Calgary to host 2026 Grey Cup
Posted Nov 8, 2024 9:12 am.
Last Updated Nov 8, 2024 7:14 pm.
Calgary will play host to the 2026 Grey Cup, officials announced Friday.
The 113th edition of the Canadian Football League (CFL) championship will return to McMahon Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026.
CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie says the league is thrilled to bring the Grey Cup back to Calgary.
“We were blown away by the Stampeders’ bid and we look forward to seeing their incredible vision transformed into reality,” he said.
This will be the sixth time Cow Town has hosted the Grey Cup — the game was previously played at McMahon in 1975, 1993, 2000, 2009 and 2019.
“I’m not going to back away from the fact that the city needs a new stadium or the CFL needs a new stadium,” he said. “It’s old, and it doesn’t have much of the modern features that newer stadiums have.
“I won a Grey Cup here. This stadium will always have a special place in my heart. They are going to do everything they can to make it as shiny and hospitable as they can.”
Ambrosie mused about the construction of the new Mosaic Stadium in Regina, and what a building of that level could do for sport in southern Alberta.
No plans of any sort have been made public in regards to constructing a new stadium.
Calgary’s first professional women’s soccer team, Wild FC, will also call McMahon home.
The stadium was built in just 103 days in 1960. There have been various renovations to the building over the years — 1975 saw the installation of artificial turf, and in 1978 7,000 more seats were added, as was an underground tunnel and a new press box.
More recent changes, around a decade ago, included fitted seats replacing aluminum benches, a new scoreboard, and additional washroom facilities and concessions.
