Sport In Edmonton
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

There are a variety of sports in Edmonton played professionally, as amateurs, or recreationally.


Sports teams


Current teams


Baseball

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
in Edmonton dates back to 1884 when the Edmonton Legislatures came to play. 27 years later in 1907 the team changed its name to the Edmonton Grays until 1909, the name had become the
Edmonton Eskimos 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 Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...
for two years. Then in 1912, they changed to the Edmonton Gray Birds for only two years. The team would change its name for the last time, back to the Eskimos for almost 35 years. Alongside the Eskimos were the Edmonton Drakes, Lloydminster Meridians, Edmonton Cubs, Edmonton Navy Cardinals Edmonton Dodgers and 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 (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...
team which existed in 1964. Edmonton were represented in the North American League by the
Edmonton Capitals The Edmonton Capitals, originally the Edmonton Cracker-Cats, were a Canadian professional independent minor-league baseball team that played between 2005 and 2011 in several leagues. The Capitals were based in Edmonton, Alberta. The team was fou ...
in 2011, but the team has suspended operations. In 2020, the Edmonton Riverhawks collegiate baseball team was formed. The team is a member of the
West Coast League The West Coast League (WCL) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league founded in 2005, comprising teams from Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, and Alberta. The WCL was previously named the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League (WCCB ...
. As a reminder of Edmonton's baseball history, a giant metal baseball bat was erected near downtown. It was once the largest in Canada, until Saskatchewan erected a larger bat in 2014.


Edmonton Trappers

Triple-A baseball came to Edmonton in 1980 as the Edmonton Trappers playing at
John Ducey Park John Ducey Park was a 6,500-seat baseball stadium in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Originally built in 1933, it was torn down after sixty-two years of use in 1995 and replaced by Telus Field on the same site. Beginning in 1981, John Ducey Park was t ...
. The Trappers became the first Canadian AAA franchise to win a pennant in 1984. They would go on and win three more titles with the most recent being in 2002 when they defeated Salt Lake City. In 2003, the team was sold and moved to Texas. The owners were losing money even though the Trappers were doing well in attendance. Though all of the stadiums in the league were bigger than Telus Field, the Trappers would finish 10 out of the 16 teams in attendance. The Trappers were affiliated with a total of six different Major teams. The first was the Chicago White Sox, then the Anaheim Angels, Florida Marlins, Oakland Athletics, Minnesota Twins, and the Montreal Expos were the Trappers last parent club before the two teams moved together in the same year. The Trappers also played their Major League affiliates twice in Edmonton. First the Angels played the Trappers at
Commonwealth Stadium Commonwealth Stadium is an open-air, multi-purpose stadium located in the McCauley, Edmonton, McCauley neighbourhood of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It has a seating capacity of 56,302, making it the largest open-air stadium in Canada. Primarily ...
. The Athletics were the second team to play the Trappers. The A's won by a score of 9–7. Many MLB players played with the Trappers. These players included
Miguel Tejada Miguel Odalis Tejada ( Tejeda; born May 25, 1974) is a Dominican former professional baseball shortstop who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for six teams, most notably the Oakland Athletics and Baltimore Orioles, before ...
, Randy Knorr,
Jason Giambi Jason Gilbert Giambi (; born January 8, 1971) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter. In his Major League Baseball (MLB) career, which began in 1995, Giambi played for the Oakland Athletics, New York Yank ...
and many others. The Trappers went on to send over 500 players to the MLB. A lot of the players who played for the team recently are in the Minors either playing with the New Orleans Zephers, the Harisburgh Senators or with another club.


Basketball

The
Edmonton Stingers The Edmonton Stingers are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They compete in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) and play their home games at the HIVE arena at the Edmonton Expo Centre. The Stingers' masc ...
began play in 2019 as a founding team of the
Canadian Elite Basketball League The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL; ) is the premier men's professional basketball league in Canada, as recognized by Canada Basketball. The CEBL was founded in 2017 and began play in 2019 with six teams all owned and operated by owner ...
. The team has won 2 CEBL Championships, back to back titles in 2020 and 2021. Edmonton has previously been home to the Edmonton Skyhawks of the
National Basketball League (Canada) The National Basketball League was a professional basketball league based in Canada that lasted only one and a half seasons in 1993 and 1994. It rose from the ashes of the World Basketball League which folded after the 1992 season, which had teams ...
, and the Edmonton Energy of the
International Basketball League The International Basketball League (IBL) was a semi-professional men's basketball league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States. In 2010 the Albany Legends became the first team in the Northeastern United States to join. The ...
.


