Empire Stadium (Vancouver)
The stadium in July 1954 | |
Interactive map of Empire Stadium | |
| Location | East Hastings Street, Vancouver |
|---|---|
| Owner | City of Vancouver |
| Capacity | 32,729 |
| Surface | Natural grass (1954–1969) Artificial turf (1970–1993) |
| Construction | |
| Opened | start 1954 |
| Demolished | 1993 |
| Tenants | |
| BC Lions (CFL) (1954–1982) Vancouver Whitecaps (NASL) (1974–1983) Vancouver Royals (USA/NASL) (1967–1968) | |
Empire Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium that stood at the Pacific National Exhibition site at Hastings Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Track and field and Canadian football, as well as soccer, rugby and musical events, were held at the stadium. The stadium was originally constructed for the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. The stadium (which sat 32,375 upon opening, but 30,229 after 1974) hosted both Elvis Presley and The Beatles. It saw most of its use as the home of the BC Lions of the CFL from 1954 to 1982, in which the venue also played host to the first Grey Cup game held west of Ontario in 1955. Empire Stadium also hosted the Grey Cup game in 1958, 1960, 1963, 1966, 1971, and 1974; seven times in total.