Past CFL Stadiums - Thoughts and Memories

[Robbie]

I know all of you welcome pictures of Empire Stadium. At this site, you can see pictures of inside Empire Stadium taken on July 5, 1977 when the Seattle Sounders were playing the Vancouver Whitecaps.

http://goalseattle.com/photos/1977%20So ... Vancouver/

[Robbie]

Did anybody ever enter the original Varsity Stadium before it was demolished in 2002?

The Argonauts played there until 1958.

Varsity Stadium had the honour of hosting the last ever NASL game in 1984 when the Chicago Sting won the Soccer Bowl over the Toronto Blizzard. Here are some highlights of that game in Varsity Stadium.

[video][/video]

[Robbie]

Did any of you attend a game at Edmonton's Clarke Stadium?

I'm sure the Lions suffered constant losses against the Eskimos when they played at Clarke Stadium. But if there's any kind revenge from the city of Vancouver, it's that the other football team managed to often win at that stadium, including the attached playoff game. In the 1989 CSL playoffs between the Vancouver 86ers and the Edmonton Brickmen, the Brickmen took a quick 3-0 lead. But the 86ers fought back and won the game 5-3.

[video][/video]

[Robbie]

Lots of pictures at Empire Stadium.

http://www.scottymoore.net/vancouver57.html

[Kamloops Lion]

This is another view of Empire Stadium. Compared to that earlier picture, the roof covering the grandstand is much smaller. I don't know what year this picture is from, but I assume it was sometime between 1954 to 1957. The reason being that the Playland wooden rollercoaster built in 1958 is not visible.

I think this aerial photo of Empire Stadium was taken during the 1954 British Empire Games. If you look closely, you can see that the field is lined for field events such as javelin and shot put, plus on both edges of the field, there are tracks for long jump, high jump, pole vault, etc.

It's a nice trip down memory lane to see the houses to the east, where the cassiar connector is today.

Oh man, this thread is fantastic. I especially love the info on the Edmonton stadiums. Fascinating stuff.
And the houses on Cassiar next to Empire! I recall, as akid waaay back in the early 70s, being dragged to Sugar's house, a friend of my parents. We hated going there because we had to watch the PNE in all its glory while the adults drank and smoked and listened to Buck Owens. But, back to the topic, Empire was a gem — a pigeon-infested, sodden gem, but a gem nonetheless that I miss.

[Kamloops Lion]

Did any of you attend a game at Edmonton's Clarke Stadium?

I'm sure the Lions suffered constant losses against the Eskimos when they played at Clarke Stadium. But if there's any kind revenge from the city of Vancouver, it's that the other football team managed to often win at that stadium, including the attached playoff game. In the 1989 CSL playoffs between the Vancouver 86ers and the Edmonton Brickmen, the Brickmen took a quick 3-0 lead. But the 86ers fought back and won the game 5-3.

[youtube][/youtube]

This is the very 86er team that still holds the North American pro sports team record for longest undefeated streak (46 games).

[Robbie]

Oh man, this thread is fantastic. I especially love the info on the Edmonton stadiums. Fascinating stuff.

Anytime, Kamloops Lion.

This is the very 86er team that still holds the North American pro sports team record for longest undefeated streak (46 games)

Fittingly, they were inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame.

[Robbie]

In light of the fact that a new Empire Stadium might be built, let's share about exactly good Empire Stadium was relative to other outdoor stadiums.

In another thread, I created a thread about how game day experiences compare to the other current CFL stadiums. But let's say the year was 1980 and Empire Stadium was in use. How were the game day experiences (not on the field) pertaining to:

1. Walking in the concourse (anybody have pictures of the concourse?)
2. Concession food stand selections and prices.
3. The restrooms.
4. Parking for the stadium.
5. The sightlines.
6. The comfort of the seats.
7. The replay screen and the scoreboard.
8. Blocking against the natural elements (at least there was a roof, unlike many other outdoors).
9. The audio across the stadium.
10. The stadium decorations on the concourse and the sidelines.
11. The field docorations.
12. And the players locker room if you got to see it.

How did Empire Stadium do compared to the other 1980 CFL outdoor stadiums like the current McMahon, Commonwealth, Canad Inns, Mosaic, Ivor Wynn, and Lansdowne Stadiums and the demolished CNE stadium?

[nelson95]

the track around the field was annoying. The gate around the field was tough to climb over. The ditches under the overhngs were terrifying and the troughs in the mens bathrooms were a disaster in the making.
The Lions dressing room was at the 20th row with the enternce in sec Y so they had to go down 20 stairs to get into their tunnel at the east end of the stadium. How injured players got up their is beyond me. I believe the DR had 6 showers, the training room was across the sec Y tunnel and smelled like linament and spearment gum.

[B.C.FAN]

The crown on the field and the running track around it made for terrible sightlines. My seat was in Row 15, with the royal box as a backrest, but I still couldn't see the ground on the opposite sideline.

[Vern Halen]

Does anybody know if there has been an stadium implosions in Canada?

Bout the only thing I can think of is this:

[youtube][/youtube]

[Robbie]

the track around the field was annoying.

The crown on the field and the running track around it made for terrible sightlines.

Both of you have said that the running track was annoying. But of course, if it wasn't for the running track, the miracle mile would not have taken place and the immortal statue of Landy and Bannister would never be erected.

So having said that, for those who have been to the other stadiums with running tracks like Commonweath and Molson stadiums, are they annoying other than the clipped corner issue that I mentioned earlier?

[Sir Purrcival]

As a boy, I remember that some of the sight lines were broken up the pillars supporting the roof. I also remember being cold and damp. But that all pales in comparison to the memory of Krazy George taking a shower underneath that water vacuum tractor that they used to try and dry the field with. Then there was my all time favourite. The Beef Eater band (Ithink in combination with some US HIgh School band) playing the 1812 Overture at Halftime complete with 8 howitzers brought in from somewhere. Never seen that before or since. Kind of makes you wonder about some of the half time shows now days.

[Rammer]

As a boy, I remember that some of the sight lines were broken up the pillars supporting the roof. I also remember being cold and damp. But that all pales in comparison to the memory of Krazy George taking a shower underneath that water vacuum tractor that they used to try and dry the field with. Then there was my all time favourite. The Beef Eater band (Ithink in combination with some US HIgh School band) playing the 1812 Overture at Halftime complete with 8 howitzers brought in from somewhere. Never seen that before or since. Kind of makes you wonder about some of the half time shows now days.

Pretty sure that mascot soccer trumps any of your above memories SP.

[Spud387]

As a boy, I remember that some of the sight lines were broken up the pillars supporting the roof. I also remember being cold and damp. But that all pales in comparison to the memory of Krazy George taking a shower underneath that water vacuum tractor that they used to try and dry the field with. Then there was my all time favourite. The Beef Eater band (Ithink in combination with some US HIgh School band) playing the 1812 Overture at Halftime complete with 8 howitzers brought in from somewhere. Never seen that before or since. Kind of makes you wonder about some of the half time shows now days.

Pretty sure that mascot soccer trumps any of your above memories SP.

Nothing trumps mascot soccer.