Commonwealth crowd could crack 50K for Canada Soccer match in Edmonton
Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium could reach a capacity the city hasn’t seen for a sporting event in nearly three years.
This coming Monday, June 1, the Canadian men’s national soccer team will be taking on Uzbekistan for a World Cup friendly. The event hasn’t sold out, but has already sold plenty of tickets.
A spokesperson for Canada Soccer confirmed with Daily Hive that they have already sold over 45,000 tickets and are optimistic that they will have sold over 50,000 by the time the match gets underway.
Commonwealth Stadium, which serves as the home of the Edmonton Elks, has a maximum capacity of 56,302.
The Elks have struggled to get anywhere close to maximum capacity in recent years. In fact, their season average for attendance in 2025 was just 19,050.
While concerts and other events have drawn in 50,000 or more in recent years, the last sporting event to do so came back in October of 2023. That was the Heritage Classic between the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames, where more than 55,000 attended.
Prior to the Heritage Classic, the last crowd to surpass 50,000 people came back in 2015 when Canada took on China in the opening match of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. The official attendance of that match was listed at 53,058.
The June 1 game will serve as one of two friendlies Canada has remaining ahead of the World Cup. The second and final will be played against the Republic of Ireland on Friday, June 5, at Saputo Stadium in Montreal.
The World Cup is set to begin on June 12 and will continue until July 19. Vancouver and Toronto will serve as Canada’s two host cities, with Vancouver hosting seven matches at BC Place, while Toronto will host six at BMO Field (temporarily renamed Toronto Stadium).
Canada is set to compete in Group B for the World Cup, which also includes Switzerland, Qatar, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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