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Tim Hortons Field

Coordinates: 43°15′7.612″N 79°49′48.359″W / 43.25211444°N 79.83009972°W / 43.25211444; -79.83009972
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Tim Hortons Field
Tim Hortons Field Exterior, 2015
Tim Hortons Field is located in Southern Ontario
Tim Hortons Field
Tim Hortons Field
Location in Ontario
Tim Hortons Field is located in Canada
Tim Hortons Field
Tim Hortons Field
Location in Canada
Address64 Melrose Avenue North
LocationHamilton, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates43°15′7.612″N 79°49′48.359″W / 43.25211444°N 79.83009972°W / 43.25211444; -79.83009972
Capacity23,218[1]
SurfaceFieldTurf Revolution
Construction
Broke groundNovember 2012[2][3]
OpenedSeptember 1, 2014
Construction cost$145.7 million[4]
Tenants
Hamilton Tiger-Cats (CFL) 2014–present
Hamilton Hurricanes (CJFL) 2014–present
Forge FC (CPL) 2019–present
Website
http://timhortonsfield.ca

Tim Hortons Field is a multi-purpose stadium in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.[5] Built as a replacement for Ivor Wynne Stadium, Tim Hortons Field is primarily used for Canadian football and soccer, and is the home of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League and Forge FC of the Canadian Premier League.[6] During the 2015 Pan American Games, it was referred to as CIBC Hamilton Pan Am Soccer Stadium.[7] The stadium opened in September 2014, two months after its original anticipated completion date of June 30, 2014.[8][9]

History

Stadium development

Initial plans for the stadium were for it to be a principal Pan American stadium for soccer and track and field/athletics events. However, disputes between the Tiger-Cats owner, Bob Young, the organizers of the 2015 Pan American Games, and the City of Hamilton arose over the location of the stadium,[10] among other things, including whether or not a running track should be built around the proposed stadium in Hamilton.

In 2012, the 2015 Pan-Am organizers indicated that, due to financial constraints, they would be shifting their focus toward venues and "clusters" that could be used for multiple events, which might eliminate the need for a new stadium that would be used only for soccer, and they proposed another stadium on the campus of York University, tentatively named York Athletics Stadium, to host the track and field events. That, coupled with a scheduling process that had soccer and rugby sevens events on different days (thus opening the possibility that Toronto's BMO Field, which would house the rugby sevens contests in 2015 might also be able to host the soccer contests), had the potential to put the Hamilton stadium project in jeopardy. Nonetheless, the Hamilton stadium project went forward as planned.

In July 2013, it was announced that Tim Hortons, the international restaurant chain that originated in Hamilton some fifty years earlier, had acquired naming rights to the stadium.[11]

Construction and opening

The new stadium was constructed in 2013 and into early-mid 2014 on the site of the former Ivor Wynne Stadium, which was demolished in the process, and it opened for Canadian Football League (CFL) football in late 2014. The stadium currently seats approximately 24,000 spectators for Canadian football, with expansion potential to boost capacity to more than 40,000 seats for special events (such as hosting a Grey Cup contest) in the future.[12] The design of the new stadium also increased the width of the field to accommodate soccer games by meeting FIFA's international standards for association football pitches; reoriented the playing field from east–west to a north–south orientation; increased the seat width and leg room/corridor space to make it one of the most spacious among Canadian sports venues; incorporated extensive wireless communications infrastructure and washroom facilities; as well as adding luxury boxes, and other modern amenities. The stadium field surface is FIFA- and CFL-approved artificial turf.[12]

The CFL's Toronto Argonauts played two home games at Tim Hortons Field in 2015, due to clashes with the MLB's Toronto Blue Jays playoffs games. The stadium has also occasionally hosted special games for Hamilton's amateur football teams; the Hamilton Hurricanes of the Canadian Junior Football League played a game in the stadium in 2015[13] and the McMaster Marauders football team played its 2016 Labour Day contest at the field in a doubleheader with the Tiger-Cats.[14] The Hurricanes returned to the field twice in 2017, the latter being its own Labour Day contest.[15]

