage Classic regular season game between the Calgary Flames
and Montreal Canadiens
on February 20, 2011.
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively 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 prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
located in Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
. The stadium is owned by the University of Calgary and operated by the McMahon Stadium Society.
McMahon Stadium is located between the downtown core and the University of Calgary
University of Calgary
The University of Calgary is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1966 the U of C is composed of 14 faculties and more than 85 research institutes and centres.More than 25,000 undergraduate and 5,500 graduate students are currently...
, north of 16 Avenue NW between Crowchild Trail
Crowchild Trail
Crowchild Trail is an expressway located on the west side of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.The road was originally signed as 24th Street SW from North Glenmore Park to the Bow River, 24th Street NW from the Bow to the intersection with 16th Avenue NW , and Highway 1A from 16th Ave NW to the city limits...
and University Drive. It is within walking distance of the Banff Trail
Banff Trail (C-Train)
Banff Trail is a stop on the Northwest Line of the C-Train light rail system in Calgary, Alberta.The station is located east of the McMahon Stadium , Burns Stadium, and the Motel Village district, and north-east of the junction of Crowchild Trail and the Trans-Canada Highway...
C-Train
C-Train
C-Train is the light rail transit system in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It has been in operation since May 25, 1981. The system is operated by Calgary Transit, a department of the Calgary municipal government.-Operations:...
station.
The stadium currently serves as the home venue for the University of Calgary Dinos
Calgary Dinos
The Calgary Dinos football team has won the Vanier Cup national championship four times, the most out of any of the Canada West teams and most recently in 1995. The Dinos also won in 1983, 1985 and 1988. The team most recently appeared in the 2010 Vanier Cup, but lost to the Laval Rouge et Or...
, Calgary Colts
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 and competes annually for the national title known as the Canadian Bowl...
of the Canadian Junior Football League
Canadian Junior Football League
The Canadian Junior Football League is a national amateur Canadian football league consisting of 19 teams playing in six provinces across Canada. The teams compete annually for the Canadian Bowl...
, Calgary Gators and Calgary Wolfpack of the Alberta Football League
Alberta Football League
The Alberta Football League is an amateur Canadian football league. For the 2010 season, 8 teams competed for the league championship...
, and the Calgary Stampeders
Calgary Stampeders
The Calgary Stampeders are a Canadian Football League team based in Calgary, Alberta and named in reference to the Calgary Stampede. The Stampeders play their home games at McMahon Stadium...
of the CFL
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
, who formerly played at Mewata Stadium
Mewata Stadium
Mewata Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It was the home stadium of the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL until they moved to McMahon Stadium in 1959. In addition, it hosted the Calgary Kickers of the Canadian Soccer League. The stadium was razed in 1999 and replaced...
from 1935 to 1959. McMahon Stadium also served as the open-air venue (as an ice rink) for the 2011 National Hockey League Heritage Classic match between the Calgary Flames
Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is the third major-professional ice hockey team to represent the city of Calgary, following the...
and the Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
.
The Stadium was also the location used for the 1988 Winter Olympics
1988 Winter Olympics
The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event celebrated in and around Calgary, Alberta, Canada from 13 to 28 February 1988. The host was selected in 1981 after having beat Falun, Sweden and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy...
for the opening and closing ceremonies.
History
The stadium was constructed on the then University of Alberta (Calgary)University of Calgary
The University of Calgary is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1966 the U of C is composed of 14 faculties and more than 85 research institutes and centres.More than 25,000 undergraduate and 5,500 graduate students are currently...
campus over a 100-day period in 1960 for $1,050,000. It was built as a replacement for the Mewata Park Stadium.
It is named after Calgary residents Frank McMahon
Frank M. McMahon
Frank Murray Patrick McMahon was a Canadian businessman best known as the founder and first chairman of Westcoast Transmission Co. Ltd...
and his brother, George McMahon. They donated C$
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
300,000 to the university and the citizens of Calgary, and guaranteed the balance of money for the stadium's construction.
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 being to operate, improve and manage the stadium, together with 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 originally appointed by the McMahon brothers until the financing guaranteed by the McMahons was retired in 1973.
