Ivor Wynne Stadium

Ivor Wynne Stadium (originally Civic Stadium) is a Canadian football stadium located at the corner of Balsam and Beechwood Avenues, two blocks west of Gage Avenue North in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The stadium was originally constructed in 1928 to host the 1930 British Empire Games, though playing fields had stood on the site since the city bought the land from a local farmer in 1913. The stadium, which currently seats 29,600 for football, has been the home of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL since 1950. The club's previous home had been the HAAA Grounds.

Construction history

The stadium consists of a large grandstand on one side of the field, with a small section curving around the end zone, and a separate grandstand on the opposite side of the field. The stadium was heavily rebuilt in 1970-71 and renamed for Ivor Wynne, the former chairman of the city Parks Board, in 1971. From 1971 to 1975, Ivor Wynne's 34,500 seats made it the largest stadium in the CFL.

Ivor Wynne was the second facility in Canada to use Astroturf, after Empire Stadium in Vancouver. In the 1980s, the west endzone bleachers were removed for the addition of a new scoreboard, dropping capacity to approximately 29,500. A subsequent retrofit of the north stand lower east section for handicapped access in the 1990s dropped capacity further to just under 29,000.

The stadium was renovated again after the 2002 football season and had a new AstroPlay playing surface...
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