[Barnaby]

To bring Commonwealth closer to modern stadium standards the seats need to be brought closer to the field somehow. This is probably prohibitively expensive. The design of the stadium is an architectural blunder imo, and very little can be done to improve the atmosphere. Being twice as far from the field as virtually every other stadium in the country is a huge problem. I have no idea what they were thinking when it was designed.

 

[IanO]

^track and field and multi-purpose... remember it was built for the Commonwealth Games, not the Esks.

 

[Barnaby]

^track and field and multi-purpose... remember it was built for the Commonwealth Games, not the Esks.

Fair enough, but the north endzone and corners were grass. Decisions were made at the time of expansion of the lower and upper bowl.

Personally I think the best option is a complete demo of the north end, rebuild it like Winnipeg or Sask, close to the endzone. The demo of the upper deck corners that were installed in the 1980s would also be nice to bring capacity down.

 

[BASE]

If you are going to renovate instead of building new then do it correctly. Expand the concourse and bring seats closer to the field would be atop my list of priorities.

 

[Gronk!]

Another high priority is replacing the artificial turf with real grass. I wish SRCers, the Elks and the City would realize this.

 

[Glenco]

^track and field and multi-purpose... remember it was built for the Commonwealth Games, not the Esks.

Etihad Stadium was Original built for the commonwealth games and is now a very successful football stadium

City of Manchester Stadium - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[David A]

I feel the decline in attendance to the Elks/Esks football games in recent years has everything to do with team performance, other related team related issues and nothing to do with the stadium itself.

 

[Barnaby]

I feel the decline in attendance to the Elks/Esks football games in recent years has everything to do with team performance, other related team related issues and nothing to do with the stadium itself.

Somewhat true, but I think many are underestimating it. The stadium is bad for field sports. I encourage you to go to a Winnipeg and Edmonton game back to back. I did that on a weekend a while back and it slapped me in the face.

The crowd also reflects the more bar style layout of Winnipeg's stadium compared to Edmonton.

We talk about great venues on this forum all the time, which is why something like MB with its plaza has been so loved. It's not a stretch to suggest that stadiums very directly determine the desirability of tickets. Stadiums are a place.

I don't visit coffee shops next to freeways.