Changes will allow for more community events while maintaining existing usages
TORONTO, March 7, 2019 – York University will embark on a major transformation of the York Lions Stadium (formerly the 2015 Pan American Stadium) into a multi-use facility with artificial turf and an inflatable seasonal dome to support year-round activities and events.
On February 26, 2019, York’s Board of Governors approved the changes and preliminary scoping and design planning can now begin. A request for proposals will be issued in the coming months.
The new multi-use facility will be available for additional sporting events such as football and soccer competitions year-round. It will allow for better utilization of the stadium and for improved athletics and recreation programs that service York students, staff and faculty.
“This project will expand access, provide more sporting and community event options at our Keele Campus and enrich the experience of athletes at York, in the GTA and beyond, as they strive for excellence,” said Jennifer Myers, Executive Director of Athletics, York University.
The University will also construct the new six lane track on the north-west corner of campus and will continue to meet the high standards and quality of the current track, including Athletics Canada’s daily training needs.
“We’re very happy with York University’s continued commitment to our high-performance program,” said Simon Nathan, Athletics Canada’s High Performance Director. “The new facility will allow us to train for all events, something we could not do before, and athletes will continue to have full access rights.”
The new facilities will be used to support a diverse mix of varsity and campus recreation programs, intramurals, special university events, community and public events and activities, and more. The University plans to issue an RFP for this exciting campus and community athletics and recreation project in the coming months.
York University champions new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-disciplinary programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. York students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world’s most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. York U is an internationally recognized research university – our 11 faculties and 25 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, York is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 300,000 alumni. York U's fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.
Yanni Dagonas, York University Media Relations 647-648-7850 | yannidag@yorku.ca
