Interestingly enough, Canada is not viewed as a top football country in the global arena even though it is a big player in North America, together with the US and Mexico. Canadian teams have competed in major global football events like the FIFA World Cup but still, they are mostly admired at home.
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While this is definitely a shame and Canada should do a better job at promoting its teams and players internationally, what cannot be denied is the country’s dedication to creating proper sports infrastructure, including huge stadiums.
Some of Canada’s best football stadiums hosted these famous FIFA games, collecting thousands and thousands of people. The country has many great stadiums that cities can be proud of. In this post, we discuss five of the biggest football stadiums in Canada.
Olympic Stadium Montreal
With a capacity of over 60,000, the Olympic Stadium is the largest in Canada. It has a long and rich, almost legendary history. Over the years, due to its rising costs, it’s earned the sarcastic nickname “the Big Owe.” And yet, it is loved by the fans and players alike and serves as a reminder of how important football is for fans and how people support their teams in Canada.
Olympic Stadium remains a fantastic venue and is considered one of the best in Canada. The 1976 Olympic Games final, where East Germany defeated Poland in front of over 70,000 fans, was the first major event at the Olympic Stadium, an opening page of its fame and glory.
After that, Montreal had a hard time establishing a strong home team, with baseball and American football being the most common sports played there. This was the case until 2012 when the Montreal Impact chose it for their first home game. Now, CF Montreal plays there occasionally, although their main home is still the Saputo Stadium.
Despite the mounting costs, the Olympic Stadium is widely considered one of the best football venues in Canada so when it comes to really big stadiums, this is the first choice. Today, this stadium has everything fans are used to, like buffets, all kinds of services, and of course all kinds of extra fun.
The stadium has many sponsors and partially covers the costs of maintenance by advertising all kinds of products, from beer to no deposit bonus casino Canada to cars. While this marketing can be a little bit annoying to players, this is the reality of the sports industry today.
Commonwealth Stadium
Commonwealth Stadium is the second largest stadium in Canada, with a capacity of nearly 56,000 spectators. It’s the biggest open-air venue in the country. Since opening in 1978, it has undergone many additions and upgrades; nostalgic people say it became worse but realistically, it meets the requirements of modern games and viewers.
The Edmonton Drillers, an American Soccer League team, once called this stadium home. Besides soccer, it has hosted various cricket matches, including men’s and women’s domestic leagues in Canada. The 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup and the 2014 Under-20 Women’s World Cup also took place at Commonwealth Stadium.
By the way, all big stadiums discussed in this post, including Commonwealth Stadium, have innovative streaming systems. So players can watch games not only by being physically present but also from whatever location if they have a stable internet connection. Many games are streamed on dedicated sports channels online.
BC Place
BC Place has a seating capacity of 54,320, making it Canada’s third-largest stadium. The Vancouver Whitecaps used to call this field home. Besides sports, it has hosted many non-sporting events because basically, anyone can rent it for a music performance or any other event (if you have enough money, that is).
After the team’s name changed to Vancouver Whitecaps FC, BC Place became their home for matches.
The 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup games were also played at this venue. It’s also used for some matches of the Canadian national football team. The stadium features air support and has a retractable roof so it can be an open-air facility or provide a nice protection from bad weather. This flexibility makes BC Place a location of choice for many different events.
Rogers Centre
The Rogers Center, like most venues in Canada and those on this list, has a retractable roof and can seat just over 47,000 people. Located in Toronto, it hosts a variety of sports including American football, baseball, soccer, and more.
The Rogers Centre can accommodate 49,282 spectators for baseball, 53,506 for American football, 22,911 for basketball, 47,568 for soccer, and 31,074 for Canadian football. It serves as the home stadium for the Toronto Blue Jays’ MLB games.
In addition, it hosts many events, shows, and celebrations. The Toronto Argonauts used to play their home matches in the Canadian Soccer League at Rogers Centre. The facility was named “Rogers Centre” after Rogers Communication purchased it in 2005.
McMahon Stadium
McMahon Stadium, which opened in 1960, was one of the first football stadiums built. It’s managed by the McMahon Soccer Association and overseen by the University of Calgary. With a large capacity of 37,317, McMahon Stadium mainly hosts American football events in Calgary.
Previously, it was home to the Calgary Boomers and Calgary Mustangs Canadian football teams. However, international football games are now less common there.
