Edmonton to host biggest snowboarding event in Canada
Commonwealth Stadium will be getting much more snow than the rest of the city this week as it prepares to welcome the world's best snowboarders.
Edmonton will host the first ever FIS Snowboard Big Air World Cup to be held in a stadium. And to do it, the venue is building the biggest stadium snowboard jump in history using more than 1,200 cubic meters of snow.
"[It's a] pretty unique thing to do," said Richard Hegarty, major event specialist for Canada Snowboard. "We build these kinds of jumps on snow quite regularly, but you never get to build them in a stadium."
"This, to my knowledge, is the largest scaffolding build ever built in history."
The Big Air World Cup event, titled The Style Experience, will take place Dec. 9 and 10. It's a qualifier for the Olympics and the first North American stop of the 2022-2023 FIS World Cup season.
Hegarty said Canada Snowboard scouted locations across the country, choosing Edmonton because it's home to the largest outdoor stadium in Canada and it's cold enough in December for a winter sport event.
"It's probably easier here than it would be anywhere else in the world, so it's ideal," Hegarty said, adding that Commonwealth Stadium's layout made it the perfect spot to build the 147-foot-tall and 483-foot-long jump.
Construction of the ramp began Nov. 7 and will take around 6,000 hours in total. The snow to cover the ramp is being made at Rabbit Hill and trucked in.
Construction of the ramp for the FIS Snowboard Big Air World Cup began Nov. 7 and will take around 6,000 hours in total. (John Hanson/CTV News Edmonton)Unlike other snowboarding venues, the stadium seating offers multiple viewpoints that snowboarding spectators don't usually get, said Commonwealth Stadium director Heather Seutter.
"You don't have to travel to the ski hill, and you'll probably get one of the best spectator experiences to be able to see the athletes competing live," Seutter said.
The qualifiers on Dec. 9 won't be open to the public, but Suetter said the stadium is hoping to sell 10,000 to 15,000 tickets for the finals on the afternoon of Dec. 10.
"I think Edmontonians and visitors are really going to respond well to just how unique this event is and how we've repurposed the stadium into a mountain essentially," said Cindy Medynski, director of sport and culture at Explore Edmonton.
Medynski hopes the competition will become a regular event at the Commonwealth Stadium and said the international coverage will bring in visitors and show the world what Edmonton has to offer as a host city.
"It's huge for us to get that exposure," she said. "I think [being chosen] means that Edmonton punches above its weight, and we show up and we think outside the box."
Tickets start at $31.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Joe Scarpelli
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.