Ivor Wynne Stadium Ivor Wynne Stadium ( originally Civic Stadium ) was a Canadian football stadium located at the corner of Balsam and Beechwood Avenues , two blocks west of Gage Avenue North in Hamilton , Ontario , Canada . The stadium was originally constructed in 1928 to host the 1930 British Empire Games , though playing fields had stood on the site since the city bought the land from a local farmer in 1913 . The stadium , which at the time of closure seated 29 , 600 for football , was the home of the Hamilton Tiger - Cats of the CFL from 1950 until the stadium ' s closure on October 27 , 2012 . The club ' s previous home had been the HAAA Grounds . The current stadium is slated for demolition , to be replaced by New Hamilton Stadium on the same property . Construction history . The stadium consists of a large grandstand on one side of the field , with a small section curving around the end zone , and a separate grandstand on the opposite side of the field . The stadium was heavily rebuilt in 1970 - 71 and renamed for Ivor Wynne , the former chairman of the city Parks Board , in 1971 . From 1971 to 1975 , Ivor Wynne ' s 34 , 500 seats made it the largest stadium in the CFL . Ivor Wynne was the second facility in Canada to use Astroturf , after Empire Stadium in Vancouver . In the 1980s , the west endzone bleachers were removed for the addition of a new scoreboard , dropping capacity to approximately 29 , 500 . A subsequent retrofit of the north stand lower east section for handicapped access in the 1990s dropped capacity further to just under 29 , 000 . The stadium was renovated again after the 2002 football season and had a new second - generation AstroTurf playing surface installed . Shortly after the 2003 season , a new scoreboard was erected in the west end of the stadium ; owing to sponsorship , it is known as ArcelorMittal TigerVision . There were plans to renovate the stadium again in 2012 , with a completion date in 2014 , which would also be used for the upcoming 2015 Pan American Games . On February 25 , 2011 , the stadium plans were approved by the Toronto 2015 Pan Am board of directors which would see the south side stands demolished and rebuilt , with the north side stands extensively renovated . The new plan , announced August 31 , 2011 , calls for a brand - new $ 150 million stadium with a new north - south pitch alignment that makes for equal advantage for sports where wind direction and sun glares are equal to both teams . It will be a multi - functioning stadium , hosting football , soccer , hockey and concerts . During construction , the Tiger - Cats will play at the University of Guelph ' s Alumni Stadium for the 2013 season . Proceeds from the agreement will go to the Gryphon Athletics fundraising campaign as a part of the University of Guelph ’ s BetterPlanet Project . Events . Ivor Wynne Stadium hosted the Grey Cup three times : in 1944 ( when the Flying Wildcats were defeated by a wartime team from the Montreal Navy ) , 1972 ( with a win by the hometown Tiger - Cats over Saskatchewan in a sell out ) and 1996 . In the 1996 game , temporary west and east end zone seating raised capacity to 40 , 000 . That game , perhaps one of the greatest of all time , was played in a steady snowstorm , and was won by the Toronto Argonauts over the Edmonton Eskimos . Some concerts have occurred at Ivor Wynne , the biggest being Pink Floyd in 1975 . It was the last show of the North American Tour so in a dramatic finale , Pink Floyd ' s crew decided to go out with a bang and used up their remaining pyrotechnics around the stadium scoreboard . The explosion at the climax of the show was so intense it blew the scoreboard to pieces and shattered windows in neighboring houses . The last concert held at Ivor Wynne was Rush in 1979 , until the Tragically Hip played on October 6 , 2012 in what was falsely billed as ' The first and last show at Ivor Wynne ' . In April 2005 , Ivor Wynne hosted Our Game to Give , a charity hockey game instigated as a result of the 2004 – 05 NHL lockout . On January 21 , 2012 , Ivor Wynne hosted an AHL regular season game between the Toronto Marlies and Hamilton Bulldogs , the first outdoor game in Canada in the league ' s history and the fourth in an annual series of outdoor AHL games . Grey Cup at Civic / Ivor Wynne Stadium . Hamilton had hosted seven Grey Cup finals at the HAAA Grounds . The 84th Grey Cup of 1996 is , to date , the only Cup final played in Hamilton that did not feature a Hamilton team .