TD Stadium

TD Stadium is an 8,000-seat Canadian football stadium located on the campus of the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. It is home to the Western Mustangs football team and is one of the largest stadiums in the OUA provincial conference.[6] It was built in 2000[2] at a cost of approximately $10.65 million by Norlon Builders London Ltd and designed by Stantec Consulting Ltd.[3][5]

This article is about the Canadian football stadium in London, Ontario. For the stadium in Ottawa, see TD Place Stadium.
TD Stadium
Former namesTD Waterhouse Stadium[1]
LocationLondon, Ontario
OwnerUniversity of Western Ontario
OperatorUniversity of Western Ontario
Capacity8,000[2]
SurfaceFieldTurf
ScoreboardYes
Construction
Broke groundSeptember 28, 1999[3]
OpenedSeptember 16, 2000[4]
Renovated2007
Construction cost$10.65 million[3]
ArchitectStantec Consulting Ltd.[5]
Main contractorsNorlon Builders London Ltd.[3]
Tenants
Western Mustangs (U Sports): 2000–present
FC London (USL PDL): 2009–2013
London Beefeaters (CJFL) 2000–present
London Silverbacks (NAFL): 2004–2008

The stadium was built as a replacement for the former JW Little Stadium, which held its last game in 1999 before demolition. JW Little Stadium had been on Western's campus since 1929.[4] The stadium was opened on September 16, 2000 when the first Western Mustangs home game was played.[7]

During the request for sponsorship funding, the Canadian-owned bank TD Canada Trust gave $1.5 million[8] towards the stadium construction. Originally named the TD Waterhouse Stadium,[9] the name was changed in 2013 to reflect new branding for TD.[1]

In addition to the Western Mustangs, the stadium is also home to the London Beefeaters, who are part of the Canadian Junior Football League.[10]

In spring 2009, the newly formed FC London of the USL Premier Development League began playing their home games at TD Stadium.

Facility

The stadium has a regulation CFL Canadian football sized field (110 yards by 65 yards) made out of FieldTurf. Surrounding the field is an 8-lane, 400-metre Mondo rubber track. The seating has two separate grandstands with a total capacity for 8,000. During large games, the stadium can accommodate 10,000 additional standing spectators.[2]

In addition to the track, the facility also as multiple long jump sand pits, javelin and a discus circle.

The main building is known as the JW Little building and houses the players changing rooms, the Michael Kirkley Training Centre, coaching offices, as well as a lounge and terrace.[2]

Renovations

In summer 2007, the AstroTurf was replaced by FieldTurf at a cost of approximately $1 million.[11]

The 100-metre sprint straightaway and long jump pit were refurbished in preparation for the Ontario Summer Games in August 2018. The cost for this was $100,000.[12] This refurbishment was a temporary fix and the entire stadium track surface will be undergoing full resurfacing in early 2020 to prepare for the 2020 Ontario Summer Games.[12][13]

Notable events

The stadium hosts a number of events outside of the university. Every year, local London public schools through the Thames Valley School Board use the facilities often to host track and field events.[14] The stadium also hosts local London high school football games known as Red Feather games, in which local senior high school football teams play their first game of the season.

TD Stadium was used as the main venue for the 2001 Canada Summer Games.[15]

In 2002, the stadium was used for an exhibition CFL game between the Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats[16] which was a sellout at 9,178 fans.

The stadium was the host of the 2004 Men's Pan American Cup for the men's international field hockey championship.[17]

In 2006, the stadium hosted the 2006 World Lacrosse Championship and the game attendance was 7,735.[18]

London hosted the 2010 Canadian Special Olympics and the stadium became one of a number of venues across the city.[19]

In the summer of 2018, the TD Stadium was the main venue for the 2018 Ontario Summer Games.[20] The stadium will again be the main venue for the 2020 Ontario Summer Games,[21] being held in London for the second time in a row.

References
  1. University, Department of Communications and Public Affairs, Western (2013-08-27). "Western University and TD announce new name for stadium". Media Relations. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  2. "TD Stadium". Western Mustangs Sports. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  3. Intini, John (September 24, 1999). "Stadium receives backing". Western Gazette.
  4. "JP Metras Sports Museum". www.lib.uwo.ca. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  5. Valeriote, Jeremy (2010-05-01), TD Waterhouse Stadium, retrieved 2020-03-02
  6. Clarke, Charlie O'Connor. "How does TD Stadium stack up?". The Gazette • Western University's Student Newspaper. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  7. "WESTERN INDUCTS THIRD CLASS OF FOOTBALL GREATS - Ontario University Athletics (OUA)". oua.ca. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  8. "MacCulloch, Nash look back at where careers got started". The Globe and Mail. 2001-08-09. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  9. August 27, Free Press Staff Updated:; 2013 (2013-08-27). "Western University's TD Waterhouse Stadium renamed | The London Free Press". Retrieved 2020-03-02.CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. "LONDON BEEFEATERS 2019 SCHEDULE".
  11. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/OtherSports/2007/06/19/4272720-sun.html
  12. June 19, Ryan Pyette Updated:; 2018 (2018-06-20). "Makeover of TD Stadium's track begins — but finish line far away | The London Free Press". Retrieved 2020-03-02.CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. "About | London 2020 Ontario Summer Games". www.london2020.ca. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  14. "Track & Field – Thames Valley Regional Athletics". Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  15. "Canada Games Council - Past Games". www.canadagames.ca. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  16. "The Official Site of the Canadian Football League as powered by SLAM! Sports". web.archive.org. 2002-10-20. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  17. "PAHF - 2nd Pan American Cup - Men". www.panamhockey.org. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  18. "Activity Workshop - Lacrosse World Cup 2006 - Reports 22 July 2006". activityworkshop.net. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  19. "Canadian Special Olympics to be hosted by London, Ont. in July 2010". CP24. 2009-04-10. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  20. "2018 Ontario Summer Games". Athletics Ontario. 2017-10-06. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  21. "London to host back-to-back Ontario Summer Games in 2018 and 2020". 980 CFPL. Retrieved 2020-03-02.

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