In January 2015, U Sports awarded Tim Hortons Field hosting rights to the 52nd and 53rd Vanier Cup, held in November 2016 and November 2017 respectively.[16]

Forge FC, a new soccer team owned by the Tiger-Cats, have played at the stadium in the Canadian Premier League since 2019.[17] During the 2019 season, Tim Hortons Field hosted the first ever CPL match in April,[18] and the first ever CPL Finals match in October.[19]

Notable sporting events hosted

Date Team 1 Score Team 2 Event Attendance
July 11–26, 2015 32 matches Pan-Am Games soccer N/A
November 26, 2016 Laval Rouge et Or 31–26 Calgary Dinos 52nd Vanier Cup 7,115
June 24, 2017  Canada 28–28 United States  Rugby World Cup qualification match 13,138
November 25, 2017 Western Mustangs 39–17 Laval Rouge et Or 53rd Vanier Cup 10,754
April 27, 2019 Forge FC 1–1 York9 FC Inaugural Canadian Premier League match 17,611

Construction issues

Since the stadium opened in 2014 there have been numerous issues regarding the quality of the construction. The City of Hamilton has spent upwards of $2.5 million in fixes and safety repairs [20] including: replacing rain-damaged television screens and faulty baby-changing tables, installing draft beer lines, improving ventilation, sealing leaky expansion joints and repairing faulty floor drains.[21]

See also

References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ "Construction begins on $45M stadium for Toronto Pan Am Games". National Post. November 20, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
  3. ^ "Pan/Parapan News". Pan/Parapan American Games. Government of Ontario. June 7, 2013. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
  4. ^ "Goodbye Ivor Wynne, hello Tim Hortons Field". TheSpec.com. July 12, 2013. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  5. ^ [2] Archived November 9, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Steve Milton (January 29, 2019). "Hamilton's Forge FC will host league inaugural game at Tim Hortons Field". Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  7. ^ "CIBC Hamilton Pan Am Soccer Stadium". Toronto2015.org. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  8. ^ "Tim Hortons Field finally finished, but Hamilton officials low-key". Chch.com. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  9. ^ "The high cost of Pan Am: What legacy will Hamilton's new stadium leave behind?". Theglobeandmail.com. Retrieved September 10, 2017 – via The Globe and Mail.
  10. ^ "Ticats have no interest in playing at West Harbour". Tsn.ca. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
  11. ^ "New Hamilton stadium to be called Tim Hortons Field". TheSpec.com. July 11, 2013. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
  12. ^ a b "Hamilton Pan Am Soccer Stadium Q&A's" (PDF). hamilton.ca. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 12, 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  13. ^ "The path less travelled: From CJFL to CFL – Hamilton Tiger-Cats". ticats.ca. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  14. ^ "Ticats partner with Mac to supersize Labour Day". 3downnation.com. May 3, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  15. ^ "TIGER-CATS TO HOST TWO HAMILTON HURRICANES GAMES AT TIM HORTONS FIELD – Hamilton Tiger-Cats". ticats.ca. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  16. ^ CIS football: Hamilton to host Vanier Cup in 2016 and 2017 from Canadian Interuniversity Sport, January 18, 2015, retrieved 2016-01-18.
  17. ^ Milton, Steve (November 15, 2016). "New Canadian pro soccer league makes major hire". The Record.
  18. ^ Zamperin, Rick (April 27, 2019). "New Canadian Premier League kicks off in Hamilton". Global News. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  19. ^ Molinaro, John (October 26, 2019). "HIGHLIGHTS: Borges, Carducci shine in red-card laden Leg 1 tilt (EN/FR)". Canadian Premier League. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  20. ^ "Tim Hortons Field needs more repairs: Hamilton councillor". 900 CHML. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  21. ^ "City of Hamilton on the hook for another $500k in stadium repairs". 3DownNation. May 10, 2017. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
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