Saputo Stadium

Saputo Stadium (French: Stade Saputo) is a soccer-specific stadium located at Olympic Park in the Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve area of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It opened on May 21, 2008, and is now the home of CF Montréal, which used to be called the Montreal Impact.

The stadium was built where the practice track and field area was during the 1976 Summer Olympics. From the east side of Saputo Stadium, you can see the tall tower of Olympic Stadium. It can hold up to 19,619 people, making it the second-biggest stadium for soccer in Canada. The biggest one is BMO Field in Toronto.

When playing in North American competitions, the stadium is called Stade de Montréal because of advertising rules.

Construction

Saputo Stadium was built for about CA$17 million, with the Saputo family paying $7.5 million and the rest paid over 25 years. The stadium now serves as the main office for CF Montréal and includes a training field, special rooms for players, and 34 private areas for fans. The whole area covers around 150,000 square metres.

The stadium has natural grass, which was chosen by the Canada men's national soccer team over another field with artificial turf. There were plans to make the stadium bigger to hold more fans when Montreal joined Major League Soccer. The Quebec government helped with $23 million for this expansion. The plans started after Montreal got their team in the 2012 season.

Sports usage

Saputo Stadium had its first home game on May 19, 2008, ending in a tie against the Vancouver Whitecaps. The first goal ever scored there was by Rocco Placentino on June 13, 2008, helping the team win 1–0 against the Charleston Battery. After some updates, the stadium hosted another important game on June 16, 2012, where the team won 4–1 against the Seattle Sounders FC.

The stadium also hosted two international games featuring the Canada men's national soccer team during the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF).