Calgary to host 2026 Grey Cup festival

CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie, along with Robert Hayes, president and CEO of the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation, Jay McNeil, president of the Calgary Stampeders, Alberta Minister of Tourism and Sport Joseph Schow and Mayor Jyoti Gondek (L to R) speak at the announcement of Calgary winning its bid to host the 2026 Grey Cup championship and festival.

Calgary will host the 2026 Grey Cup championship, officials said Friday.

"You can never come here without feeling welcome," said CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie at Friday's announcement.

"It is my pleasure and honour to announce today on behalf of the Canadian Football League board of governors, our nine teams and the entire Canadian Football League family from coast-to-coast that the 2026 Grey Cup has been awarded to the Calgary Stampeders."

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The improvements to Stampede Park and the BMO Centre played a part in the city winning its bid to host the festival, officials said, adding that the Grey Cup party will go on there, while the game will take place at McMahon Stadium.

"The BMO Centre will be front-and-centre for the celebration," said president of the Calgary Stampeders, Jay McNeil, adding that it is an honour for the team.

"The Grey Cup is the biggest single-day sporting event in Canada, and we are excited and we are honoured to be the host of the 113th Grey Cup in 2026," he said.

"We have an opportunity to have an impact on our city, on our province, on our league and on the game of football. It's not just an opportunity, it's a responsibility."

In addition to music and football, McNeil said the Grey Cup rodeo will make a return in 2026.

"We're going to make it bigger and we're going to make it better."

Alberta's Minister of Tourism and Sport Joseph Schow said the Grey Cup festival will bring an estimated $50 million in investment to the City of Calgary and the province has pledged $4 million to help support that goal.

"I know with all my heart that Calgary is going to absolutely blow it out of the water in 2026," he said, adding that investment is important for the growth of sport in the city.

"As a kid, you get to watch sports on television and you look and think, 'one day, I could do that. One day, I could be on that field.' Maybe it happens or maybe it doesn't, but that excitement it creates gets kids and gets young adults playing and being active.

"As the minister of tourism and sport, that's my job."

McMahon Stadium will turn 66

Ambrosie has previously expressed concerns over the aging McMahon Stadium, which will be 66 years old by the time the Grey Cup festival starts at the BMO Centre.

In 2017, he called the building "terrible" and pledged to work with CSEC and other representatives to help fans with a "state-of-the-art place to come and watch world-class football."

Ambrosie also has memories of the facility from playing in the CFL, first for the Stampeders, followed by tenures as a member of the Toronto Argonauts and the then-named Edmonton Eskimos.

"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," he told CTV News at the time.

"I have fond memories but I don't think that's a reason to keep the stadium."

A fan descends the stairs at McMahon Stadium as the Toronto Argonauts play the Calgary Stampeders during second half CFL football action in Calgary, Monday, July 13, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

The stadium, which is owned by the University of Calgary and operated by the McMahon Stadium Society, was originally built in 1960 for $1.05 million.

It was expanded and renovated several times over the years and currently has a capacity of 35,400.

It's named after Frank and George McMahon, who contributed $300,000 to its construction.

It opened on Aug. 15, 1960, to host a game between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Calgary Stampeders. The Stampeders lost the match 38-23.