CFL Stadiums and Game Day Experiences
Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 3:31 pm
I really enjoyed reading about ThreeTimesOneMinusOne's experiences and looking at his pictures from his recent trip to Commonwealth Stadium on this thread:
http://www.lionbackers.com/cheer/viewtopic.php?t=13671
Last year, Pinkfreud also provided some good pictures from her trip to McMahon Stadium:
http://www.lionbackers.com/cheer/viewtopic.php?t=11055
Let's use this thread to discuss other game day experiences at other CFL stadiums. Let's just stick with regular season games and not the Grey Cup game held at those stadiums as that is a special event and not one that represents a typical game day experience. If you have any pictures from inside those stadiums, please share them.
For those of you who have attended a regular season game at another CFL stadium, let's hear about what you thought about the off-field, non-playing aspects of the game, such as:
1. The overall appearance and ambiance of being inside the stadium.
2. The pre-game and half-time festivities.
3. The cheerleaders and dance teams.
4. The scoreboard and replay screen.
5. The concession stand selections, quality, and prices.
6. The decoration of the stadium with regards to how it acknowledges past championships and retired players.
7. The souvenir stands and other concourse entertainment.
8. And for those of you who have taken a backstage tour, the locker room facilities.
I have never attended a CFL game at another stadium, although I've walked around the outsides of a few stadiums and these are my comments on each:
Commonwealth Stadium
ThreeTimesOneMinusOne already provided a detailed experience so I won't say too much further. There is a public exercise facility and recreation centre inside the stadium. Just like BC Place and GM Place, Commonwealth is close to Rexall Place although not side-by-side as there is one train station away.
McMahon Stadium
I remember it very well for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1988 Winter Olympics. It doesn't seem to have any end zone seating. No covered grandstands.
Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field
The multi-coloured seating areas look good.
Canad Inns Stadium
Of all the CFL stadiums, I think the grandstand rises highest in this stadium. Right beside the stadium is the Winnipeg Arena where the former Winnipeg Jets used to play.
Rogers Centre
Aside from the retractable roof, I think what's great about this stadium is that unlike other multipurpose stadiums, this stadium suits both football and baseball very well. There are many other stadiums that serve football and baseball, including its predecessor CNE Stadium, in which baseball viewers often complain about bad viewing angles. There are lots of banners to commemorate past championships and retired numbers of both the Argos and Blue Jays. And I believe this stadium has the most private suites.
Ivor Wynne Stadium
I don't know too much about this stadium, other than the fact that it has attracted large CIS crowds for the Vanier Cup. The black and yellow seating sections match the team colours. Also no covered grandstands.
Olympic and Molson Stadiums
Olympic Stadium doesn't really have a good reputation in Montreal as it has been dubbed The Big Owe. But given the choice, I'd still want to attend my first Alouettes game at Olympic Stadium over Molson Stadium.
Frank Clair Stadium at Lansdowne Park
I'll include this one as well. I'd say over the outdoor stadiums, this one has the biggest roof over one side of the grandstands. Looking at how far the roof extends over the grandstand, it must be a great architectural feat to design such a structure that can support an extremely massive weight.
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Of these stadiums, only the three indoor ones completely enclose the field with seats.
If you could see a CFL game at any one of these stadiums, which one would it be? And if you could replace BC Place with a stadium identical in design to any of these ones, which would it be?
http://www.lionbackers.com/cheer/viewtopic.php?t=13671
Last year, Pinkfreud also provided some good pictures from her trip to McMahon Stadium:
http://www.lionbackers.com/cheer/viewtopic.php?t=11055
Let's use this thread to discuss other game day experiences at other CFL stadiums. Let's just stick with regular season games and not the Grey Cup game held at those stadiums as that is a special event and not one that represents a typical game day experience. If you have any pictures from inside those stadiums, please share them.
For those of you who have attended a regular season game at another CFL stadium, let's hear about what you thought about the off-field, non-playing aspects of the game, such as:
1. The overall appearance and ambiance of being inside the stadium.
2. The pre-game and half-time festivities.
3. The cheerleaders and dance teams.
4. The scoreboard and replay screen.
5. The concession stand selections, quality, and prices.
6. The decoration of the stadium with regards to how it acknowledges past championships and retired players.
7. The souvenir stands and other concourse entertainment.
8. And for those of you who have taken a backstage tour, the locker room facilities.
I have never attended a CFL game at another stadium, although I've walked around the outsides of a few stadiums and these are my comments on each:
Commonwealth Stadium
ThreeTimesOneMinusOne already provided a detailed experience so I won't say too much further. There is a public exercise facility and recreation centre inside the stadium. Just like BC Place and GM Place, Commonwealth is close to Rexall Place although not side-by-side as there is one train station away.
McMahon Stadium
I remember it very well for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1988 Winter Olympics. It doesn't seem to have any end zone seating. No covered grandstands.
Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field
The multi-coloured seating areas look good.
Canad Inns Stadium
Of all the CFL stadiums, I think the grandstand rises highest in this stadium. Right beside the stadium is the Winnipeg Arena where the former Winnipeg Jets used to play.
Rogers Centre
Aside from the retractable roof, I think what's great about this stadium is that unlike other multipurpose stadiums, this stadium suits both football and baseball very well. There are many other stadiums that serve football and baseball, including its predecessor CNE Stadium, in which baseball viewers often complain about bad viewing angles. There are lots of banners to commemorate past championships and retired numbers of both the Argos and Blue Jays. And I believe this stadium has the most private suites.
Ivor Wynne Stadium
I don't know too much about this stadium, other than the fact that it has attracted large CIS crowds for the Vanier Cup. The black and yellow seating sections match the team colours. Also no covered grandstands.
Olympic and Molson Stadiums
Olympic Stadium doesn't really have a good reputation in Montreal as it has been dubbed The Big Owe. But given the choice, I'd still want to attend my first Alouettes game at Olympic Stadium over Molson Stadium.
Frank Clair Stadium at Lansdowne Park
I'll include this one as well. I'd say over the outdoor stadiums, this one has the biggest roof over one side of the grandstands. Looking at how far the roof extends over the grandstand, it must be a great architectural feat to design such a structure that can support an extremely massive weight.
--------
Of these stadiums, only the three indoor ones completely enclose the field with seats.
If you could see a CFL game at any one of these stadiums, which one would it be? And if you could replace BC Place with a stadium identical in design to any of these ones, which would it be?