Football stadium on SFU campus finally approaches the finish line
Simon Fraser University's new stadium on campus has Angus Reid waxing nostalgic.
“It was a dream I was sold on in 1994 when I was first went there,” said the former B.C. Lions offensive lineman, who's one of the more successful players to come out of the SFU football program. “I was told that they hoped to have one before I was done playing there at the very least.”
Athletic director Theresa Hanson says that the final touches are being put on the $20-million facility at Terry Fox Field atop Burnaby Mountain, which includes seating for 1,800, broadcast and media facilities, a VIP room, merchandise and concession areas, and coaches rooms.
There's a canopy roof that covers 1,200 of the seats.
She says that the project will be complete by the end of May. SFU is planning on returning to the NCAA Div. II competition in early fall. All that, of course, is dependent on COVID-19.
A student referendum paid for $10 million of the new facility. The school paid for the other $10 million. Ground was broken in March 2019.
Lorne Davies talked about having a stadium on campus. He was the school's first football coach and its first athletic director when it opened in 1965. He held the post until his retirement in 1995. Davies died in 2015. He was 84.
“There's been lots of chatter about having a stadium here over the years,” Hanson said. “Sometimes it takes a long time to make things work. It's about right place, right time.
“It's a legacy project. It's from the students to the students. And it's going to transform our campus. It's going to add a vibrancy that will help connect students, alumni and the people who live in the area.
“I'm using the word `majestic.' You stand and look out over the field and especially at sunset … I'm really proud of it.”
In Reid's era, SFU football played its home games at Swangard Stadium, which is about a 25-minute drive from campus. It was something he was accustomed to. His older brothers, Bruce and Mark, both played for SFU before him and he had watched them go through it.
Swangard has hosted a variety of events over the years.
“You do the best you can with whatever is made available to you,” explained Reid, 44, who retired in 2014 from the Lions, ending a 13year run in the CFL that included Grey Cup wins in 2006 and 2011 with the Leos. “You went in on a game day to Swangard and you put your stuff in a stall and you went out and played.
“There's a different level when you are in the locker-room that you live in. It's a different level when you live your life there. It's your house.”
Reid says that this new home field for SFU will help in multiple ways. In the past few years the SFU football team has been playing home games at either Swangard or a makeshift setup at Terry Fox Field.
“For the guys on the team, it gives you a connection. This is your stadium, this is your turf. You see it every day at school. You're going to want to defend your place when other teams come here.”