*This post was written by Vlad*
Thanks to my buddy Jared, we were able to take a tour of the brand new (1year old) Investors Group Field, home to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League and the University of Manitoba (my alma mater) Bisons, on the U of M campus.
After meeting in the pro shop, Jared's colleague Roxanne showed up to start the tour. Modeled after Qwest Field in Seattle, the stadium has a convoluted roof with helps reverberate the sound of the crowd for an extra boisterous atmosphere. After walking around the main concourse, Roxanne took us on a visit to the upper deck (spectacular sight lines), media center, and luxury suites (bougie).
From there we headed down to the bowels of the stadium where we got a peak into the coaches meeting room before heading to the Bisons ultra modern weight and locker rooms (the Bombers facility was off limits as they just played the night before). One golden rule in the locker room: don't step on the logo out of respect and to avoid seven years of bad luck. Superstitious as it may seem, you can use all the luck you can get in sports. It was interesting to see players milling around either studying, receiving treatment or taking in game film.
As a huge fan of sports, especially of behind the scenes aspects, this was a real treat. It's nice to see Winnipeg get a long overdue, state of the art facility not only for sport, but for big events such as the Jay Z & Beyonce concert on July 27 and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.
Big thanks to Jared for hooking this up.
Go Blue!
Outside of Investors Group Field
Team helmets inside of the pro shop
Lower level south end zone
View from the upper deck
Bisons meeting room, which can be split up into up to 4 smaller rooms for offense, defense and special teams meetings.
Where the Bisons go to get jacked.
Do not step on the logo!
Individual stalls with power outlets, personal safes, and enough room to fit the big linemen.
University of Manitoba Bisons.
Thanks for setting up the tour Jared.
