Latest news with #CommonwealthStadium
CTV News
02-08-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
Elks pay tribute to frontlines and first responders in first game of August
The Edmonton Elks faced the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday at the Commonwealth Stadium in a special game that included a flyover salute by the Royal Canadian Air Force. Both teams hit the field for a celebration of 'frontline heroes and first responders.' New this year was a flag football tournament on the day of the game that was made up of local service workers. They competed for the very first Salute to Service Cup. While the cup is new, the Salute to Service game is an annual tradition that sees athletes and fans honouring those who serve. The Elks' official website said both the game and the tournament are all about 'pride, gratitude and community spirit.'
CTV News
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Police temporarily closing road for The Weeknd concert
The Weeknd performs in Vancouver, on Tuesday, July 15, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck Police are temporarily closing roads between 92 Street and 112 Avenue at 5:30 p.m. today while fans enter Commonwealth Stadium for The Weeknd concert. The closure will begin at 5:30 p.m., reopening about 90 minutes later. Roads will close again near the end of the concert at 10:45 p.m. and remain closed until midnight. Edmonton police said there will be high-density foot traffic and a large number of transit vehicles in the area. Drivers are encouraged to seek alternative routes if possible.
CBC
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Virginia Park residents concerned about parking chaos during upcoming events
Residents who live in the neighbourhood of Virginia Park have plenty of experience having to compete for parking during major events and summer festivals. The neighbourhood has seen numerous events happen within walking distance, including KDays, Edmonton Heritage Festival and last weekend's Rockin' Thunder concerts. But this weekend the neighbourhood will face a double whammy: The Weeknd performs a concert Saturday at Commonwealth Stadium while KDays is happening at nearby Edmonton Expo Centre and Exhibition Grounds. Debbie Boccabella has lived in the Virginia Park neighbourhood for 24 years and says how much of a nightmare parking is depends on the event and whether residential parking rules are in effect. "The parking for KDays, people come and go. It's residential parking for the football games, which that doesn't make much sense to me, why they can park for the exhibition, but not for the football games," Boccabella told CBC on Wednesday. "We do have a problem during Heritage Days, because a third of Edmonton comes here, and they park everywhere. [The city] put up some signs when you enter the neighbourhood about residential parking. But people ignore them. They park on the sides of the streets." CBC spoke to multiple residents who say they are concerned about blind spots in neighbourhood and safety concerns that become exacerbated during events when people are on the hunt for a parking spot. "KDays and other controlled events where the festival goers are allowed to park without the normal restrictions, it's quite chaotic," said resident Howard Gibb. "I have concerns, as we all do, about just the congestion and chaos and possible chances of accidents," said Gibb pointing to the intersection of 79th Street and 112th S Avenue. "That corner over there behind us, there is signage saying not to park there, and that's for a good reason." Jenny Albers, acting director of traffic operations with the City of Edmonton, told CBC the city is excited about the number of events happening in the coming weeks. For The Weeknd concert this Saturday there is no parking at Commonwealth Stadium and parking restrictions in neighbourhoods around the stadium will be in effect from 3 p.m. to midnight on Saturday. The city said this is standard practice for parking around Commonwealth Stadium during major events. When restrictions are in place, only residents with valid parking permits can park on streets in those areas and the permits must be displayed during the parking restriction hours. Vehicles parked without valid permits may be fined $100 and towed. The Commonwealth LRT parking lot closes on July 19 at 5 p.m. and the city encourages concert-goers to consider other forms of transportation, such as taking ETS, cycling, ridesharing or taxi. Edmonton Transit Service will allow The Weeknd concert tickets to be accepted as valid fare up to 90 minutes before the concert start time and 90 minutes after the concert ends. During KDays, the parking enforcement team will be monitoring 311 inquiries to respond to parking infractions. Parking enforcement is in effect for Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 9 p.m., and Monday from 12 to 8 p.m. The city asks residents or visitors in Virginia Park and other surrounding areas to contact 311 using the app if there are any parking or traffic safety issues during the event. Daniel Nider, who has lived in the Virginia Park neighbourhood for 33 years, said he hopes the city includes more proactive signage so non-residents are not left wondering where to park. Especially after roadwork was done on 112th Avenue in 2019. "When they redid the street, they made it narrower. So it's hard to get two cars by sometime when it where there was more," Nider said.
