IG Field (formerly Investors Group Field) is an outdoor stadium in

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,60 ...

. The stadium, which opened in 2013, is located on the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.University Stadium. Owned by Triple B Stadium Inc., a

consortium A consortium (plural: consortia) is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources ...

of the City of Winnipeg, the Province of Manitoba, the Winnipeg Football Club and the University of Manitoba, the stadium is home to the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fie ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a c ...

(CFL). It is also home to

Valour FC Valour Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home matches at IG Field. The team is coached by Phillip Dos Santos and community owne ...

of the

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; french: Première ligue canadienne, links=no) is a professional men's soccer league in Canada. At the top of the Canadian soccer league system, it is the country's primary national soccer league compe ...

(CPL), the

University of Manitoba Bisons The Manitoba Bisons are the athletic teams that represent the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The football team plays their games at Investors Group Field. The soccer team play their home games at the University of Manitoba ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

team, and the

Winnipeg Rifles The Winnipeg Rifles are a Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Rifles are members of the Canadian Junior Football League and play their home games in Maple Grove Park. History Junior football in Winnipeg dates back to the ...

(

CJFL The Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) is a national Major Junior Canadian football league consisting of 19 teams playing in five provinces across Canada. The teams compete annually for the Canadian Bowl. Many CJFL players move on to profe ...

), and was a host stadium of the

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...

. The stadium has a capacity of 33,134 and is partially covered. The stadium contains a corrugated metal roof, restaurant, 52 suites, walk of fame and other amenities.

History

Development

The owners of

Canad Inns Canad Inns is a chain of hotels headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Company overview Canad Inns operates a total of 12 hotel properties in the province of Manitoba and one in the U.S. state of North Dakota. Canad Inns also operates r ...

, a Winnipeg-based hotel business and naming rights holder for the Blue Bombers' former stadium, forwarded a plan in 2007 to redevelop the entire site for commercial use and construct a football stadium for the Blue Bombers in another location. This proposal, although rejected in favour of

David Asper David Asper (born November 26, 1958) is a Canadian lawyer and businessman, currently serving as Acting Dean of Robson Hall, the law faculty of the University of Manitoba. Asper is the son of Canwest founder Izzy Asper, and is now the head of ...

's plan, called for a $265 million stadium at the former Public Markets site in the St. Boniface industrial park, which Canad Inns purchased from the city. The domed stadium would have been part of a $500 million complex that would have included a four-star hotel and an indoor water park. David Asper's original proposal involved both federal and provincial government financial contributions ($40 million each), as well as a transfer of assets (the publicly owned Blue Bomber franchise itself will be transferred into Asper's control, and the existing undeveloped commercial real estate surrounding the stadium). As part of Creswin's commitment to the project, Asper pledged to contribute $65 million toward the Maroons Road development. In addition to stadium construction, the Asper proposal included of retail development and a two-level parking facility. The Blue Bombers' board of directors investigated the possibility of rebuilding or substantially upgrading the existing stadium, largely with funds generated from the sale or lease of the adjacent commercial lands (the team holds the right to develop this property itself as part of its refinancing agreement with the city of Winnipeg and province of Manitoba). However, being a community owned business, the Bombers organization would have had difficulty in accessing the capital required to move forward with such plans directly. The board placed its plans on hold pending the outcome of Asper's proposal. The government was unwilling to grant Asper the $40 million at both the provincial and federal levels because it believed the money to be more of a gift than a grant. Creswin drew up a second proposal, where the same 30,000–40,000-seat stadium would be built instead in south Point Douglas. This new plan, they said, would greatly aid in urban renewal in what is the poorest neighborhood in Winnipeg. There was also a state-of-the-art water park and hotel, commercial buildings and several other new buildings in the multimillion-dollar proposal. However, there was controversy as well because south Point Douglas is an avid art community, and many of the residents did not want their character buildings to be destroyed or suffer the loss of their homes. Winnipeg Nov 2 2013 Max Hall

A letter of intent was signed on September 13, 2009, between Asper's Creswin Properties and the University of Manitoba, allowing planning to continue for a stadium at the intersection of Chancellor Matheson Drive and University Crescent. The site is adjacent to the current University Stadium, which was built for the 1967 Pan American Games. The new proposal includes the construction of a 33,422-seat stadium, renovation of the existing stadium, and a world-class fitness facility. Inflatable "bubbles" covering the playing field were also proposed for both stadiums during the winter months. The cost of the new stadium, was projected to be $115 million. The new stadium would also be home of the

football team. The design allows for expansion to 40,000 seats for the

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

(however for the 2015 Grey Cup 36,500 seats were available). The stadium was approved on 2 April 2009. The province of Manitoba later agreed to loan David Asper $90 million in order to guarantee the project would break ground in 2010 and ensure the stadium would open for 2012. CFL Commissioner

Mark Cohon Mark Steven Cohon, (born March 16, 1966) is the chairman of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS). He was also the 12th commissioner of the Canadian Football League. The son of McDonald's Canada founder George Cohon, he was ...

, Premier of Manitoba

Greg Selinger Gregory Francis Selinger (born February 16, 1951) is a Canadian former politician who served as the 21st premier of Manitoba from 2009 until 2016, leading an NDP government. From 1999 to 2009 he was the Minister of Finance in the government of ...

