Royal Athletic Park

Infobox_Stadium
stadium_name = Royal Athletic Park
nickname =


location = 1014 Caledonia Ave, Victoria, B.C. V8T 1G1, Canada
broke_ground = Early 1900's
Rebuilt in 1967
opened = Early 1900's
Reopened in 1967
owner = City of Victoria
operator =
surface = Natural Grass
construction_cost =
architect =
tenants = Victoria United (PCSL) (1904-present)
Victoria Rebels (CJFL) (1985-present)
Victoria Seals (GBL) (2009-present)
dimensions = 130 yds x 100 yds (soccer)
160 yds x 75 yds (Canadian football)
seating_capacity = 9,247

Royal Athletic Park is a multi-purpose, fully-lit stadium in Victoria, British Columbia. It is primarily used for soccer, softball and football, but often hosts special events, such as the annual Great Canadian Beer Festival. The land was originally purchased by the city in 1925 and the park underwent a major restoration in 1967 after a large fire.

It is currently the home of the Victoria Rebels of the Canadian Junior Football League. It also hosts the Victoria United Football Club. It was briefly the home field of the Victoria Capitals minor league baseball team. It has also been home to other minor pro ball clubs, including the Victoria Blues, Victoria Mussels, Victoria Tyees and the Victoria Athletics ( in fact, Gil McDougald played third base here on his way up to the New York Yankees). Minor-league baseball is set to return to Royal Athletic in 2009, when the Golden Baseball League's Victoria Seals will step up to bat for the first time. [cite web|url=http://www.goldenbaseball.com/ArDisplay.aspx?ID=4741&SecID=303|title=Golden Baseball League Expands to Victoria, Canada|publisher=GBL|language=english|accessdate=2008-10-01]

Its permanent seating is 4,247 and depending on its configuration and the event, it can hold up to 9,247 people [Permanent Seating of the Royal Athletic Park, City of Victoria http://www.victoria.ca/residents/prksrc_facrap.shtml] .

From July 1 to July 11, 2007, Royal Athletic Park was one of six venues for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. [cite web|url=http://www.fifa.com/u20worldcup/destination/stadiums/stadium=222/index.html|title=FIFA - Royal Athletic Park|publisher=FIFA|language=english|accessdate=2008-07-02] The stadium was hosting Group F and hosted Japan vs Czech Republic in a Round of Sixteen game. Temporary bleachers were added to expand seating. An announced total of 14,500 seats was later altered to 10,500, as temporary grandstands were not erected behind the goal on the east side.

References

External links

* [http://www.city.victoria.bc.ca/residents/prksrc_facrap.shtml City of Victoria - Royal Athletic Park]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Royal+Athletic+Park,+976+Caledonia+Ave,+Victoria,+BC,+Canada&sll=48.431229,-123.354052&sspn=0.002719,0.007296&ie=UTF8&ll=48.431422,-123.354074&spn=0.002719,0.007296&t=k&z=17&om=1 Satellite view of Royal Athletic Park on Google Maps]