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Clarke Stadium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Clarke Stadium, in its original incarnation, was a Canadian football stadium located in Edmonton, Alberta.
The stadium was originally built in 1938 on land deeded to the City for the purpose of constructing public sports fields by Mackenzie King (a personal friend of then Mayor Clarke). The original Clarke Stadium accommodated 20,000 fans in the spartan conditions consistent with its era. The seating area consisted of two grandstands on opposing sidelines (no "endzone" stands originally, but these were added in later years). The stadium hosted the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League from 1954-1978, following which the team moved to Commonwealth Stadium, which had been built adjacent to Clarke Stadium in preparation for the 1978 Commonwealth Games. Clarke stadium was used for local and minor league sporting events after the departure of the Eskimos. The stadium was named after former Edmonton mayor Joseph Andrew Clarke. The stadium was effectively demolished on May 3, 2000.
The facility was rebuilt in 2000 (in preparation for use as a 'secondary' stadium for events of the 2001 World Championships in Athletics hosted in Edmonton) and now seats approximately 1,200 fans in a single grandstand. The original grass playing surface was also replaced with artificial turf to allow for greater usage as part of the facility upgrade. The stadium is currently used for university, minor and intramural sports. Clarke Park, as the remodelled stadium is often known, is also used for concerts and other events. Including the playing surface, the capacity of the stadium can exceed 6,000 for concerts and non-sporting events.