Thunderbird Stadium, Outdoor sports stadium at University of British Columbia, Canada
Thunderbird Stadium is an outdoor stadium on the campus of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, with an artificial playing surface and covered grandstand seating. Grass embankments surround the field and provide extra space for spectators during larger events.
The stadium opened in the late 1960s on the UBC campus and was built as the home ground for the university's football team. The twelve concrete pillars that frame the entrance are part of the original design and were later decorated with Indigenous sculptures.
The stadium takes its name from the Thunderbird, a figure from the traditions of the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest. Visitors can see sculptures on the twelve concrete pillars near the entrance that draw directly from that heritage.
The stadium sits inside the UBC campus, so getting there takes some planning, especially on event days when parking fills up quickly. Arriving early gives you more choice of seating on the grandstand or on the surrounding grass embankments.
The stadium once drew over 20,000 spectators to a single game, which stands as one of the highest attendances ever recorded for a university sports event in the region. That number is all the more notable given that the regular seating capacity is well below that figure.
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