Installation of new green and gold seats wrapped up earlier than expected at Commonwealth Stadium Sunday.
Officials said the upgrade for the stadium was originally expected to be completed up at the end of October.
They credited work crews for the early finish and said the new seats made the stadium a world-class facility.
“It’s an iconic facility in our city and it’s an iconic facility in our nation,” the City’s manager of Recreation Facility Services said.
“This will be a stadium where people will want to watch a football game,” Edmonton Eskimos president and CEO Len Rhodes added.
“It’s a brand new stadium.”
Rhodes said it was time for an upgrade as the old seats were originally installed in 1978.
“They endured winters, summers, rain, sleet and hail. I think they lasted longer than anyone anticipated.”
It cost $11.9 million for the 56,000 seats, with City Council covering $4 million.
A five per cent levy on all seat sales for the next decade is expected to make up the remaining funds.
Officials said the new seats are more comfortable as they feature armrests, cup holders and are slighter roomier than the previous models.
Further changes are in store for Commonwealth including a retrofit of the visiting team’s locker room, two new locker rooms, a new Jumbotron scoreboard and sound system as well as a repaving of parking lots B and C on the northside of the stadium.
