page_title: Commonwealth Stadium (Edmonton)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Commonwealth Stadium (Edmonton) / History
caption_attribution_description: English: East exterior of Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
context_page_description: Commonwealth Stadium, also known as The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium during Edmonton Football Team events, is an open-air, all-seater multipurpose stadium located in the McCauley neighbourhood of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It has a seating capacity of 55,819, making it the largest open-air stadium in Canada. It has been used for Canadian football, athletics, soccer, and rugby union, as well as concerts.
  Construction commenced in 1975 and the venue opened ahead of the 1978 Commonwealth Games, replacing the adjacent Clarke Stadium as the Eskimos home. It received a major expansion ahead of the 1983 Summer Universiade, when it reached a capacity of 60,081. Its main tenant is the Edmonton Football Team of the Canadian Football League, and has hosted five Grey Cups, the CFL's championship game. The stadium had remained the only CFL venue with natural grass for a long time, until FieldTurf Duraspine Pro was installed in 2010.
context_section_description: Prior to Commonwealth Stadium, the main stadium in Edmonton was Clarke Stadium, which opened in 1939 and was built on a 38-acre (15 ha) plot of land. Work on applying to host the 1978 Commonwealth Games started in the early 1970s. With both federal, provincial and city funding backing the bid, it called for a massive renovation of the city's various sporting venues. The original plans called for Clarke Stadium to be rebuilt and expanded to host the athletics events. By 1974 there was consensus that Clarke Stadium would not be sufficient and that an all-new stadium should be built. 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. The venue was designed by Ragan, Bell, McManus Consultants. The city also decided to build to additional new venues: Kinsmen Aquatic Centre and Argyll Velodrome. They based their design on Jack Trice Stadium in the US city of Ames, Iowa.
  Part of the public support for the stadium came from it being built to also support being used by the Eskimos. The plans were met with opposition from local residents. There were also discussions regarding the necessity of a $50,000 royal retirement room and the allocation of training and office space to the Eskimos. The largest discussion was related to whether the stadium needed a roof or dome. As the roof would cost $18.2 million, there was limited public support and the stadium was built without one. In an attempt to further the roof process, the Eskimos offered to pay $1.6 million towards the roof. An enclosement would not be permitted used during the Commonwealth Games, so the design would have to call for the roof to be added afterwards. Among the opponents of the roof was Commonwealth Games Foundation President Maury Van Vilet, that 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. A major concern for the city council were the large cost overruns which were being experienced in Montreal at the time.
  Excavation started in December 1974 and saw the removal of 400,000 cubic metres (500,000 cu. yd.) of earthwork. A local action committee, Action Edmonton, demanded in early 1975 that construction be halted and the venue relocated. The city estimated that this would cost an additional $2.5 million and delay the process with eight months. The decision to not enclose the stadium was taken on December 10, 1975. The venue was thus not designed to allow a roof, air-filled or stiff, to be retrofitted. The venue was built on the former site of the Rat Creek Dump and the Williamson Slaughter House. During excavation, remains from the dump were struck, resulting in archaeological surveys being carried out. Construction of the Edmonton Light Rail Transit's inaugural Capital Line commenced in 1974 and was opened in time for the Commonwealth Games, which allowed spectators to take the LRT from Stadium station to downtown Edmonton.
  Construction of the stadium was completed within budget and time. When the venue opened it had a capacity for 42,500 and a natural grass turf. Unlike most other major stadiums in Canada, Commonwealth Stadium elected for a natural grass turf. The original configuration included 39,384 bucket seats and 3,200 bench seating on the north end. The venue was officially opened on July 15, 1978 in an event which attracted 15,000 spectators. The venue went through a slight expansion in 1980, when the seating capacity was increased to 43,346. 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.
  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; this gave a capacity of 59,912 in 
caption: The facade
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