New Winnipeg Stadium News Release September 21, 2011 Virtual Venue Demo The future home of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the University of Manitoba Bisons football team is scheduled to open the summer of 2012 on the campus of the University of Manitoba. The stadium will be capable of hosting large-scale, sports and entertainment events as well as more intimate gatherings. Seating capacity will be 33,500, with the ability of the stadium to expand to more than 40,000 seats. Of the many amenities Thompson highlighted, the stadium will feature two 30-feet high by 110-feet wide video boards. All washrooms will be audio-equipped and 250 video monitors throughout the stadium will ensure no plays are missed. There will be twice as many washrooms than the current facility, 28 in all and split evenly between men’s and women’s. All washrooms will be wheelchair accessible. Six elevators, more leg room and a larger, modern design will offer overall a much more pleasant stadium experience. “We are hitting affordability, comfort and accessibility on all levels, including an expanded family section, a design that provides fans with the convenience of a main-concourse level entry, and price points for every Manitoban,” Thompson said. “Our introductory price point for season tickets is just $17.90 per game. This was the most important decision we made – fair pricing for fans and the community.” Thompson also provided updates on premium seating sales at the new stadium. “Based on the continued strong backing of our corporate community partners, we are announcing today that the full inventory of 46 luxury suites, the two suite level Blue & Gold Suites and the 100-level loges are sold out. At this time, interested parties can be added to a waiting list at pseat@bluebombers.com.” Ossama AbouZeid, WFC Interim CEO, spoke about the stadium construction site at the University of Manitoba. “I’m very pleased to announce that construction for Stadium 2012 is on target and on budget,” AbouZeid said. “We look forward to opening a first-class facility next summer that will make Manitobans and Winnipeggers proud.” View without roof Stadium Facts - Total seating capacity is 33,500 seats, with the ability for the new stadium to expand to 40,000 for major events, including Grey Cup and other major international events and concerts. - The stadium has a sunken bowl design, where the playing field dips into the ground 25 feet below the main concourse. - Two 30-feet high by 110-feet wide video boards - one behind each end zone. - Over 250 video monitors throughout the stadium. - There will be six elevators. - There will be 28 washrooms - which is 50% more than in the current stadium. - All washrooms will be wheelchair accessible. - The new stadium will be smoke-free. - All of our seats will have additional leg room compared to the current stadium - approximately 100% more legroom. - All seats will be outfitted with cup holders. - All stairways and aisles will have handrails for safety and ease of use. - There will be a 4,000-square foot feature retail store that will be open year-round.
If they can put down a nice pitch without the gridiron lines it would make a nice spot for a NASL club.
Bombers announce update on Investors Group Field BlueBombers.com Staff February 27, 2012 WINNIPEG -- The Winnipeg Football Club announced today an update on the construction and the opening of Investors Group Field. “As we all know, construction of a major facility is dependent on many different factors,” said Jim Bell, Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. “We were given a comprehensive construction overview last week, and were advised that the construction team has lost over 60 days due to weather. While we are enjoying mild temperatures, high winds have hampered the very dangerous work associated with the erection of the partial roof canopy. Workplace safety is of foremost importance and we support our construction team’s decisions as to when it’s safe to operate the cranes and when it is not. In light of this information, we will play our preseason game on June 20 at Canad Inns Stadium, and plan to open the regular season at Investors Group Field on July 26.” The July 26 date is dependent on a milestone being met in early May. “I can assure people that our construction team is working around the clock to make this time up with whatever resources are necessary, and to meet the dates required,” said Ossama AbouZeid, Stadium Project Manager. “We are asking our fans to bear with us as we work through this process. We are focused thoroughly on giving our fans the best and complete game day atmosphere and experience possible. With that in mind, we are hoping that with our preseason game being held at historic Canad Inns Stadium, and our first four games on the road to the start the regular season, we will be in a position to open Investors Group Field on July 26,” said Bell. As the organization continues its season ticket allocation program, season ticket holders for 2012 will be credited the difference to equal the value of the 2011 preseason game ticket.