CTV News
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
The Weeknd is coming to Edmonton on Saturday: Find out how and when to get there
The Weeknd performs a medley during the 67th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello) Canadian music superstar The Weeknd will take the stage at Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday, and the city is offering some tips to make your concert experience run smoothly. Commonwealth security screening and bag policy Gates open at 5:30 p.m. with the opening act taking the stage at 6:45 p.m. Concert goers are asked to arrive early to give themselves time for screening at the stadium entrance. Fans are encouraged not to bring a bag to the show, but those who chose to bring one should be aware of the clear bag policy at Commonwealth. Bags that are clear plastic, vinyl or PVC and do not exceed 12″ x 12' x 6″ are allowed. Small clutch bags that are not clear, but do not exceed 4.5″ x 6.5″ in size, can be taken into the stadium. All bags may be subject to search. Fans who don't bring a bag can use the express security lanes when entering the stadium. A limited first-come, first-serve bag check will be available for $20 on the east side of Stadium Road, near Gate 9 entrance, north of the LRT lots. Stadium staff are not responsible for lost items. Merchandise Merchandise will go on sale on Saturday at noon outside the stadium on the west side at Gate 6 and the east side by Gate 9. Free transit Transit is free for anyone with a valid concert ticket. The ticket will be accepted on buses and LRT up to 90 minutes before the concert starts and up to 90 minutes after it ends. There is no need to tap on or off with Arc validators while using a concert ticket as fare. Transit costs are covered as part of the $1.50 facility use service fee charged to ticketholders at the time of purchase. Park and ride is available at the following locations: Eaux Claires Lot (97 Street and 157 Avenue) Lewis Farms (1021 Webber Greens Dr.) - Arrive early as this location has limited parking spots due to Valley Line West LRT construction NAIT Lots A/B and D (109 Street and 118 Avenue) - parking is $6 at these lots. Nakî Transit Centre (15520 Campbell Rd.) ETS will also run a shuttle from Churchill Station (100 Street and 102 Avenue southbound) to Stadium, to help move people to and from the event. Buses will start running at 5:15 p.m. and run approximately every five minutes until the concert starts. After the concert buses will leave from the stadium until all passengers have been collected. Riders can also park at the following locations and take the Capital Line LRT to Commonwealth Stadium: Clareview Transit Centre (48 Street and 139 Avenue) Belvedere Transit Centre (62 Street and 129 Avenue) Parking There is no parking at Commonwealth Stadium and parking restrictions are in place in neighbourhoods around the stadium. Only residents with valid parking permits can park on the streets in those areas. The Commonwealth LRT parking lot will close at 5 p.m. on Saturday. Concert goers are encouraged to use other forms of transportation, including transit, bikes, ride shares or taxis. Bikes, ride shares, taxis, and accessibility There will be supervised bike parking on site at the northeast corner of Clarke Stadium. Ride share services and taxis will be available at pick up and drop off areas on the northwest side of the stadium at 90 Street and 110 Avenue near Lot A, and on the east side at 84 Street and 106 Avenue. Signs will be in place to guide concert goers to pickup and dropoff locations. Accessibility gates are #2, 6, 9, and 11. Wheelchair drop off is in Lot A by Gate 6. Please make sure wheelchairs are properly labelled and identifiable.
National Post
08-07-2025
- Sport
- National Post
Edmonton Elks dodge self-inflicted bullet to earn first win of season
And it came in a crucial week where both the B.C. Lions and Calgary Stampeders looked to start pulling away in the standings, breathing — dare we say — a little life into the upstart Elks? It marked the first win of many more to come in the head-coaching career of the freshly minted Mark Kilam, who came aboard following an unheard-of 17-year entrenchment as an assistant coach with the same club (don't hold it against him that it was the rival Stampeders). So, he must be doing something right. And now he is being tasked with steering the turnaround in Edmonton alongside newly repatriated general manager Ed Hervey, all the while reminding themselves of the prime directive: Win. Or at least don't embarrass their already gun-shy fanbase in the pursuit of victory. But the gun with which past EE iterations shot themselves in the foot on far too many occasions ended up coming dangerously close to coming out of its holster again against Ottawa. To set the scene, the Elks exploded to an impressive 22-3 lead midway through the second quarter with their fastest, best and most efficient start in a good long while, looking like they were well on their way to running up the score against an outmatched opponent. And, truth be told, that would have been exactly what the doctor ordered to help begin curing the malaise that's ran rampant in the seats at Commonwealth Stadium. The empty ones, at least. Things were going so well, it was almost too good to be true. At that moment, the Elks opted for a quarterback change in order to get Cody Fajardo some much needed game action. Remember him? He's only two years removed from being named Grey Cup MVP with the Montreal Alouettes and was brought in to help along the development of young Tre Ford — who completed a career-best 15-of-17 passes with two touchdowns. Now, obviously Fajardo both deserves and needs some snaps. And the sooner they come in the season, the better for the team down the road. But instead of tightening their grip on an already suffocating opponent in the closest thing there could be to a must-win game in the first week of July, the Elks let go. Just a little, mind you. But it was all the wiggle room the Redblacks needed, answering back with a touchdown before forcing a 2-and-out that they returned to the end zone to make it a one-score game heading into halftime. In the blink of an eye. Fortunately for these Elks, they showed they are no longer 'those' Elks and didn't blow a commanding lead by taking their foot off the gas, even if it was just a little. Instead, they regained control of the would-be runaway train and held onto that one-score lead, much to the relief of those in attendance who got to celebrate a hard-fought home victory. Even if it was far from the blowout it had been shaping up to be. At this point in the proceedings, no win is a bad win in Edmonton. There is such a thing as a bad loss, however. And these Elks just gained some ground in the ongoing race to outrun their former selves by avoiding one. On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge
