During his state of the league address ahead of the 105th Grey Cup Championship, Canadian Football League commissioner Randy Ambrosie expressed his concerns with the fact McMahon Stadium is well past its prime.
“I think it’s terrible,” said Ambrosie on Friday morning in Ottawa. “I think we need to find a solution to that problem and I’ll do anything I can to work with Ken King and the Calgary organization to press for a solution because I think our fans need a state of the art place to come and watch world class football.”
Ambrosie has fond memories of the stadium dating back to his playing days in the 1980s as an offensive lineman for the Stampeders, as well as his time spent on the opposing sideline with the Toronto Argonauts and Edmonton Eskimos, but says nostalgia shouldn’t stand in the way of progress.
“I happen to like (McMahon Stadium) because I can go in there and go to the locker I sat in for the '93 Grey Cup,” said Ambrosie. “I have fond memories but I don't think that's a reason to keep the stadium.”
Ambrosie adds the Stampeders have been the best team in the CFL over the last 20 or so seasons and says the organization and its fans deserve a world class facility.
McMahon Stadium, which was constructed in 1960, is owned by the University of Calgary and operated by the McMahon Stadium Society.
Steve Allan, the chairman of the society, says there have been numerous discussions on potential renovations to the building to improve the fan experience but the upgrades would likely cost between $25 million and $100 million.
With files from CTV’s Glenn Campbell
