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30-779: The Rush joined the UFA in the 2013 season – when it was originally branded as the American Ultimate Disc League – becoming the first Canadian team in the league. They played their home games at Varsity Stadium and went undefeated that year, continuing their streak into the playoffs to take home the 2013 UFA Championship in their introductory season. The Rush franchise has been the model of consistency. With five consecutive East Division titles, three appearances in League Championship Finals, and one UFA title in 2013, fans have come to expect to seeing this team excel on and off

60-570: A 1985 "outdoor" season. W = Wins, L = Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, BP = Bonus Points, Pts= point system 6 points for a win, 4 points for a shootout win, 0 points for a loss, 1 point for each regulation goal scored up to three per game. GP = Games Played, G = Goals (worth 2 points), A = Assists (worth 1 point), Pts = Points Note: GP = Games played; Min - Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; SO = Shutouts Top team from each division qualified automatically. The next two teams with

90-537: A 24-game outdoor season and 40-game indoor season scheduled for 1984 and beyond. The off-season following the 1983 outdoor playoffs saw three more teams fall by the wayside: the Montreal Manic , Seattle Sounders and Team America would all fold. The Fort Lauderdale Strikers decided to move to Minnesota because of a lack of suitable indoor arenas in Southeastern Florida . Things had gotten so bad for

120-418: A winter bubble enabling use during inclement weather. The multi-use capability was one of the main reasons that the plan was passed by the governing council, as opposed to the 25,000-seat stadium. Compared to the old Varsity Stadium, the seating is closer to Varsity Arena, almost making the two structures one conjoined complex. Part of the red brick wall along Bloor Street was maintained for historic purposes, but

150-541: The 1971 Final . The revised NASL playoff format had the two division winners and the two next best teams qualify. The four teams would be seeded 1 through 4. When the season finally got underway in May, the nine teams were bunched together for most of the year as six teams finished within five points of each other. A hoped-for renaissance in New York never materialized, as the return of former Cosmos coach Eddie Firmani did not lead

180-467: The 1976 Summer Olympics , Varsity Stadium hosted several soccer matches, and was the site of the semi-final game between Brazil and Poland . The NASL's Toronto Metros-Croatia used Varsity Stadium through 1978, before moving to Exhibition Stadium. They returned six years later as the Toronto Blizzard and again made it their home for the 1984 season. On October 3, 1984, before 16,842 fans,

210-672: The Grey Cup . Capacity of the stadium has varied with time, but peaked at about 22,000 in the 1950s although, with the use of temporary bleachers, a record crowd of 27,425 watched the Edmonton Eskimos defeat the Montreal Alouettes 50–27 in the 1956 Grey Cup final. Perhaps the most famous Canadian football game played in the Stadium was the 1950 Mud Bowl for the Grey Cup championship. During

240-467: The Netherlands were also staged in 1994. Minor league professional soccer team Toronto Lynx moved into the stadium in 1997 but was forced to move to Centennial Park Stadium due to the impending demolition of the historic facility. The stadium was demolished mid-2002 after the cost of maintaining the large facility was far more than it generated in revenue. At that time, several structural sections of

270-582: The All Night Newsboys , Gene Vincent , Junior Walker & the All Stars , Little Richard , Doug Kershaw , Screaming Lord Sutch , Nucleus , Milkwood , and Whiskey Howl . KISS performed at the stadium during their Destroyer Tour on September 6, 1976. Rush performed at the stadium on September 2, 1979, during their Permanent Waves Warm-up Tour. 1984 North American Soccer League season The 1984 North American Soccer League season

300-593: The Canadian intercollegiate championship, the Vanier Cup (as it had been for most years from 1965 to 1988 [with exception of 1973–75]), but that too moved to larger quarters such as SkyDome (now known as Rogers Centre ) as the popularity of the collegiate championship grew. Canada's national soccer team played several matches at Varsity Stadium, including crucial World Cup qualifying matches versus Costa Rica in 1985 and Mexico in 1993. Friendly matches versus Germany and

330-675: The University of Toronto's collegiate Canadian football team, the Varsity Blues . However it was, until the opening of Exhibition Stadium in 1959, the home of the Toronto Argonauts of what would become the Canadian Football League . Although it has not hosted a meaningful CFL game in almost half a century, it still holds the record for the number of times any stadium has hosted the Canadian professional football championship game,

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360-476: The field. The team relocated their home games to Monarch Park Stadium for the 2018 season, before moving back to Varsity Stadium. Robert Lloyd is the chairman of the Rush. For the 2023 season, their head coach is Adrian Yearwood. Their assistant coaches are Micheal Kukucska and Rob Jankowski. The team played the 1st half of their 2024 home schedule at Lamport Stadium while their regular home stadium Varsity Stadium

390-486: The fifth time (and second year in a row), the NASL's points system rewarded a team other than the one with the best record ( Chicago instead of San Diego ) the regular season title and number one playoff seed. Moreover, Toronto and Minnesota also had better won-loss records than Chicago. Minnesota would not even qualify for the playoffs, despite having a better record than both Chicago and Vancouver . The Chicago Sting won

420-545: The final, 18–9. The new Toronto Blizzard returned to Varsity in 1987 as part of the Canadian Soccer League but would move to the smaller Centennial Park Stadium as a cost-cutting move. They returned in 1993 as a member of the American Professional Soccer League but again were forced to move, this time to Lamport Stadium, again due to financial difficulties. Varsity Stadium continued to host

450-477: The games, the facility was configured to hold roughly 2,000 spectators per session. The facility also hosted the archery events of the 2015 Parapan American Games In addition to hosting several University of Toronto athletic programs, the stadium has also hosted several events including military, musical, and sporting games. The stadium has also been host to several concerts most notably the 1969 Toronto Rock and Roll Revival , which Rolling Stone once called

