IGA Stadium (French: Stade IGA), originally called Du Maurier Stadium and formerly Uniprix Stadium, is the main tennis court at the Canadian Open tournament in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Built in 1996 and completed the following year, the centre court stadium currently holds 11,815 spectators.[1] The stadium grounds is located in Jarry Park within the borough of Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension.

IGA Stadium
Stade IGA (French)
Map
Former namesDu Maurier Stadium (1987-2003)
Uniprix Stadium (2004-2018)
Address285 Gary-Carter street
LocationMontreal, Quebec, Canada
Coordinates45°31′59″N 73°37′39″W / 45.53302°N 73.62755°W / 45.53302; -73.62755
Public transit Parc (Metro), De Castelnau
Jarry
Parc
OwnerTennis Canada
Capacity11,815
SurfaceHard, Outdoors
Construction
Broke groundAugust, 1995
OpenedAugust, 1996
Tenants
National Bank Open presented by Rogers (Men)
(ATP 1000)
1996–present
National Bank Open presented by Rogers (Women)
(WTA 1000)
1996–present
Website
stadeiga.com/en/

On Monday, April 16, 2018, Tennis Canada announced the stadium would have a naming rights contract with Empire Company, a Nova Scotia-based conglomerate that branded the stadium as Stade IGA, for their licensed grocer brand operated by their subsidiary Sobeys. Formerly, it was named after Du Maurier, a cigarette brand, then Uniprix, a pharmacy chain in Quebec.[2][citation needed]

The twelve courts at this venue use the DecoTurf cushioned acrylic surface, a surface previously used at the U.S. Open Tennis Championships. The Canadian Open is part of the US Open Series of events leading into the Grand Slam event. Uniquely, the Canadian Open is held in two cities, Montreal and Toronto, with the men and women alternating venues each year. Beginning 2021, IGA Stadium hosts the WTA in odd-numbered years and hosts the ATP in even-numbered years.

Its core seating area is a remnant of the former Major League Baseball stadium on the site, Jarry Park Stadium, the original home of the Montreal Expos (now Washington Nationals), with the main road being 285 Rue Gary Carter, named for the National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee whose career primarily was in the city.

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Tennis Canada (12 March 2009). "Projet d'amélioration du Centre national d'entraînement du tennis et du Stade Uniprix à Montréal" [Improvement project for the National Center for Tennis Training and for the Uniprix Stadium in Montreal] (PDF). Stade Uniprix (in French). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 30, 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
  2. ^ Deshaies, Antoine (16 April 2018). "Le stade Uniprix devient le stade IGA". Radio-Canada (in Canadian French). Archived from the original on 2024-07-23. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
edit