Percival Molson Memorial Stadium

History

Construction began in 1914 at the intersection of University and Pine, but the stadium remained unused through World War I because football was suspended from 1914 to 1918. Captain Percival Molson, a McGill alumnus and standout athlete who played a key role in getting the stadium project approved, died in combat in France on July 5, 1917. His estate gave $75,000 to the university, covering most of the remaining construction costs. William C. Macdonald and John W. McConnell also contributed funds for building and later renovations.

Architect Percy Erskine Nobbs designed the venue, which was first called "McGill Graduates' Stadium" during a track meet on October 22, 1915. The university's Board of Governors renamed it Percival Molson Memorial Stadium on October 25, 1919. The Montreal Alouettes called it home from 1954 to 1967, then left for the Autostade. A 1972 attempt to return fizzled, and the team moved back to the Autostade the next year.

In 1997, a U2 concert forced the revived Alouettes to shift a playoff game out of Olympic Stadium; they played at Molson Stadium to a sellout crowd, which led them to make it their primary home again in 1998. The only Grey Cup game held there was in 1931, the first time the championship was played outside Ontario. The stadium also hosted field hockey during the 1976 Summer Olympics. It had a capacity of 20,202 and sold out every Alouettes game from August 12, 1999 until 2009.

A renovation starting in 2009 raised capacity above 25,000, but seats were removed in 2014 to bring it down to 23,420. Another reconfiguration before the 2019 season lowered capacity to 20,025. The Alouettes' return created a sponsorship conflict because the team was backed by Labatt Brewing Company while the stadium bore the name of its competitor, Molson, though not named for the brewery. The team eventually switched sponsors and has been supported by Budweiser since 2014. In 2004, the old Astroturf was replaced with FieldTurf.

Renovation

Molson Stadium underwent a renovation and expansion that added nearly 5,000 seats in time for the 2010 CFL season, increasing capacity to 25,012 at a cost of $29.4 million. Eleven rows were removed from the south side to construct a second tier adding about 3,800 seats. Temporary bleachers in the east end zone were replaced with 1,500 permanent seats, a new section was added to the northeast corner, and 19 new private suites were constructed. The Quebec government contributed $19.3 million, the city of Montreal $4 million, and Alouettes owner Robert Wetenhall $6,023,935.

Layout

Because the playing surface is surrounded by a running track, the full 65-yard width and 20-yard length of the end zones are not available at the two end lines. The full width is available for more than half of each end zone, with only small corner pieces missing. Since the 2014 CFL season, it is the only CFL stadium to cut the corners on the end zones after Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium squared its end zones following track removal. The full width of the end zones will become available for CFL games in 2027, when the league shortens its field length from 150 yards to 130 yards.