Sports Stadium Repair and Rehabilitation

The Commonwealth Stadium was originally constructed in 1978 as the primary sports facility for the Commonwealth Games in Edmonton.

The Stadium's original capacity held approximately 42,500 seats. It was later expanded by about 18,000 seats to a total capacity of 60,081 for the Summer Universiade Games held in 1983.

In preparation for the 2010 Grey Cup, the City of Edmonton engaged Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd. to identify the structural repair and protection measures necessary at the facility, and to prepare tender documents for the Stadium’s rehabilitation. RJC is the Prime Consultant on the stadium repair and rehabilitation project.

The Stadium construction includes cast-in-place, post-tensioned sloped raker beam and column frames, supporting precast prestressed concrete seating risers, upstand walls, and intermediate beams. The condition survey performed by RJC included testing and identification of all deteriorated concrete elements requiring repair or reinforcement, detailed visual inspections and a leakage survey to identify locations of failed joint sealants, expansion joint assemblies, and waterproof coatings. The project timelines required that the large majority of the inspection work be performed during the winter months, often necessitating that RJC field staff remove snow and ice accumulations from the stadium’s concrete surfaces in order to expose and identify the existing conditions and repair requirements.

Repair documents were completed by RJC and issued to the client one-week prior to deadline, and included specifications and detailed requirements for the removal and replacement of over 11 lineal kilometers of new joint sealants and waterproof expansion joints, structural concrete repairs in areas of deterioration and distress, new elastomeric coatings to protect critical concrete structural elements, and the installation of new steel connection assemblies to supplement existing corroded and damaged precast connections.

The Commonwealth Stadium is the second largest sports stadium facility in Canada, and has been the home to the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League for over 30 years. In addition, the Stadium has been the home to numerous concerts, World Cup Soccer games, the IAAF World Championships in Athletics, and the first NHL outdoor hockey game – The Heritage Classic in 2003.