New season, same old stadium Sources confirm Bombers won't be moving until September Bruce Owen Winnipeg Free Press The Winnipeg Blue Bombers won't play in their new stadium at the University of Manitoba until September at the earliest, sources confirmed Thursday. Under a timeline now being looked at by the CFL club, the first game in the new 33,500-seat Investors Group Field will be played after Labour Day. But what wasn't confirmed is if it will be the Banjo Bowl the week after or a later game on the September schedule. What the football club is looking at is how much it has to do to get Canad Inns Stadium ready to host at least four regular-season games, including the home opener against Edmonton on July 26, before the switch to the new stadium. The team's revised game plan also involves looking at how it will accommodate fans who've paid more to upgrade their season tickets in the new stadium. Spokesmen for the Bombers said the club will update its fans as early as May 1 on its stadium and seating plans. The team has indicated it does have a contingency plan in place to host regular-season games at Canad Inns Stadium for the 2012 season. "They must be tearing their hair out over at the Bomber office," 30-year-season-ticket holder Lynda MacIntosh said. "What a mess to reassign people seats and then maybe to even switch over. It might just be better to play the whole season at the old stadium and then start fresh next year, but that would cause all kinds of howling, I'm sure." Confusion over when the first game will be played in the new stadium resurfaced last week when Mayor Sam Katz told a city television station he understood the Bombers would not be playing in it until September. Hours later, he told the Free Press the July 26 opening was still on track. Katz, referring to a conversation he had with Bombers CEO Garth Buchko, told Global News the new facility at the U of M would not be ready for the home opener against the Eskimos. In a subsequent interview with the Free Press, Katz said the stadium is slated to open July 26, a date the football club said it was working toward. The Bombers originally said the $190-million facility would be ready by the June 20 opening-day exhibition game, but in February pushed it back to July 26 when they said the stadium was two months behind schedule. Now it's even further behind schedule, mostly because of construction delays due to wind; moving beams into place can't be done safely in windy conditions. At the same time, workers can't be underneath when the stadium's upper structure is being placed by cranes. Contractors have also complained about delays in getting around the tight construction site as it can take excessive amounts of time to transfer workers and equipment from the main access point to areas where work is being done. Work on the west-side canopy still has a long way to go and, even to the uneducated eye, it's easy to see it will take the equivalent of a construction Hail Mary to get the job done in time for even a few home games. Ten-year season-ticket holder Ron Cantiveros said the easiest thing for the Bombers to do is to issue two sets of tickets to season-ticket holders. "Give me two sets of tickets, one for my old seats in the old stadium and one for my new seats in the new stadium and whenever the switch-over happens it happens," he said. What could pose problems is the higher ticket price many fans have paid for their new stadium seats, but will find themselves still sitting in their old stadium seats for at least one pre-season game and four regular-season games. Cantiveros said the Bombers could apply the difference to playoff games, discounts on Bombers merchandise or to 2013 season tickets. "It'd be in their best interest to keep the cash in," he said, adding no matter what happens, he'll still be in the stands. "A season-ticket holder is a season-ticket holder. I don't think we're too finicky, at least I'm not. We're in it for the long term. I'm a bit disappointed in the schedule, but it's nothing the Bombers could do."
Update Video: Exclusive look inside Investors Group Field The project manager overseeing construction of Investors Group Field gives an exclusive update on the progress at the future home of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Lucky season ticket holders try out seats at Investors Group Field Three long-time season ticket holders got an exclusive tour of Investors Group Field that included a chance to sit in their seats, which were recently installed.
Now can you imagine, they are saying Regina's stadium will have more amenities and a more substantial spectator roof. We've got to find a way to get the NTs into those stadiums for the big games. The roof echo from the Saskatchewan fans would be deafening. Can a mod change the name of the Mosaic stadium thread to New Regina Stadium
New stadium nearly done City's long-awaited football shrine likely finished in November Bartley Kives Winnipeg Free Press 08/25/2012 The west side of the new stadium is seen Thursday from an entranceway in the existing University Stadium. The completion of the new facility's playing surface is the next big job. PHIL HOSSACK/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS There's no "mission accomplished" banner flying over Investors Group Field just yet, but the construction of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' new home is now expected to wrap in November. The $190-million football stadium at the University of Manitoba should be substantially completed between Nov. 1 and Nov. 15, officials with the Winnipeg Football Club said this week. While that's too late for the 2012 Canadian Football League season, the new stadium should be finished in time for the Bombers to vacate Canad Inns Stadium this year and be ready for 2013 in their new home, said Garth Buchko, president and CEO of the football club, and Ossama AbouZeid, the stadium's project manager and a member of the Winnipeg Football Club's board of directors. With the east-side stands essentially finished and the west side nearing completion, one of the last major components remaining is the construction of the playing surface, a job expected to begin on Sept. 18 and wrap up by Oct. 15, weather permitting, AbouZeid said. The job involves laying down 60 centimetres of gravel on the playing surface, covering it with 15 cm of rubber pellets and then laying down carpet-like artificial turf on top. Only a disaster will prevent this from getting done early this fall, AbouZeid said. "To me, a disaster would be if we don't get the field in in October. I