Varsity Stadium was a collegiate stadium, primarily used for Canadian football, but occasionally playing host to soccer and other events, that was situated on the grounds of the University of Toronto on Bloor Street West, roughly at its intersection with St. George Street in Toronto, Ontario. The structure primarily known by that name in this location was built in 1924 and was demolished in 2002. However, a previous stadium by that name was on the same site as early as 1898. Jump to: navigation, search Canadian football is a sport in which two teams of twelve players each compete for territorial control of a field of play 110 yards (100. ... Football is a ball game played between two teams of eleven players, each attempting to win by scoring more goals than their opponent. ... Jump to: navigation, search Founded in 1827, the University of Toronto (U of T), in Toronto, Ontario, is the largest university in Canada. ... Jump to: navigation, search Bloor Street is a major east-west commercial thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ... Jump to: navigation, search {{Hide = {{{Disable Motto Link}}}}} Motto: {{Unhide = {{{Disable Motto Link}}}}} Diversity Our Strength {{Canadian City/Location Image is:{{{Location Image Type}}}|[[Image:{{{Location Image}}}|thumbnail|center|250px|City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada location. ... Jump to: navigation, search Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Loyal she began, loyal she remains) Other Canadian provinces and territories Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Lieutenant-Governor James K. Bartleman Premier Dalton McGuinty (Liberal) Area 1,076,395 km² (4th) • Land 917,741 km² • Water 158,654 km² (14. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1924 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search 2002(MMII) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1898 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

Sports

Varsity Stadium has for its entire history been host to the University of Toronto's collegiate Canadian football team, the Varsity Blues. However it was, until the opening of Exhibition Stadium in 1959, the home of the Canadian professional football team the Toronto Argonauts. It still holds the record for the number of times any stadium has hosted the Canadian professional football championship game, the Grey Cup. Capacity of the stadium has varied with time, but peaked at about 20,000 in the 1950s. The Varsity Blues are the sports teams at the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ... Exhibition Stadium was a stadium that formerly stood at the Canadian National Exhibition grounds in Toronto, Ontario. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1959 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Toronto Argonauts are a Canadian Football League team based in Toronto, Ontario. ... Then Prime Minister Joe Clark presents the 1979 Grey Cup to victorious Edmonton Eskimos Danny Kepley and Tom Wilkinson. ...

After professional football moved to larger quarters in the 1960s, the stadium became less viable as it often failed to fill to its even modest capacity. The Varsity Blues generally played fewer than five dates a year, and towards the end of the stadium's life often failed to draw more than a few thousand fans. Minor league professional soccer team Toronto Lynx moved into the stadium in 1997, but was later forced to move to smaller venues such as Lamport Stadium and Centennial Park Stadium. Varsity Stadium continued to host the Canadian intercollegiate championship, the Vanier Cup, but that too moved to larger quarters such as Skydome as the popularity of the collegiate championship grew. Attempts were made to host international soccer matches at Varsity, but although the crowds were large, they were too rare an event to make the stadium viable. The Toronto Lynx is a soccer team that plays in the North American USL First Division, which is the second division for the United States and top division for Canada. ... The Centennial Park Stadiumlocated just south of Pearson International Airport and near the intersection of Rathburn and Renforth is a 3,500 seat stadium in Toronto, Ontario that is primarily used for soccer and occasionally for kabbadi. ... The Vanier Cup (French: Coupe Vanier) is the championship trophy of Canadian Interuniversity Sport mens football. ... The Rogers Centre (until recently called SkyDome), which opened on June 1, 1989, is a huge ballpark in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated next to the CN Tower near the shores of Lake Ontario. ...

During the 1976 Summer Olympics, Varsity Stadium hosted soccer games, and was the site the semi-final game between Brazil and Poland. Perhaps the most famous Candian football game played in the Stadium was the 1950 Mud Bowl for the Grey Cup championship. Jump to: navigation, search The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, were held in 1976 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. ... The Mud Bowl was the colloquial name for the 1950 Grey Cup championship of professional Canadian football, which was won by the Toronto Argonauts by a score of 13-0 over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. ...

