Saputo Stadium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Saputo Stadium | |
|---|---|
| Location | Montreal, Quebec |
| Broke ground | April 18, 2007 |
| Opened | May 21, 2008 |
| Closed | n/a |
| Owner | |
| Operator | Impact Soccer |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction cost | $14.1M Cdn. |
| Architect | Zinno Zappitelli Architectes |
| Tenants | L'Impact de Montreal (USL-1) (2008- ) |
| Capacity |
|
Stade Saputo (English: Saputo Stadium) is a soccer-specific stadium in Montreal, Quebec, Canada which opened on May 21, 2008, and is the current home of L'Impact de Montréal (English:Montreal Impact). The stadium is built on the former practice track and field site on the grounds of the 1976 Summer Olympics, while the stadia's west side has a view of Olympic Stadium's incline tower. Stade Saputo holds around 13,000 people and can be expand to 20,000 in the future for possible Major League Soccer expansion plans. Its main tenant is L'Impact, partially owned by the Quebec company Saputo. The stadium is named after the Saputo family, not the company, and is the second largest soccer specific stadium in Canada after BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario.
Built by Broccolini Construction Inc., the Impact played their first home game at their new home on May 19, 2008, a scoreless draw against the Vancouver Whitecaps.
The Canadian Soccer Association initially announced that the first international at Saputo Stadium will be the second leg of Canada's second stage CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying match on June 20, 2008. [2] However with the reversal of the order of legs, the match in Saputo stadium is now to take place on June 15, 2008.
Stade Saputo cost $14.1 million CAD, with one-half of the cost paid by the Saputo family, and the rest coming from other private sector contributions. Stade Saputo is now the L'Impact's administrative headquarters and also includes a training field, 20 corporate boxes and full player welfare areas. The complex covers approximately 1.6 million square feet. While it currently used a majority of the time by L'Impact, other local teams will also be allowed to play there.
If, as is expected that L'Impact gain entry into MLS, there are plans to expand Stade Saputo from the existing 13,000 capacity to 20,000 to cope with the anticipated boost in attendances. The plans would cost around $12m.[1]
The first goal scored at Saputo Stadium was by Toronto FC's Marco Velez on May 27th, 2008 during the innuagaral match of the 2008 Canadian Championship.
| Preceded by Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard 1993—2007 |
Home of the Montreal Impact 2008—present |
Succeeded by current |
[edit] External links
|
|||||
 |
This Montreal-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 |
This article about a sports venue in Canada is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
