WINNIPEG STADIUM

GRB-718

Winnipeg Blue Bombers (CFL) (1953-present) Winnipeg Goldeyes (NL) (1994-1998) Winnipeg Whips (IL) (1970-1971) Winnipeg Goldeyes (NL) (1953-1964)

Canad Inns Stadium (formerly Winnipeg Stadium) is a Canadian football stadium located north of Polo Park Shopping Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Stadium, named for hotel chain Canad Inns, and originally completed in 1953, seats 29,533 for football. It has been the home of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL since 1953 and the Winnipeg Rifles of the Prairie Football Conference and has also been home to various incarnations of the Winnipeg Goldeyes and Winnipeg Whips (AAA Montreal Expos farm team) baseball teams.

The original baseball grandstands, built at a cost of $184,000 in 1954 and situated in the southwest corner of the complex, were demolished in the early 1980s to make way for the Blue and Gold Room. The Stadium once again became a multi-sport facility in the late 1980s, in an effort to attract a AAA baseball club to Winnipeg. To that end, artificial turf, retractable seats on the east side stands, and new seating behind the home plate area (the northwest corner of the field, in the football end zone area) were installed. Although AAA baseball never returned to the city, the independent Northern League granted Winnipeg an expansion team for the 1994 season, adopting the Goldeyes name. After five years at the Stadium, the Goldeyes moved to the new baseball-only facility, CanWest Global Park, in 1999.

Canad Inns Stadium hosted the opening ceremonies of both the 1967 and 1999 Pan-American Games. The 1967 Games saw the construction of new north end zone seating. The 1999 Games saw several improvements in preparation for the event, including new seats to replace old benches, additional media and club seating facilities, improved lighting and sound, and a new Sony JumboTron scoreboard. The Stadium's artificial turf was replaced in 2003, and a new AstroPlay surface was installed.

The CFL Grey Cup championship game was held at Canad Inns Stadium in 1991, 1998, and 2006. In each instance, temporary seating was used to increase the Stadium's capacity. The Stadium's attendance record was set on November 24, 1991, when 51,985 fans watched the Toronto Argonauts defeat the Calgary Stampeders for the Grey Cup. For the 2006 Grey Cup, temporary seats were erected at the south end of the football field, raising the Stadium's capacity to 44,784.

Unused 3 3/4" x 5 3/4" continental size chrome postcard.

Dist. by Gustavo Ramirez