Other events

The stadium has also been host to several concerts most notably the 1969 Rock 'n Roll Revival Concert, which Rolling Stone Magazine once called the second most important event in rock & roll history and resulted in a documentary movie, "Sweet Toronto" and John Lennon's Live Peace In Toronto record. The performers were The Doors, Plastic Ono Band, Bo Diddley, Chicago Transit Authority (later renamed "Chicago"), Tony Joe White, Alice Cooper, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Cat Mother & the All Night Newsboys, Gene Vincent, Jr. Walker & the All Stars, Little Richard, Doug Kershaw, Screaming Lord Sutch, Nucleus, Milkwood, and Whiskey Howl. This article is about the music magazine. ... Jump to: navigation, search John Lennon in the autumn of 1968 John Winston Ono Lennon, (October 9, 1940 – December 8, 1980), was best known as a singer, songwriter, poet and guitarist for The Beatles. ... Live Peace In Toronto 1969 was a live album recorded by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1969 in Toronto, Canada. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Doors, Legacy (Clockwise from top right): Jim Morrison, John Densmore, Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek The Doors (formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California) were a popular and influential American rock band. ... The Plastic Ono Band is the band John Lennon formed after he left the Beatles. ... Jump to: navigation, search Bo Diddleys emphasis on rhythm largely influenced popular music, especially that of rock and roll in the 1960s. ... Jump to: navigation, search Chicago is a rock band that was formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. ... Tony Joe White is a Louisiana musician best known for his 1969 hit Polk Salad Annie, and for Rainy Night in Georgia which he wrote, but which was first made popular by Brook Benton [1]. His songs have been recorded by at least 25 major artists [2]. Categories: Stub ... Jump to: navigation, search Cooper in his official eye makeup Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948), is a rock singer and musician. ... Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (born September 29, 1935) is an American rock and roll singer, songwriter, and pianist, as well as an early pioneer of the rock and roll movement. ... Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (born October 18, 1926), better known as Chuck Berry, is a highly influential American guitarist, singer and composer. ... Cat Mother & the All Night Newsboys was an American musical group from New York City. ... Gene Vincent, real name Eugene Vincent Craddock (February 11, 1935 - October 12, 1971) was an American rockabilly pioneer musician, best known for his hit Be-Bop-A-Lula. He started playing in various country bands in his native Norfolk, Virginia after leaving the United States Navy with a permanent leg... Jr. ... Little Richard Little Richard (born Richard Wayne Penniman, December 5, 1932 in Macon, Georgia) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist, and an early pioneer of rock and roll. ... Doug Kershaw, born January 24, 1936, is an American fiddle player from Louisiana known as The Ragin Cajun. ... Jump to: navigation, search Screaming Lord Sutch David Edward Sutch (or Screaming Lord Sutch) (November 10, 1940 – June 16, 1999) was a musician, British politician and maverick. ... Nucleus (1985) Ian Carr (b. ...

Current facility

The decision to demolish the stadium was made in 2002 as the cost of maintaining the large facility was far more than it generated in revenue. At that time, several structural sections of the stadium were being held up by temporary repairs, and the future integrity of the structure was in question. The field still exists and is still used by the Varsity Blues for home games, there are no permanent stands, only temporary bleachers, and capacity is limited to about 1,500.

A plan to build a new 25,000 seat multi-purpose stadium on the site in 2005 was voted down by management of the University of Toronto due to concerns over its cost. The facility was then planned to be built on the grounds of York University but that too failed. At the time of its demolition, Varsity Stadium was the second largest capacity stadium in Canada with a grass field, after Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta. As FIFA rules require international matches to be played on natural surfaces, the loss of Varsity as a venue has resulted in financial difficulties to Canada's national soccer team in Canada's largest market as there are no large grass field stadiums remaining in Toronto. Jump to: navigation, search 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search York University (YorkU) is a large comprehensive university, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ... Commonwealth Stadium is the name of two stadiums: Commonwealth Stadium - Edmonton, Alberta Commonwealth Stadium - University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Jump to: navigation, search {{Hide = {{{Disable Motto Link}}}}} Motto: {{Unhide = {{{Disable Motto Link}}}}} Industry Integrity Progress City of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada location. ... FIFA logo (usage restricted): For the Good of the Game Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is the international governing body of the sport of association football (called simply football or soccer). ...

The university is currently studying a plan to build a new permanent 5,000 seat stadium on the site.

References

• John Whelan. Live Peace In Toronto 1969. Retrieved July 15, 2005.

External links

• Varsity Centre
• History of Varsity Stadium