Elks voice desire for upgraded Commonwealth Stadium as city reveals renderings of potential renovations
CTV
The same day renderings of a renovated Commonwealth Stadium appeared, the new owner of the Edmonton Elks says he has started talking to the city about what needs to be done to upgrade the team's longtime home.
The same day official renderings of a renovated Commonwealth Stadium appeared, the new owner of the Edmonton Elks says he has started talking to the city about what needs to be done to upgrade the team's longtime home.
Larry Thompson, who last month took over as sole owner of the Canadian Football League franchise from a local group, said Wednesday during a virtual meeting with season-ticket holders the team has "already had discussions with city officials," including Mayor Amarjeet Sohi, on the future of the 56,000-capacity facility.
The stadium was built for the namesake Commonwealth Games in 1978 that's been home to the CFL squad ever since and has been upgraded several times in the 46 years since.
"We're beginning talks on what we can do at Commonwealth," Thompson said Wednesday night.
"We need to do something with it. We need to get some enhancements to Commonwealth Stadium, because we've already identified some hot spots that need to be revamped."
Talk of upgrading Commonwealth comes three weeks after Thompson was introduced as the new owner. At the media conference to introduce him, Thompson — a longtime season-ticket holder and former owner of Thompson Brothers Construction — suggested a new stadium might be needed.
There was no talk of that on Wednesday during the curated 'town hall,' the focus instead on upgrading the stadium that recently hosted three sold-out concerts.
