Calgary to host 2019 Grey Cup
Adecade after the 13th man trashed the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ Grey Cup hopes, the CFL’s championship game will return to Calgary. Calgary was unveiled as the host city of the 2019 Grey Cup on Wednesday, which keeps the CFL’s showcase game in Alberta for two straight years. Edmonton gets this year’s championship game Nov. 25.
In the 2009 Grey Cup at McMahon Stadium, Montreal Alouettes kicker Damon Duval missed a 43-yard field goal for the win, but the Roughriders were penalized for too many men on the field on the play.
Duval was good on his do-over from the 33-yard line for a 28-27 win, which devastated Rider Nation.
Calgary also hosted the Grey Cup in 1975, 1993 and 2000. CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie’s Edmonton Eskimos won it in 1993.
“I’m confident this city is going to put on a great Grey Cup and will make it all work,” Ambrosie said at Wednesday’s announcement. “I played in one myself in 1993 and it’s one of the greatest experiences of my life.”
Large football and hockey events in Calgary inevitably highlight tension between the current city council and Calgary Sports and Entertainment, which owns the NHL’s Flames and CFL’s Stampeders, over the aging Saddledome and McMahon.
Calgary’s football stadium, built in 1960, is by far the oldest in the nine-team league.
A 2014 retrofit to 35,360-seat McMahon replaced the turf, installed a giant scoreboard, opened up the north-end concourse for concessions and added portable washroom units.
A new football stadium was part of the Calgary Next arena project proposed by CSEC, but the stadium moved to the backburner during talks of a “Plan B” location for the arena.
Those talks collapsed when CSEC withdrew from negotiations.
Flames president Ken King declined to speak with media Wednesday about McMahon, while Stampeders president and GM John Hufnagel said temporary suites in the end zone will be added for Grey Cup game.
The Stampeders lack an indoor practice facility, which could be an issue for the participating teams at the end of November. Snow fell on Calgary two days prior to the 2009 Grey Cup.
“Right now, we have what we have,” Hufnagel said. “Who knows what might occur over the next 20 months? I’m always hopeful.”
Alberta Minister of Culture and Tourism Ricardo Miranda was at Wednesday’s news conference announcing the province’s $1.5 million contribution.