Canadian football

Commonwealth Stadium Commonwealth Stadium is an open-air, multi-purpose stadium located in the McCauley, Edmonton, McCauley neighbourhood of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It has a seating capacity of 56,302, making it the largest open-air stadium in Canada. Primarily ...
is home to 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 (CFL), West Division and plays their home games at Commonw ...
of the
Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...
. The Elks hold the North American pro sports record for most consecutive playoff appearances (34 consecutive seasons) and have won the
Grey Cup The Grey Cup () 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 between the winners ...
(the CFL championship trophy) 14 times since 1949. They are one of only four teams to win the Grey Cup after finishing third in their division in the regular season (the others being the B.C. Lions, the
Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...
and the
Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...
). In addition to the Elks, Edmonton is host to two
Canadian Junior Football League The Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) is a national 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 professional footbal ...
teams, the
Edmonton Huskies The Edmonton Huskies are a Canadian Junior Football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The Huskies play in the six-team Prairie Football Conference, which itself is part of the Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) and competes annually for the nat ...
and the Edmonton Wildcats, and a
Western Women's Canadian Football League The Western Women's Canadian Football League (WWCFL) is a full-contact women's Canadian football league which began play in the spring of 2011. The league plays an annual season in the spring and summer, and with seven teams it is the largest w ...
team, the
Edmonton Arctic Pride Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...
.


Ice hockey

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 (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...
, originally one of the founding franchises of the
World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association () was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1978–79 WHA season, 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (N ...
, joined the
National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
in 1979. They quickly became one of the best teams in the league, winning five
Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...
championships in
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
,
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
,
1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...
,
1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...
and
1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
.
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 ...
, considered by many to be the greatest ice hockey player ever, played with the Edmonton Oilers from 1979 to 1988. The Edmonton Oilers fell in the Stanley Cup Finals playing the
Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Con ...
in seven games in the
2006 Stanley Cup Finals The 2006 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2005–06 season, and the culmination of the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs. The first Stanley Cup Finals since 2004 after a lockout canceled the entirety ...
. Despite losing, they were the first eighth-seeded team to make it that far, and nearly came back to win from deficits of 2–0 and 3–1 in the series.
Rogers Place Rogers Place is a multi-use indoor arena in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Construction started in March 2014, and the building officially opened on September 8, 2016. The arena has a seating capacity of 18,347 as a ice hockey, hockey venue and 20,73 ...
has been the home of the Edmonton Oilers since 2016. Edmonton's involvement in hockey is not limited to the Edmonton Oilers. Several big-time NHL names come from Edmonton and the surrounding area, such as
Mike Comrie Michael William Comrie (born September 11, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey Center (ice hockey), player. During his 13-year National Hockey League (NHL) career he played with the Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, Arizona Co ...
,
Jarome Iginla Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla (; born July 1, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger (ice hockey), winger. He played over 1,500 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Calgary Flames, Pittsbu ...
, Ray Whitney and
Fernando Pisani Fernando Antonio Pisani (born December 27, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger. He played professionally in the National Hockey League for his hometown Edmonton Oilers for seven NHL seasons, and one for the Chicago Bla ...
. Edmonton was granted a WHL expansion team, the
Edmonton Oil Kings The Edmonton Oil Kings are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, that play in the Western Hockey League (WHL). The team, founded in 2006, shares an ownership group with the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers. The te ...
, which began playing in the 2007–2008 season.


Ringette

Edmonton is the only Canadian city with two teams in the semi-professional
National Ringette League The National Ringette League (NRL) ''()'' is the premier league for the sport of ringette in North America and Canada's national league for elite ringette players aged 18 and up. The NRL is not a women's variant of a more well-known men's leag ...
. The Edmonton WAM!, established in 2004, have won four national titles, including the 2023 national championship. The Edmonton Black Gold Rush are a newer team, having been established in 2015.