don't want to spend the whole winter worrying about the stadium," he said. Even if Winnipeg experiences a freak early-season blizzard, contractor Stuart Olson Dominion Construction will heat the surface of the new stadium to allow the field to be built during the winter, AbouZeid added. Along with completing the stands and filling in the field, workers plan to spend the next three weeks finishing administrative offices and several weeks completing luxury suites and the west-side dressing rooms, AbouZeid said. Most of the work should wrap up by Nov. 1 and all but small jobs will be finished by Nov. 15, he said. Concessions and information-technology systems will be installed early in 2013, Buchko added. After prematurely announcing the stadium would be ready in time for the 2012 season, the club president was hesitant to say the goal-line is near. "I'll never guarantee anything anymore, when I'm told it's going to be done. Until I see the turf and I can walk on it, I'll believe it will be completed then," Buchko said. "I've been bit too often the last six months of this job." One of the tasks still facing the stadium project manager is coming up with a way to ensure the concert capacity of the stadium is as large as possible. In order to attract the largest touring concerts, the new stadium needs to be able to house 35,000 to 45,000 fans, Buchko said. The stadium design does not allow more than 6,000 or 7,000 concertgoers on the field level to quickly exit the venue, according to building codes, AbouZeid said. In an effort to get that number closer to 10,000, the club is working with True North Sports & Entertainment vice-president Kevin Donnelly and city building-code experts to come up with a solution that may involve the use of temporary stairs to allow fans off the field during concerts, said AbouZeid and Buchko. Revenue from touring concerts is crucial for the Winnipeg Football Club, which is expected to begin making the first of its annual $4-million stadium-loan repayments to the province in 2013. The province has fronted at least $160 million of the $190-million price tag for the venue. To pay back the loan, the Winnipeg Football Club is expected to raise $85 million plus interest over the next 40 years from luxury boxes, naming rights, entertainment taxes, facility fees and special events. The rest of the loan -- $75 million, plus interest -- will be covered by new city and provincial property taxes flowing from the redevelopment of the Canad Inns Stadium site, which has been sold to Polo Park mall owner Cadillac Fairview and Winnipeg developer Shindico. U.S. retailer Target is a potential anchor tenant at the new development. A provincial grant of $22.5 million and a $7.5-million city of Winnipeg grant will cover the remainder of the stadium's construction cost. A looming legal dispute over construction delays between the contractor and a structural-steel subcontractor will not affect the overall project cost or the Winnipeg Football Club's ongoing business plan, Buchko said.
New Bombers stadium impresses ROSS ROMANIUK, QMI Agency WINNIPEG - It has spacious seats, five acres of roof and Canada’s largest and highest arch trusses spanning 190 metres, about 200 feet above the ground. And what appears to be an alarmingly tiny press box. Those are some of the early reviews on Investors Group Field, as the next home stadium of the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers was given a close look by tour groups on Thursday while it remained under construction. “The video screens are 123 feet by 20 feet, and high-definition. They’re state-of-the-art, and will really enhance the viewing of the games,” Mike Klynes, project manager with Stuart Olson Dominion Construction, told a group of mostly University of Manitoba alumni touring the complex as part of a homecoming week at the campus. “When you’re standing here and hear the roar of the crowd, all you have to do is look over your shoulder to see the play. And every other column in the facility, on the upper concourse and lower, has two high-definition video screens for while you’re walking.” Klynes added an impressive sound system and structural acoustics will enhance the fans’ football experience “when you’re in here rooting for, hopefully, our winning team.” The comment prompted chuckles from the crowd. Brett Sylvester and Ken Burns, co-owners of All-Star Tours and Bomber season ticket-holders, said they’re eager to get into what they described as the “nice, big” seats when the team begins play at the Fort Garry campus facility next year. “There’s not a bad seat in the house. Fans are going to love it,” Burns said. Sylvester added it’s “wide open, with a lot of access to everything.” About the only shortcoming Burns could see is its approximately 33,500 seats — a capacity he said should have been 40,000 to “think about the other generation” of Bombers fans to come. The approximately $200-million stadium’s completion appears quite a ways off while major work continues on its structure, field level and grandstands. While news cameras kept watch on visitors touring the site, some reporters wondered aloud whether the stadium’s press box is going to be able to accommodate enough media crews for Blue Bombers games. It appears far too small in its frontage facing the field.
Mike Clynes from Stuart Olson Dominion gives an update on construction progress at Investors Group Field. September 14, 2012
The stadium is looking great; too bad the Bombers have been a disaster on the field this year. I'm a little concerned about the ability of the Winnipeg Football Club to pay back the province. I know it's far too late but a roof should have been part of the design it could have opened up the stadium to more concerts and events over the winter months. Oh well, I haven't lived in the Peg for 6 years but hope to back at some point to see a game in the new stadium. When it comes to the Canadian style of football I will always bleed Blue and Gold for the Bombers and Brown and Gold for my old Alma mater Bisons.
Does anyone know if its possible for the "temporary" expansion to 40k to become permanent? The only limiting factor I can think of is safely regulations. Long term I hope its something they've considered.
definitely the best looking new Canadian football and soccer grounds. watching soccer on a grid is fugly but i wouldn't envision the large size as an issue for a possible NASL club. practically, all they have to do is not sell upper level seats. corporately, all the NASL bigwigs are going to care about is how good the facility is, and it seems great.