There have been three versions of George Taylor Richardson Memorial Stadium, a

Canadian football Canadian football () is a sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's scoring area ( ...

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

located on the campus of the Queen's University in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Tor ...

. All three have been the home of the Golden Gaels/Gaels football team. The facilities are named in memory of George Taylor Richardson, a Queen's graduate renowned for his athleticism and sportsmanship who died in the First World War. The original stadium built in 1921 was funded by George's brother,

James Armstrong Richardson James Armstrong Richardson Jr. (March 28, 1922 – May 17, 2004) was a Canadian Cabinet minister under Pierre Trudeau and a Winnipeg businessman. Early life Richardson was born on March 28, 1922, in Winnipeg, Manitoba to James Armstrong Ri ...

, graduate and

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of Queen's. The second stadium was built in 1971. The stadium's bleachers (which recycled steel from the first facility) were deemed structurally unsafe in May 2013, causing 6,500 seats to be removed. Renovations were completed in July 2013, with a new seat capacity of 8,500 with two new end zone seating sections. In December 2014, a $20.27 million revitalization was announced that was completed for September 17, 2016 for its inaugural football game. According to the university the facility has "over 8,000" seats, but no specific number is provided by the institution.

History

Original field (1921–1971)

The original field was located on Union Street at the present site of Mackintosh-Corry Hall and its parking lot. It was opened in 1921 on a piece of land bought from a community of nuns. This field hosted the 1922 Grey Cup, where the Golden Gaels defeated the

Edmonton Elks The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

13–1, for their first of three Grey Cups. The official attendance was listed at 4,700. According to Michael Januska's book, ''Grey Cup Century'' there were more spectators on hand than the original grandstand could accommodate.

"The 10th Grey Cup was the only final played in Kingston, Ontario. The stands at Richardson Stadium were filled to capacity, just under 5,000, with the overflow standing around the field." - ''Grey Cup Century'', pg. 46

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

received his

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad h ...

from Queen's on August 18, 1938 at Richardson, where he made a historic speech that was seen as a departure from

American isolationism United States non-interventionism primarily refers to the foreign policy that was eventually applied by the United States between the late 18th century and the first half of the 20th century whereby it sought to avoid alliances with other nation ...

Second stadium (1971–2016)

When a new social sciences complex, Mackintosh-Corry Hall was planned, the original stadium was torn down and relocated to the newly acquired West Campus. Many staff, students, and alumni were very upset about the move, feeling that the stadium belonged in the heart of campus, but the project went ahead anyway and the stadium was built on West Campus in 1971. In 2013,

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile tha ...

was reduced to 8,500, down from 10,200, because of the temporary bleachers due to construction.

Third stadium (2016–)

Plans to reconstruct the 40-year-old stadium at the same location were approved in December 2014, with $20.27 million of funding needed. Principal Daniel Woolf stated that the stadium was "desperately in need of revitalization". $17 million was raised from donations, including $10 million from former Gaels football player and current

Guelph Gryphons The Guelph Gryphons are the athletic teams that represent the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. The university's varsity teams compete in the Ontario University Athletics conference of the U Sports(OUA's), and, where applicable, in ...

head coach Stu Lang. Construction began on December 5, 2015 and the stadium re-opened for the beginning of the 2016 football season on September 17, 2016.

Soccer

Richardson played host to two

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

2006 qualifiers between

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

and

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wa ...

in 2004. Canada won both matches 4–0 and progressed to the semifinal stage after

had forfeited their right to play a home match due to a lack of infrastructure.

Rugby league

It hosted the Colonial Cup match between the U.S. Tomahawks and Canada Wolverines on September 19, 2010 which was the first international

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

match played in Canada since 1995.

Rugby union

On June 9, 2012,

played the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

in a friendly match. Canada won 28–25 in front of 7,521 spectators.

References

External links

Official website
{{coord, 44.227583, N, 76.515794, W, display=title Queen's University at Kingston Canadian football venues in Ontario Sports venues in Kingston, Ontario Athletics (track and field) venues in Ontario Soccer venues in Ontario Rugby league stadiums in Canada Rugby union stadiums in Ontario University sports venues in Canada 1971 establishments in Ontario Sports venues completed in 1971 College football venues