The society currently 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, McMahon Stadium is the fifth-largest stadium in CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. McMahon Stadium 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
Luxury box
A Luxury box is a special seating section located within stadiums, arenas and other sporting and entertainment venues. They are typically located in the midsection of a stadium grandstand, usually providing the best views of the event...
es replaced bleacher seating in the higher rows of the grandstands, reduced the stadium 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 McMahon Stadium's capacity by approximately 4,200 seats to accommodate further luxury boxes, with renovations to be underwritten with personal seat license
Personal Seat License
A personal seat license, or PSL, gives the holder 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 tickets. However, if the seat license holder chooses not to sell the seat licenses and...
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 record 46,020 spectators at the 97th Grey Cup, between the Montreal Alouettes and Saskatchewan Roughriders on November 29, 2009.
Field
The stadium features an artificial FieldTurfFieldTurf
FieldTurf is a brand of artificial turf playing surface. It is manufactured and installed by the FieldTurf Tarkett division of Tarkett Inc., based in Calhoun, Georgia, USA. In the late 1990s, the artificial surface changed the industry with a design intended to replicate real grass...
field installed in 2006. McMahon Stadium installed its first AstroTurf
AstroTurf
AstroTurf is a brand of artificial turf. Although the term is a registered trademark, it is sometimes used as a generic description of any kind of artificial turf. The original AstroTurf product was a short pile synthetic turf while the current products incorporate modern features such as...
artificial playing surface in 1975 amid concerns that the original grass pitch would not withstand an intended increase in use of the stadium facilities by professional, amateur and recreational teams.
The new FieldTurf surface is hoped to attract a wider variety of events to the stadium including future international soccer matches.
Notable events
The CFL Grey CupGrey Cup
The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...
game was held at McMahon Stadium in 1975
63rd Grey Cup
The 63rd Grey Cup was played on November 23, 1975 before 32,454 fans at McMahon Stadium at Calgary. The Edmonton Eskimos won an extremely close game, decided on the last play, against the Montreal Alouettes by the score 9 to 8.-Box Score:...
, 1993
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...
, 2000
88th Grey Cup
The 88th Grey Cup was held in 2000 in Calgary. The BC Lions won the game 28-26 over the Montreal Alouettes...
, and 2009
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 champion for the 2009 season. The Montreal Alouettes came from behind to defeat the Saskatchewan Roughriders 28-27, on a 33-yard field goal by Damon Duval as time ran...
.
McMahon Stadium was also used for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1988 Winter Olympics
1988 Winter Olympics
The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event celebrated in and around Calgary, Alberta, Canada from 13 to 28 February 1988. The host was selected in 1981 after having beat Falun, Sweden and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy...
, which required major expansion of its seating area.
The facility is occasionally used as an outdoor concert venue also, notably for the Festival Express
Festival Express
Festival Express is a 2003 documentary film about the eponymous 1970 train tour across Canada taken by some of North America's most popular rock bands, including The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Band and Delaney & Bonnie & Friends...
tour in 1970, the Lilith Fair
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 to 1999, and was revived in the summer of 2010. It...
tours in 1997, 1998 and 2010 and Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
and the Monsters of Rock
Monsters of Rock
Monsters of Rock was an annual music festival held in England, then moved in other locations like The Netherlands, France, Italy, Germany, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Chile.The Last show was in 2008....
on July 26, 2008, and Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America...
's Speak Now World Tour
Speak Now World Tour
Speak Now World Tour is the second concert tour by American country singer-songwriter, Taylor Swift, in support of her third studio album, Speak Now. The tour visited Asia, Europe, North America and Australasia...
in 2011.
On August 13, 2009, ZZ Top
ZZ Top
ZZ Top is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "That Little Ol' Band from Texas". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based boogie rock, has come to incorporate elements of arena, southern, and boogie rock. The band, from Houston Texas, formed in 1969...
and Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
were to perform at the venue together, but due to a tour injury that occurred to Aerosmith's lead singer Steven Tyler
Steven Tyler
Steven Tyler is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the frontman and lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the harmonica, and occasional piano and percussion. He is known as the "Demon of Screamin'", due to his high screams...
, the show was cancelled.
The Stadium hosted a Billy Graham
Billy Graham
William Franklin "Billy" Graham, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian evangelist. As of April 25, 2010, when he met with Barack Obama, Graham has spent personal time with twelve United States Presidents dating back to Harry S. Truman, and is number seven on Gallup's list of admired people for...
Crusade in 1981.
McMahon Stadium was the site of the 2011 NHL Heritage Classic regular season game between the Calgary Flames
Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is the third major-professional ice hockey team to represent the city of Calgary, following the...
and Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
on February 20, 2011.