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Today’s Ivor Wynne Stadium might look like something resembling a professional
football stadium, but such was not always the case.
The stadium was built in 1930, just a 2000 seat facility erected for the British Empire
Games. In 1950 the Hamilton Tiger Cats took up permanent residence in the stadium,
and by the late 50s new bleachers were added to the east side of the stadium to
increase capacity. Nonetheless, the venue still boasted a shabby appearance, so
much so that American TV networks refused to air games from Hamilton, and even the
traditional Argos-TiCats Labour Day Classic couldn’t get a decent airing.
So the city and the team engaged in yet another round of upgrades and renovations,
bringing seating capacity up to 30,000 seats; in the 90s new corporate boxes were
added, upgraded player facilities, upgraded sound system, all in time for the city to
host the 1996 Grey Cup. In 2004, the coup de grace was added to the stadium – the
largest outdoor video board in Canada and the fifth largest in North America. The
TigerVision board is clearly the jewel of the stadium.
Today’s Ivor Wynne Stadium is your quintessential neighborhood sporting venue.
Nestled among residential streets, a block away from the Barton Street commercial
district, and about a mile south of downtown, parking can be found wherever space
can be had – on the street, in vacant lots, on residents’ front lawns. The narrow streets
around the stadium are bustling with fans before the game, mixed in with street
vendors and musical entertainers.
The seating bowl here is mostly bench seating, save for chairbacks on the lower
sidelines. On the west side is the pressbox and suite tower, while the north end zone
below the TigerVision board are canopied corporate party tents. For an older venue,
concessions here aren’t too bad, offering such specialty items as Philly
cheesesteaks, a barbecue stand, and of course Canada’s mainstay “Pizza Pizza”.
The game we attended was the “Labour Day Classic” featuring the Ti-Cats vs their
arch rival Toronto Argonauts and the building was jam packed for the occasion. For
many Canadians, this represents the best football weekend of the year. Well, maybe
only after the Grey Cup or college football Vanier Cup. On Labour Day age old rivalries
play themselves out in packed stadiums and national television audiences.
Adding to this day was the quest by Toronto Argonauts quarterback Damon Allen to
become the most prolific passer in professional football history. He needed 165
passing yards to eclipse the record of 70,553 yards held by Warren Moon. Allen did
break the record in the second quarter, and the game was stopped so CFL
Commissioner Tom Wright could commemorate the moment. The fans for both teams
gave Allen a well deserved prolonged ovation.
Ivor Wynne Stadium has undergone many changes over the years, but the stadium
has remained true to the original vision of an outdoor stadium. In fact, it is one of the
few stadiums of its kind in North America and is a significant historical and cultural
landmark of Hamilton-Wentworth.
football stadium, but such was not always the case.
The stadium was built in 1930, just a 2000 seat facility erected for the British Empire
Games. In 1950 the Hamilton Tiger Cats took up permanent residence in the stadium,
and by the late 50s new bleachers were added to the east side of the stadium to
increase capacity. Nonetheless, the venue still boasted a shabby appearance, so
much so that American TV networks refused to air games from Hamilton, and even the
traditional Argos-TiCats Labour Day Classic couldn’t get a decent airing.
So the city and the team engaged in yet another round of upgrades and renovations,
bringing seating capacity up to 30,000 seats; in the 90s new corporate boxes were
added, upgraded player facilities, upgraded sound system, all in time for the city to
host the 1996 Grey Cup. In 2004, the coup de grace was added to the stadium – the
largest outdoor video board in Canada and the fifth largest in North America. The
TigerVision board is clearly the jewel of the stadium.
Today’s Ivor Wynne Stadium is your quintessential neighborhood sporting venue.
Nestled among residential streets, a block away from the Barton Street commercial
district, and about a mile south of downtown, parking can be found wherever space
can be had – on the street, in vacant lots, on residents’ front lawns. The narrow streets
around the stadium are bustling with fans before the game, mixed in with street
vendors and musical entertainers.
The seating bowl here is mostly bench seating, save for chairbacks on the lower
sidelines. On the west side is the pressbox and suite tower, while the north end zone
below the TigerVision board are canopied corporate party tents. For an older venue,
concessions here aren’t too bad, offering such specialty items as Philly
cheesesteaks, a barbecue stand, and of course Canada’s mainstay “Pizza Pizza”.
The game we attended was the “Labour Day Classic” featuring the Ti-Cats vs their
arch rival Toronto Argonauts and the building was jam packed for the occasion. For
many Canadians, this represents the best football weekend of the year. Well, maybe
only after the Grey Cup or college football Vanier Cup. On Labour Day age old rivalries
play themselves out in packed stadiums and national television audiences.
Adding to this day was the quest by Toronto Argonauts quarterback Damon Allen to
become the most prolific passer in professional football history. He needed 165
passing yards to eclipse the record of 70,553 yards held by Warren Moon. Allen did
break the record in the second quarter, and the game was stopped so CFL
Commissioner Tom Wright could commemorate the moment. The fans for both teams
gave Allen a well deserved prolonged ovation.
Ivor Wynne Stadium has undergone many changes over the years, but the stadium
has remained true to the original vision of an outdoor stadium. In fact, it is one of the
few stadiums of its kind in North America and is a significant historical and cultural
landmark of Hamilton-Wentworth.
IVOR
WYNNE
STADIUM
Hamilton,
Ontario
USRT VISIT:
September
4, 2006
Toronto
Argonauts
at
Hamilton
Tigercats
| Hamilton, Ontario |
Ivor Wynne Stadium