, David Asper, Mayor of Winnipeg

Sam Katz Samuel Michael Katz (born August 20, 1951) is a Canadian businessman and former politician who was the 42nd mayor of Winnipeg, Manitoba from 2004 to 2014. He is the owner of the Winnipeg Goldeyes and a member of the Order of Manitoba. He wa ...

and U of M President David Barnard officially broke ground at the site on May 20, 2010. Asper and Creswin were removed from the deal as they made significant changes to the stadium design which broke the original contract. The revised cost amounted to $190 million, with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers paying back $85 million, and the provincial and city levels of government splitting the rest of the costs as previously proposed. The naming rights were awarded to Investors Group, the leading subsidiary of Winnipeg-based

IGM Financial Power Corporation of Canada () is a management and holding company that focuses on financial services in North America, Europe and Asia. Its core holdings are insurance, retirement, wealth management and investment management, including a portfol ...

. In accordance with the corporate rebranding of Investors Group as IG Wealth Management, the name of the stadium was shortened to IG Field in 2018.

Controversy

The new stadium was expected to be ready for the start of the 2012 season. However, on May 2, 2012, the Blue Bombers announced that because of construction delays, the stadium would not be ready until September, thus forcing the team to play four or five home games at Canad Inns Stadium to start the season. In June 2012, it was announced the stadium would not open until the 2013 season. In December 2013, it was reported the previously-announced inflatable dome had been dropped from the plans in 2012. In 2014, the builder, Stuart Olson Dominion, put a $1.9 million lien on the stadium because it claimed it was owed for some of the cost overruns. This dispute was resolved later that year, with the province contributing an additional $1.5 million to cover additional costs incurred during construction, bringing the total cost to $210 million. On March 4, 2015, the stadium's ownership group, Triple B Stadium Inc., announced its intention to sue architect Ray Wan and builder Stuart Olson Dominion. In the statement of claim, it cited water damage caused by insufficient drainage in the building, as well as inadequate insulation and "extensive" cracking in the concrete among a total of 42 deficiencies. On April 23, Stuart Olson filed a statement of defence denying most of Triple B's allegations, stating the shell company — which represents the city, province, university and the Winnipeg Football Club — made all the key construction decisions, in concert with the province, which paid for most of the construction up front. Stuart Olson also alleged political and financial factors led the province to rush the job and reduce its budget. On October 27, 2015, the government of Manitoba announced it would pay $35 million to repair the stadium. It would then seek compensation for this further outlay of money from the proceeds of the aforementioned lawsuit.

Notable events

Canadian football

The Blue Bombers played their first home game at Investors Group Field on June 27, 2013, losing 38–33 to the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes ( French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the East Division of the Cana ...

. Investors Group Field hosted the 103rd Grey Cup in 2015.

Soccer

On May 8, 2014, the Canadian women's national team 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 the first soccer match at Investors Group Field, finishing in a 1–1 draw. In June 2015, Winnipeg was one of six Canadian cities that hosted the

FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's international governing bod ...

. The first four matches of

Group D Group D may refer to: * FIA Group D - International Formula racing cars: ** Formula Two ** Formula Three ** Formula 3000 * One of six or eight groups of four teams competing at the FIFA World Cup ** 2022 FIFA World Cup Group D ** 2018 FIFA Wo ...

—between the United States,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

and

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

—were contested at Investors Group Field, followed by three matches from various other groups. Due to FIFA sponsorship rules, the venue was referred to as Winnipeg Stadium during the World Cup. In 2019, IG Field became the home of

in the

. In the

2021 Canadian Premier League season The 2021 Canadian Premier League season was the third season of the Canadian Premier League, the top level of Canadian soccer. Forge FC were defending champions, after defeating HFX Wanderers FC in the 2020 final. The season was planned to ...

, the field hosted a

bio-secure bubble A bio-secure bubble, also known as a bubble, or hub city, was a hosting arrangement for sporting events that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, under which events were held at a centralized site, often behind closed doors, with strict quara ...

for the initial matches of the season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. All matches were played behind closed doors and in compliance with provincial public health orders. 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup

Ice hockey

Investors Group Field hosted the fourth installment of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

(NHL)'s Heritage Classic on October 23, 2016, in which the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, p ...

lost 3–0 to the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

in front of a sold-out crowd. The Classic's customary alumni game was played a day earlier and featured players from the former Jets franchise returning to Winnipeg to play the Oilers alumni team. The Jets alumni, led by

Teemu Selänne Teemu Ilmari Selänne (; born July 3, 1970) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey winger. He began his professional career in 1989–90 with Jokerit of the SM-liiga and played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Wi ...

and Dale Hawerchuk, defeated

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

's Oilers squad 6–5 in a shootout.

American football

IG Field hosted an NFL preseason game between the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the t ...

and

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...

on August 22, 2019. The teams largely avoided playing starters in the game. In attempting to move the goalposts back five yards to put them behind the endzone—as is customary in

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

—it left holes in each end zone that the NFL deemed a safety hazard. Since this discovery came too late to put the goalposts back and repaint the field, each ten-yard line was hastily converted to a goal line by adding pylons to shorten the field to 80 yards (from the standard 100 yard field/10 yard endzones used for American football), and kickoffs were eliminated. The changes did not have an appreciable impact on the game according to Raiders coach

Jon Gruden Jon David Gruden (born August 17, 1963) is a former American professional football coach who was a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. He held his first head coaching position with the Raiders franchise during thei ...

, and most of the coaches and players otherwise praised IG Field's playing surface.

Concerts

Other events

The stadium hosted its first event on May 26, 2013, with the One Heart Winnipeg celebration, a multi-denominational church service organized by several local church groups. Nitro Circus Live came to the stadium in 2017.

References

External links

* {{2015 FIFA Women's World Cup stadiums Sports venues completed in 2013 Canadian Football League venues Canadian football venues in Manitoba Music venues in Winnipeg Soccer venues in Manitoba Sports venues in Winnipeg University sports venues in Canada Winnipeg Blue Bombers University of Manitoba Canadian football in Winnipeg 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup stadiums Canadian Premier League stadiums Valour FC 2013 establishments in Manitoba