480-409: The highest point totals qualified regardless of which division they were in. 1984 NASL Champions: Chicago Sting GP = Games Played, G = Goals (worth 2 points), A = Assists (worth 1 point), Pts = Points Note: GP = Games played; Min - Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; SO = Shutouts Jose, Colin (1989). NASL: A Complete Record of

510-553: The last NASL title with a two-game sweep over the Toronto Blizzard . The Sting needed a last-second victory over the Cosmos in their regular season finale to qualify for the playoffs and knock New York out. In the playoffs they won a deciding game over the Vancouver Whitecaps , who themselves only made the playoffs thanks to the Cosmos' loss. Vancouver's Bob Lenarduzzi scored the quickest goal in NASL playoff history 46 seconds into

540-682: The last game ever contested in the original North American Soccer League was played at Varsity Stadium when the Chicago Sting defeated the Blizzard 3–2 to win the deciding game of 1984 Soccer Bowl Series. The NASL would fold before the start of the next season. In mid-1986, Varsity Stadium played host to the World Lacrosse Championships , a tournament featuring the United States, Canada, England, and Australia. The US defeated Canada in

570-528: The last game played by the original NASL). It is located next to Varsity Arena . Athletic teams of the University of Toronto have used the site as an athletic ground since 1898. In 1911, the university opened Varsity Stadium. Canadian sprinter Percy Williams set a world record in the 100 metres with a time of 10.3 seconds at Varsity Stadium during the Canadian Track and Field Championships in 1930. Varsity Stadium has for its entire history been host to

600-465: The league that the champion Tulsa Roughnecks almost folded two weeks after winning the Soccer Bowl . They survived, thanks to a fundraiser that put $ 65,000 in the team's coffers. The league would soldier on with nine teams. While there would not be huge changes on the field, the single game Soccer Bowl would be no more. The league moved to a best-of-three championship series format, as was done back in

630-574: The match, but Chicago rallied for the win. There were still plans for a 1985 outdoor season as the year ended, but the departures of Chicago Sting , Minnesota Strikers , New York Cosmos and the San Diego Sockers to the MISL for the indoor season made that difficult. The Cosmos left both the NASL and MISL on February 22. A month later, on March 28, 1985, the NASL suspended operations when only Toronto and Minnesota were interested in fielding teams for

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660-495: The new facility is much more open and visible from the streets overall. The new facilities are designed by Diamond and Schmitt Architects . Following the renovation, the Argonauts returned to the stadium, hosting their 2013 preseason game at their former home. Their 2014 and 2015 preseason home games were also scheduled for the stadium. For the 2015 Pan American Games the facility hosted archery between July 14 and 18. During

690-402: The second most important event in rock & roll history. This concert led to the production of a documentary, Sweet Toronto , as well as John Lennon 's Live Peace In Toronto album. Performers included: The Doors , Plastic Ono Band , Bo Diddley , Chicago Transit Authority (later renamed "Chicago"), Tony Joe White , Alice Cooper , Jerry Lee Lewis , Chuck Berry , Cat Mother &

720-477: The site since 1898; the current stadium was built in 2007 to replace the original permanent stadium built in 1911. Varsity Stadium is also a former home of the Toronto Argonauts , and has previously hosted the Grey Cup , the Vanier Cup , several matches of the 1976 Summer Olympics soccer tournament, and the final game of the North American Soccer League 's 1984 Soccer Bowl series (which was also

750-500: The stadium were being held up by temporary repairs, and the future integrity of the structure was in question. The field and track were retained after the demolition. During the demolition and re-building of the site Toronto Varsity Blues relocated to Birchmount Stadium in Scarborough . From 2003 through 2005, temporary seating of about 1,500 was installed to permit the use of the field for intercollegiate games. The name Varsity Field

780-517: The team back to the playoffs. Rumors about a possible return by Pelé proved to be without merit. However, not everyone struggled on the field. In Oakland, Steve Zungul and Branko Segota were able to translate their talents from the MISL to the outdoor game, finishing 1–2 in the league's scoring race. Zungul would earn league MVP honors despite the Golden Bay Earthquakes ' last-place finish. For

810-567: The time of its demolition, Varsity Stadium was the second largest capacity stadium in Canada with a grass field, after Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta (however, that stadium has since switched to an artificial playing surface). The stadium opened in 2007. Facilities and features built in the first phase of the stadium's reconstruction include an IAAF Class II 400m eight-lane track, artificial field turf (FIFA 2 Star rated surface by Polytan), and

840-583: Was the 72nd season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer, the 17th with a national first-division league, in the United States and Canada. It would be the 17th and final season of the NASL. By 1983, the NASL had shrunk to half of the 24 teams that made up the league in 1980. The ongoing salary war with the Major Indoor Soccer League had taken its toll, along with shrinking attendances and a lack of interest from American network TV broadcasters. The league made plans to have both an outdoor and indoor presence, with

870-565: Was undergoing renovations. This article about a Canadian sports club is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Varsity Stadium Varsity Stadium is an outdoor collegiate football stadium located in Toronto , Ontario , Canada. It is home to the Toronto Varsity Blues , the athletic teams of the University of Toronto . Athletic events have been hosted on

900-399: Was used from 2002 to 2006 during the period when the old stadium was demolished and the new stadium was being built. A plan to build a new 25,000 seat multi-purpose stadium on the site in 2005 was voted down by the governing council of the University of Toronto due to concerns over its cost. The facility was then planned to be built on the grounds of York University but that too failed. At

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