Future of 66-year-old McMahon Stadium in the spotlight ahead of Grey Cup

Conversations have begun in Calgary to make the 2026 Grey Cup the last one held at McMahon Stadium.

The 66-year-old building will host the Canadian Football League's championship game Sunday between the Edmonton Elks and Montreal Alouettes.

The home of the CFL's Stampeders since 1960, and the site of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1988 Winter Olympics, is the second-oldest pro football stadium in Canada and one of the most venerable in North America.

Montreal's Percival Molson Memorial Stadium, built in 1915, has been the home of the Alouettes since 1998.

With the NHL's Flames moving to Scotia Place next year after 44 years in the Saddledome, attention has turned to an even older pro sports venue in Calgary and what to do about it.

When Calgary hosted the 2019 Grey Cup, the CFL's commissioner at that time, Randy Ambrosie, predicted it would be the last at McMahon.

But the CFL's showcase game has returned for a sixth time with a little more tread worn off McMahon's tires.

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"McMahon Stadium is pretty tired, I'm afraid," said McMahon Stadium Society chair Steve Allan. "It's time for a new building."

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Replacement parts for McMahon's seats are no longer available, so salvaging Saddledome seats before the wrecking ball swings there could be a stop-gap option until a new stadium materializes, Allan said.

"We're just trying to patch up an old dog, and we've been doing that for years, and it's not working," Allan said. "The guts of the building are just too old."

The Calgary Stampede has hired a firm to study the idea of adding field sports to GMC Stadium, which currently seats 17,000 in its