TD Stadium is an 8,000-seat Canadian football stadium located on the campus of the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. It is home to the Western Mustangs football team and is one of the largest stadiums in the OUA provincial conference. It was built in 2000 at a cost of approximately $10.65 million by Norlon Builders London Ltd and designed by Stantec Consulting Ltd. The stadium was built as a replacement for the former JW Little Stadium, which held its last game in 1999 before demolition. JW Little Stadium had been on Western's campus since 1929. The stadium was opened on September 16, 2000 when the first Western Mustangs home game was played. During the request for sponsorship funding, the Canadian-owned bank TD Canada Trust gave $1.5 million towards the stadium construction. Originally named the TD Waterhouse Stadium, the name was changed in 2013 to reflect new branding for TD. In addition to the Western Mustangs, the stadium is also home to the London Beefeaters, who are part of the Canadian Junior Football League. In spring 2009, the newly formed FC London of the USL Premier Development League began playing their home games at TD Stadium.
Facility
The stadium has a regulation CFLCanadian football sized field made out of FieldTurf. Surrounding the field is an 8-lane, 400-metre Mondo rubber track. The seating has two separate grandstands with a total capacity for 8,000. During large games, the stadium can accommodate 10,000 additional standing spectators. In addition to the track, the facility also as multiple long jump sand pits, javelin and a discus circle. The main building is known as the JW Little building and houses the players changing rooms, the Michael Kirkley Training Centre, coaching offices, as well as a lounge and terrace.
Renovations
In summer 2007, the AstroTurf was replaced by FieldTurf at a cost of approximately $1 million. The 100-metre sprint straightaway and long jump pit were refurbished in preparation for the Ontario Summer Games in August 2018. The cost for this was $100,000. This refurbishment was a temporary fix and the entire stadium track surface will be undergoing full resurfacing in early 2020 to prepare for the 2020 Ontario Summer Games.
Notable events
The stadium hosts a number of events outside of the university. Every year, local London public schools through the Thames Valley School Board use the facilities often to host track and field events. The stadium also hosts local London high school football games known as Red Feather games, in which local senior high school football teams play their first game of the season. TD Stadium was used as the main venue for the 2001 Canada Summer Games. In 2002, the stadium was used for an exhibition CFL game between the Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats which was a sellout at 9,178 fans. The stadium was the host of the 2004 Men's Pan American Cup for the men's international field hockey championship. In 2006, the stadium hosted the 2006 World Lacrosse Championship and the game attendance was 7,735. London hosted the 2010 Canadian Special Olympics and the stadium became one of a number of venues across the city. In the summer of 2018, the TD Stadium was the main venue for the 2018 Ontario Summer Games. The stadium will again be the main venue for the 2020 Ontario Summer Games, being held in London for the second time in a row.
