Swangard Stadium

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Swangard Stadium
Whitecaps Arena
Location 3883 Imperial Street,
Burnaby, BC, Canada
Coordinates 49°13′51″N 123°01′17″W / 49.23083°N 123.02139°W / 49.23083; -123.02139Coordinates: 49°13′51″N 123°01′17″W / 49.23083°N 123.02139°W / 49.23083; -123.02139
Opened 1969
Owner City of Burnaby
Surface Natural grass
Capacity 5,288[1]
Field dimensions 115x75 yds (soccer)
150x65 yds (Canadian football)
Tenants
Vancouver 86ers (1987–2000), Whitecaps (2001–2010):
(CSL) (1987–1992), (APSL) (1993–1996), (USL) (1997–2009), (NASL) (2010)
Simon Fraser University Clan (1969–2007)

Swangard Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Central Park in Burnaby, British Columbia. Primarily used for soccer, football, and athletics, the stadium also used to be home to the Simon Fraser Clan football team and the Vancouver Whitecaps while they were in the Canadian Soccer League (CSL) and various US-based Division 2 leagues. It opened on April 26, 1969,[1] and has a capacity of 5,288.[1]

History

In 1969, Vancouver Sun sports journalist Erwin Swangard raised nearly $1 million for the construction of an athletic stadium in Central Park in Burnaby, British Columbia.[2][3] BC Premier W. A. C. Bennett officially named the stadium after Swangard at its opening on April 26, 1969.[4] Swangard was not present on the day of the opening, however, having been sent to start a newspaper in Nigeria.[5]

Sports

Vancouver Whitecaps

The city of Vancouver launched a professional soccer team in 1986, named the Vancouver 86ers (now known as the Whitecaps). The Canadian Soccer League (CSL) club began playing in 1987 and made Swangard Stadium their home pitch. The stadium served its last season as the Whitecaps' home in 2010, as the club joined Major League Soccer (MLS) in 2011. As Swangard does not meet MLS standards for capacity, the City of Burnaby initially proposed to keep the team in Burnaby by renovating the stadium and expanding its capacity to 20,000 seats. This plan, however, fell through, and the Whitecaps eventually decided they wanted to move to a new, larger soccer-specific home at the Whitecaps Waterfront Stadium. Currently the Whitecaps are playing at BC Place Stadium and president of the organisation, Bob Lenarduzzi has stated the club intends to stay at BC Place for the time being and plans for a new stadium are all on hold.

International events

The stadium's capacity was temporarily increased to 10,000 for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. In the past, it has hosted home games for the Canadian men's and women's soccer teams in Olympic and World Cup qualifying. In some cases, crowds in excess of 10,000 have witnessed games, with many of the fans standing. Swangard has also been the host stadium of the FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship.

Other events

Swangard Stadium is used very frequently for track and field meets in the Lower Mainland.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Swangard Stadium - Home of your Whitecaps". Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Retrieved 2009-10-16. 
  2. ↑ "The History of Metropoiltan Vancouver - 1969 Chronology". Retrieved 2009-10-16. 
  3. ↑ "O.B.C. Biography - Erwin Michael Swangard". Government of British Columbia. Retrieved 2009-10-16. 
  4. ↑ "Official Report of Debates of the Legislative Assembly". Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Retrieved 2009-10-16. 
  5. ↑ "Swangard Stadium". Vancouver Yellow Pages. 2009-05-15. Retrieved 2009-10-16. 

External links

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