Swangard Stadium
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| Location | 3883 Imperial Street, Burnaby, BC, Canada |
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| Coordinates | 49°13′51″N 123°01′17″W / 49.23083°N 123.02139°WCoordinates: 49°13′51″N 123°01′17″W / 49.23083°N 123.02139°W |
| Owner | City of Burnaby |
| Capacity | 5,288 |
| Field size | 115x75 yds (soccer) 150x65 yds (Canadian football) |
| Surface | Natural grass |
| Opened | 1969 |
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Vancouver 86ers (1987–2000), Whitecaps (2001–2010): (CSL) (1987–1992), (APSL) (1993–1996), (USL) (1997–2009), (NASL) (2010) Simon Fraser University Clan (GNAC) (1969–2007, 2014–2015) Vancouver Riptide (AUDL) (2013–present) TSS FC Rovers (PDL) (2017-present) |
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Swangard Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Central Park in Burnaby, British Columbia. Primarily used for soccer, rugby, football, and athletics, the stadium also used to be home to the Simon Fraser Clan football team and the Vancouver Whitecaps while they were in the Canadian Soccer League (CSL) and various US-based Division 2 leagues. It opened on April 26, 1969, and has a capacity of 5,288.
In 1969, Vancouver Sun sports journalist Erwin Swangard raised nearly $1 million for the construction of an athletic stadium in Central Park in Burnaby, British Columbia.BC Premier W. A. C. Bennett officially named the stadium after Swangard at its opening on April 26, 1969. Swangard was not present on the day of the opening, having been sent to start a newspaper in Nigeria.
The city of Vancouver launched a professional soccer team in 1986, named the Vancouver 86ers (now known as the Whitecaps). The Canadian Soccer League (CSL) club began playing in 1987 and made Swangard Stadium their home pitch. The stadium served its last season as the Whitecaps' home in 2010, as the club joined Major League Soccer (MLS) in 2011. As Swangard does not meet MLS standards for capacity, the City of Burnaby initially proposed to keep the team in Burnaby by renovating the stadium and expanding its capacity to 20,000 seats. This plan, however, fell through, and the Whitecaps eventually decided they wanted to move to a new, larger soccer-specific home at the Whitecaps Waterfront Stadium. Currently the Whitecaps are playing at BC Place Stadium and president of the organization, Bob Lenarduzzi has stated the club intends to stay at BC Place for the time being and plans for a new stadium are all on hold.
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