Soccer

FC Edmonton FC Edmonton was a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club was founded in 2010 and competed in the North American Soccer League (2011–2017), North American Soccer League (NASL) from 2011 t ...
was a soccer club that was established in 2010, having initially played in the
North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...
. FC Edmonton went into hiatus after the NASL folded, before joining the newly formed
Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; ) is a professional Association football, soccer league in Canada and the highest level of the Canadian soccer league system. The league comprises eight teams, from five of provinces and territories of ...
in 2018. The team played its home games at
Clarke Stadium Clarke Stadium is a multipurpose stadium located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The stadium was originally built for Canadian football. Over the years different sports have participated at the site. History The stadium was originally built in 1 ...
. The club folded in 2022. , Edmonton has four teams in
League1 Alberta League1 Alberta (L1AB) is a semi-professional men's and women's soccer league in Alberta, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Alberta Soccer Association as a third division pro–am league in the Canadi ...
:
Edmonton BTB SC Born to Be Soccer Club is a Canadian soccer team based in Edmonton, Alberta that plays in League1 Alberta. History BTB Academy was founded in 2013 by Kondeh Mansaray. Canadian national team player Alphonso Davies was a member in his youth an ...
and
Edmonton Scottish The Edmonton Scottish Soccer Club, better known as Edmonton Scottish, is a Canadian semi-professional Soccer in Canada, soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta. Competing in League1 Alberta since its inaugural exhibition season in 2023 using it ...
each field a men's side and a women's side.


Former teams

Edmonton was home to the Edmonton Grads, a women's
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
team with the best win–loss record of any North American team to date. The Grads defeated most American, European and Olympic challengers and compiled a record of 502 wins vs. 20 losses over 25 years, from 1915 until they disbanded in 1940 at the outbreak of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. From 2006 to 2015, the
Edmonton Rush The Edmonton Rush were a professional lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) that played from the 2006 to 2015 NLL seasons. The team announced on July 20, 2015, that they would be relocating to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, for the 2 ...
franchise played in the
National Lacrosse League The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league comprises 14 teams8 in the United States and 6 in Canada. The NLL is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...
. Home games were at
Rexall Place Northlands Coliseum is a defunct indoor arena in Edmonton, Alberta. It was used for sports events and concerts, and was home to the Edmonton Oilers of the World Hockey Association (WHA) and National Hockey League (NHL), and the Edmonton Oil Kin ...
. The team became the
Saskatchewan Rush The Saskatchewan Rush are a Canadian professional box lacrosse team based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, that competes in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The team plays its home games at SaskTel Centre. Formerly the Edmonton Rush, the team has ...
in 2015. Edmonton has an outdoor velodrome called the
Argyll Velodrome The Argyll Velodrome is an outdoor velodrome in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The velodrome is x wide with a 37 degree banked concrete surface. History The velodrome was built for the 1978 Commonwealth Games and later also hosted the track cycling ...
.


Sporting events

A number of sporting events were held in Edmonton, including the
1978 Commonwealth Games The 1978 Commonwealth Games were held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, from 3 to 12 August, two years after the 1976 Summer Olympics was held in Montreal, Quebec. They were boycotted by Nigeria, in protest at New Zealand's sporting contacts with a ...
, the 1983 World University Games (
Universiade The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a Blend word, portmanteau of the wor ...
), the
2001 World Championships in Athletics The 8th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between 3 and 12 August 2001 and was the first time the event ...
, and the 2005 World Master Games.2005 World Master Games
From 2005 to 2012 Edmonton also had a circuit on the Indy Car Series known as the
Edmonton Indy The Edmonton Indy was a round of the IndyCar Series held at a temporary circuit set up at the Edmonton City Centre Airport near the downtown area of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was originally launched in 2005, as a race in the Champ Car World ...
. This event was the best-attended event in the series. The city was also home to the late
World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
(WWE) former
World Heavyweight Champion At boxing's beginning, the heavyweight division had no weight limit, and historically the weight class has gone with vague or no definition. During the 19th century many heavyweights were 170 pounds (12 st 2 lb, 77 kg) or less, tho ...
,
Chris Benoit Christopher Michael Benoit ( ; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career, but is notorious for Chris Benoit double-murd ...
. From August 31 to September 17, 2006, Edmonton hosted the
Women's Rugby World Cup The Women's Rugby World Cup is the women's rugby union world championship which is organised by World Rugby. The first Rugby World Cup for women was held in 1991, but it was not until the 1998 tournament that the tournament received official b ...
with 12 international teams taking part for the title. Edmonton hosted soccer matches during 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 f ...
and was a major candidate to host matches during the
2026 FIFA World Cup The 2026 FIFA World Cup, marketed as FIFA World Cup 26, will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's Association football, soccer championship contested by the List of men's n ...
. Commonwealth Stadium also played host to some of the games in the
2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 16th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup (formerly called the FIFA World Youth Championship), hosted by Canada from 30 June to 22 July 2007. Argentina defeated the Czech Republic in the title game by the scor ...
.


References

{{Edmonton